Defense Technical Information Center
Abstract
The Defense Technical Information Center’s (DTIC) unique mission is to aggregate and fuse science and technology data to provide rapid, accurate, and reliable knowledge to researchers and developers of the next generation of technologies needed to assure our national security. DTIC, a DoD Field Activity, currently under the authority, direction and control of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), is the DoD’s singular executive agent and designated source for DoD-funded scientific, technical, engineering, and industry-related information. During FY 2019, DTIC is slated to realign under the DoD Chief Management Officer (CMO). Under the CMO, DTIC will focus on the enterprise data management mission of the Department. DTIC also operates DoD Information Analysis Centers (IACs) focused on Defense Systems, Cyber Security and Information Systems, and Homeland Defense and Security. Both DTIC and IAC operations are focused on actively supporting USD(R&E) efforts in generating decisive and sustained U.S. military advantages through the pursuit of three distinct lines of effort, as outlined in the 2018 National Defense Strategy (NDS): 1) Rebuild military readiness as we build a more lethal Joint Force: DTIC’s support, search, collection, collaboration sites, and IAC services offer an underpinning element available to all Agencies, Program Offices, and Research Labs that contribute to the rebuilding of the Joint Force. 2) Strengthen alliances as we attract new partners: The International Agreements Database (IAD-B); support to the OSD Comparative Technology Office (CTO); DTIC’s COCOM reading room providing industry insight into COCOM S&T needs; and participation in NATO’s Science & Technology Organization (STO) Collaboration Support Office (CSO); these efforts provide a complement of tools and cooperative activities that foster the relationships that underpin our alliances. 3) Reform the Department’s business practices for greater performance and affordability: DTIC’s support, search, collection, programming, collaborative sites, and IAC services are a ready source for best practices and collaborative partnering and team building as the Department works to improve processes and access. In concert with the 2018 NDS, DTIC's investment in new tools and capabilities will address customer needs and underwrite the innovation necessary to support DoD’s enduring mission to provide combat-ready military forces to deter war and protect the security of our nation. The Department invests over $90 Billion annually in Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) needed to protect and defend our nation. DTIC preserves the fruits of these costly labors for reuse across the enterprise. As an efficient and cost-effective steward of technical information, DTIC collects data and provides answers to researchers seeking state-of-the-art data relevant to their projects. Through this interchange of information, DTIC accelerates innovation and prevents duplication of experiments, tests, and prototyping activities because researchers can build on what has been done or choose other paths if prior research resulted in a dead end. Using DTIC-created forums, researchers, Warfighters, and industry partners can also rapidly collaborate and connect across the DoD research and engineering (R&E) enterprise. Finally, DTIC provides a department-level map of R&D activity. This map gives decision-makers insight into current and past research, highlighting where progress is being made and by whom. Through the preservation and sharing of the results of billions of dollars of past DoD investments, DTIC increases the return on past investments and accelerates current efforts, saving the Department precious time and dollars. Through its collaboration tools and outreach to the R&E community, DTIC connects researchers across the lab enterprise, to include researchers and engineers, Warfighters and DoD’s industry partners. DTIC’s strategic themes center on customer focus, innovation, operational excellence, and strategic partnering. In support of these themes, DTIC’s organizational efforts are focused on the following priority areas: 1) Search: Develop new algorithms that enable our users to quickly discover useful information and to ensure we present the most relevant information. Semantic (machine learning) mapping of information for comprehensive and precise data retrieval--built on DTIC’s custom thesaurus (for use by DoD and Allied partners). Expand and enhance our data collections to improve the quality and completeness of the data. 2) Collaboration: Provide collaboration platforms for the DoD science and technology community to work together on investments that efficiently deliver solutions to the Warfighter. 3) Access Identity: Strengthen methods of user authentication through the use of public key infrastructure (PKI) tokens, biometrics and other methods to grant access to recognized, trusted and authorized users. Protect intellectual property (IP) and industry proprietary data assets entrusted to DTIC’s stewardship (protect information access). 4) Data Fusion/Analysis: Gather information from multiple data sources and provide knowledge products that fuse the disparate data sets into a single view of the life cycle of research. Present an overarching picture of research investment that enables decision-makers to link multiple efforts with integrated capabilities (employ resources to highest priority efforts and coordinate efforts across Services). 5) Cyber Security: Continue to leverage state-of-the art technologies, processes and practices designed to protect DTIC networks, computers, programs and data from attack, damage or unauthorized access. 6) Data Center Optimization/Cloud: Migrate services to cloud providers to improve availability, survivability, and mission flexibility; to reduce time to deliver new capabilities; to save costs; and to enhance cyber security. 7) Mobile and Emerging Technology: Ensure DTIC products, tools and interfaces are compatible with, and actively support customer/user (DOD, industry partners, academic researchers) devices, operating systems, and browsers. 8) Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI): An ongoing effort to standardize the way the Executive Branch handles unclassified information under a new document-marking framework. 9) Public Access /Open Science (for articles and digital data): Acquire and disseminate DoD-funded, openly published journal articles, free to the taxpayer, increasing access and encouraging innovation. Develop a catalog of digital data sets supporting the conclusions of journal articles. In response to congressional direction contained within the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), DTIC is piloting the following specific efforts: - Innovators Data Base: develop new tools in coordination with the Services and DoD Agencies. - Global Research Watch Program: The goal of the program includes achieving technological decision advantage and attain aided-technology watch and horizon scanning. This effort will forecast the evolution of known technologies, including the maturation of emerging technologies and new applications of existing technologies, and identify new technologies with disruptive potential. - Datasets and Data Repositories: to develop and maintain datasets and other data repositories on research and engineering activities being conducted within the Department. Additionally, DTIC is expanding support and engagement with the newly established OUSD(R&E) organization in order to drive innovation faster: - Support the 2018 NDS: enable the development of lethality, partner engagement, and modernization. - Increase support to RDT&E Budget Activity 6.4, Advanced Component Development & Prototypes (ACD&P) activities. - The hosting of R&E websites and tools. - Establish an information sharing/repository for the Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO), the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), and the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). - Increased knowledge resources focused on R&E Priority Areas. DTIC's restructured Information Analysis Centers (IACs) drive innovation and technological development by anticipating and responding to the information needs of the defense and broader community. The IAC Program Office provides core funding, management and oversight of three IACs, which are chartered by DoD to collect, analyze, and disseminate worldwide scientific and technical information in specialized fields. The IAC multi-award task order contracts ensure that new research, analysis, and development builds on prior investments and puts to work the best practices of government, industry, and academia. The IAC approach was identified as a "best practice" by the Director of Defense Pricing and Contracting and the then-Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in a July 2018 memo wherein they promoted maximum use of the IAC contracts across DoD as "vehicles of first choice." The IACs are structured into three application areas: Cyber Security and Information Systems, Homeland Defense and Security, and Defense Systems. As part of the Department's acquisition improvement initiatives, the IAC multi-award contracts enhance competition, increase usage of small businesses, and reduce costs to the DoD. For the last several years, competition inherent in the IAC model has produced savings of 17-25 percent over projected costs, delivering vetted technical expertise to address many of the complex challenges DoD faces. An independent assessment by the Center for Strategic and International Studies reported that the IACs improve affordability, productivity, and standardization within defense acquisition programs. Providing the acquisition enterprise access to thousands of industry subject matter experts, DTIC's IACs performed over $1.9 Billion of customer-funded research and analysis in FY 2018. The results of the work are a rich source of new material in DTIC's technical repositories and are available to users across the Department (and other federal agencies, e.g., Department of Energy, Department of Homeland Security). This Program Element (PE) supports DTIC mission operations. DTIC focuses on three core mission areas (Collection, Dissemination and IACs) and purchases space and shared services (e.g., human resources (HR); financial management; contracting; IT security; communications; and civilian payroll services) from expert and efficient DoD providers. DTIC recognizes the need to accomplish its mission while increasing the value of its services and products. DTIC has reduced its headquarter staffing, physical footprint, civilian personnel and support contractors. DTIC has restructured the IAC program, continues to consolidate its data center, and is an active participant in the Department’s Fourth Estate IT Optimization effort.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2020
- Source ID
- 0605801KA_6_0400_PB_2020
- Change Summary Explanation
- Program Change: The FY 2020 Base program reduction (-$0.695 Million), as compared to the Previous President’s Budget FY 2020 Base, reflects a net change resulting from the following adjustments: 1) Department adjustments to FY 2020 civilian pay. 2) An unspecified program adjustment levied by the Department. FY 2020 Service Requirements Review Board (SRRB) Reduction: The FY 2020 base program includes a $0.740 Million reduction in accordance with the Department’s recent service contract downsizing effort.
- Service Agency Name
- Defense Technical Information Center
Entities
Organizations
- Defense Technical Information Center
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