Identifying Governance Best Practices in Systems-of-Systems Acquisition
Abstract
Increasing budgetary constraints and the rapid growth of threats to global security have made the need for a new model of acquisition governance ever more obvious. In order to make better use of its defense dollars while contracting to acquire more advanced defense capabilities, the defense acquisition community in the United States needs to improve governance processes for complex acquisitions. Over the last decade, researchers at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have studied and analyzed the increased challenges of complexity in defense acquisitions. Through workshops, conferences, and publications, CSIS has examined how the government purchases complex systems, what challenges it encounters in doing so, and what key attributes of governance can be modulated to provide more effective acquisition. The study underlying this report explored one simple question: In complex systems of systems, what best practices contribute to better, more efficient acquisitions? To answer this question, the CSIS project team reviewed its past work on complexity in acquisitions, analyzed new scholarship on the subject, and conducted detailed interviews with executives from across the defense acquisition community. This 12-month effort culminated with the production of a new model of acquisition governance model presented in this abridged version of a longer technical report on the research.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 30, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA624740
Entities
People
- David Berteau
- Joshua Archer
Organizations
- Center for Strategic and International Studies