Defense Technical Information Center
Abstract
The Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) is an enabler to DoD Science and Technology (S&T) delivery of innovation to the warfighter. By capturing the results of today’s research and making it available to all DoD users, DTIC provides the building blocks for the next generation of advancement to allow researcher to start where past efforts left off. DTIC captures the results of S&T efforts, preserves, curates, and then shares that information. DTIC is transforming and modernizing, transforming from a provider of documents to a knowledge and analysis resource, fusing data and providing visualization to increase understanding and show trends. Collaboration tools encourage cross component coordination, and the Information Analysis Centers (IACs) provide industry subject matter experts (SMEs) with answers to quick turn questions with the ability to facilitate further research through short term task orders to complex multi-year research and prototyping efforts. Utilizing the USAF Cloud One environment and working with Defense Innovation Unit and the R&E Joint Reserve Directorate, DTIC is utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies, with Development, Security, and Operations (DevSecOps, or rapid security focused development) capability delivery to provide users state of the art innovative discovery and submission tools. The focus for FY 2024 is continued enhancement of discovery and analysis into Impact Level (IL) 6 (classified) and IL2 (public) networks, while adding consolidation and delivery of a modern submission pipeline based on ecommerce best practices to simplify and reduce effort for submitters, provide them tracking and visibility, while improving the quality and completeness of submissions. In concert with congressional and community interest, DTIC modernizing efforts are informed by the DoD community to transform distribution, enhance collection, strengthen analytical capabilities on S&T content, and support the management of research data sets. Ongoing modernization activities embrace data-driven concepts and leverage commercial innovations. Freed from the limitations of a physical, under powered data center, DTIC will use the on-demand compute resources in the cloud to pre-package sought after insights, reducing the timelines and expertise previously needed. Rather than each search returning in seconds, DTIC will execute multiple concurrent searches in response to user queries to provide a complete portfolio of S&T activity, allowing users to select the most relevant information for their needs. DTIC will note choices and tailor future results for those users. DTIC holds a knowledge base of more than 4.7 million information records and is working with the community to increase completeness and quality of records submitted. To meet Open Science objectives, DTIC will accept inventories of peer reviewed journal articles funded by the DoD and make available without embargo, while identifying digital data sets. DTIC will engage with the Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO) to seek for methods improve data quality, focusing on opportunities possible through enterprise data management. This Program Element (PE) provides for DTIC mission operations, which are focused on three core activities: Content, Discovery, and Information Analysis Centers (IAC): a) Content: Includes the S&T repository DoD and Service records (reports and research data). DTIC acquires and prepares 80 thousand records a year, aligned to critical technology areas, DoD Communities of Interest (CoIs), and technology areas to aid discovery. As state-of-the-art electronic document submission pipeline is implemented, DTIC continues leading open science activities, sharing content with Advana, and conducting gap analysis to identify sources for potential materials, and federating to external collections. Ongoing efforts focus on consolidating input systems and migrating users to new submission interfaces to improve quality of material and realign resources from manual processing to end user tools. Still, DTIC receives thousands of paper and other media documents each year. These documents require manual processing, must be digitized, scanned for PII, verify control markings, and extract the metadata used to aid discovery. Further, DTIC continues to work to complete digitization of hundreds of thousands of documents on microfilm. b) Discovery: Offers search and analysis interfaces on cloud Impact Level (IL) 4/NIPRNet (Controlled Unclassified Information, or CUI), and IL6/SIPRNet (classified), providing for situational awareness of on-going research activity across the Department. By consolidating tools consistency improves, time users spend locating data well be reduced, lessening the need to be trained in collection types and content, and reduce maintenance requirements allowing focus on users and features. Data scientist and analyst will continue to develop models using AI and ML to increase community understanding of the S&T landscape; incorporate commercial analytic and search technologies to improve search results; and provide users key information and a complete picture of activity and progress. By employing tools now and in the cloud, adding natural language query, and user self-service functions, DTIC looks to move the burden of initial analysis from the user by pre-processing and presenting information products that inform and answer questions using data drawn from multiple collections. DTIC will refocus resources on information analysis and interrogation capabilities. c) DTIC's Department of Defense Information Analysis Centers (DoDIAC): the DoDIACs support defense systems, cyber security, information systems, and homeland defense and chem-bio security drive innovation and technological development by anticipating and responding to the research needs of the defense and broader community. The DoDIAC Program Management Office (PMO) provides core funding, management, and oversight of IACs, which are chartered by DoD to collect, research, analyze, and disseminate S&T information in specialized fields to DoD researchers and acquisition professionals. In addition, the PMO manages the $28 Billion IAC MAC, an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) multiple award contract (MAC) that provides vehicles for new research built on prior investments and incorporates the innovations of government, industry, and academia. For the last several years, competition inherent in the IAC model has produced savings of 10-16% under projected costs, while still delivering vetted technical expertise to address DoD’s complex challenges. Providing DoD labs and program managers access to thousands of industry subject matter experts, the IACs performed $2.5 Billion of customer-funded research and analysis in FY 2022, supporting over 700 organizations and over 900 research and development projects. Approximately 10,000 current research artifacts from this R&D work are provided to DTIC's technical repository annually and are available to users across the Department. DTIC MODERNIZATION DTIC’s modernization goal is to ensure users are provided access to the most relevant information, drawn from multiple sources, quickly and in one session are provided with data, trends, and analysis to provide full situational awareness given their role or interest. DTIC is DoD’s single central source and is an essential knowledge resource improving user results increases DTIC’s return on investment (ROI) and S&T’s ROI. Modernization focus areas include the following: - Readiness and Availability: The goal is to be always on. Using rapid failover capabilities of gov cloud, Operating System level zero-day responses from Cloud One, combined with rapid deployment capabilities of DevSecOps, DTIC will increase readiness and availability, including access to on demand compute and storage for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) implementation. Downtime will be reduced and access to burst central processing unit (CPU) capacity will address user needs. - Submissions: DTIC consolidation submission processes break from past practice that tied submissions to a different interface for each collection. The consolidated process builds an integrated single pipeline; with a consistent clear user interface; built on ecommerce capabilities; automated steps validating metadata, tracking information to the submitter and persistent identifiers to integrate Service feeder systems more fully with DTIC submission system. Submitters have access to batch upload, web-based application interfaces, and system-to-system submissions. Enhancing and simplifying the submission system, and automation of the process will remove barriers and result in a more complete picture (quality and quantity) of the state of knowledge and activity accessed by DTIC search, providing improved situational awareness, increased understanding, enabling better decisions. - Search and Analysis: Adopting AI/ML-ready commercial search engine gives DTIC users access to a leading commercial engine and user interface features that will be continuously enhanced. Analysis and visualizations will be a key method of conveying information. Return-on-Investment for S&T will increase as users will spend less time looking for information and more time benefiting from information at DTIC (less rework, optimized efforts, enhanced analysis, and building community), improving coordination of research efforts. Analysis and data mining of DoD collections will uncover new relationships, trends, and opportunities. - Data Sets: This represents a long-term endeavor, greatly aided by cooperative engagement with the services and coordination within R&E. DTIC is coordinating its approach with the Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO) and is working with the DoD S&T community to populate research data sets directory. DTIC is an active member of the Research Data Working Group (RDWG); the Services are engaged in governance and strategy for metadata sharing, application programming interfaces (APIs), and code/tools to use. Increased awareness of existing DoD S&T data sets across the community, revalidating results, and confidence sharing data sets and associated code/tools cross Service/agency will provide a baseline to validate utility of data set preservation. OTHER MISSION PRIORITIES Other priority and complementary DTIC mission activities are described below: - Bring communities together supporting collaboration between researchers, warfighters, industry, academia, Federal agencies, and allies. - Information protection: readily available to trusted users and blocked from unauthorized access. - Develop and manage DoD’s Science Technology Information Policy (STIP). - Maintain compliance with existing public law, regulations, and guidelines. - Continue progress on Congressionally mandated programs, as directed within the FY 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), to include: -- Innovators Information Repository (IIR): IIR (has been integrated into Horizons) will provide a more complete showcase of SBIR/STTR projects. -- Global Research Watch (GRW) Program: Has been moved to the Office of Strategic Intelligence and Analysis (OSI&A), formerly known as the Strategic Intelligence & Analysis Cell (SIAC). -- Data Sets and Data Repositories: Data set reuse reduces time to delivery, cost, and environmental impact. DTIC is actively working to position data sets as a resource for accelerating research. DTIC’s PubDefense provides links to DoD funded data sets produced in extramural research linked to published journal articles. DTIC is leading the Deputy Chief Technology Officer (Science & Technology) (DCTO(S&T)) chartered cross-Service Research Data Working Group to coordinate activities. Management of research data sets opens the opportunity to gain more value from investments in data sets and reduction of time to delivery of new capability. In support of these mission operations, DTIC leases space and critical shared services (e.g., human resources (HR); financial management and accounting; contracting; cloud hosting; common-use IT services and security; communications; and civilian payroll services) from expert and efficient DoD and commercial service-providers. SUMMARY - DTIC actively supports the Secretary’s priorities – defending the Nation, taking care of our people, and succeeding through teamwork. - DTIC plans reflect a strong commitment to address congressional, DoD, and R&E priorities. - Building on progress, DTIC’s focus remains on growing the knowledge base, facilitating sharing, maintaining open repositories, and developing data analytics to advance discovery and understanding. - To provide decision makers and Warfighters insight into the S&T research terrain, DTIC is adopting transformational technologies to enhance collection, distribution, analysis, and research data sets. - DTIC data-related strategy, efforts, and activities are in alignment with the Department’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO) and Research Data Working Group, with continued collaboration on adoption of persistent identifiers and research information standards for data sets.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2024
- Source ID
- 0605801KA_6_0400_PB_2024
- Change Summary Explanation
- Program Change: There is a $0.870 Million program change in the FY 2024 Base President’s Budget request. This change reflects FY 2024 economic price adjustments and the civilian pay increase. The FY 2024 Base program also includes a $0.028 Million reduction attributable to Fourth Estate Information Technology (4E IT) Reform savings.
- Service Agency Name
- Defense Technical Information Center
Entities
Organizations
- Defense Technical Information Center
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