Three of the Department of Defense’s initiatives
designed to bring experimental technologies into actual
use are “appropriately targeted” but “have limited
measures” to assess their success and payoff, the
Government Accountability Office has said.
DoD has experimented with a number of approaches to
manage the Technology Transition Initiative, designed
to transition technology from the lab to acquisition
programs, the Defense Acquisition Challenge Program,
designed to introduce cost-saving technologies, and the
Quick Reaction Fund, a prototype testing initiative,
said the report.
It said it is too early to tell what impact they are
having on DoD’s $69 billion worth of technology
development over the past three years, but that reports
from the programs point to a range of benefits.
The benefits include fielding technological development
quickly, costs savings, and the ability to tap into
technologies from companies new to defense work, and
war fighter benefits such as aerial drones capable of
detecting chemical and biological agents or a compact
water purification device, according to GAO-05-480.
It said, however, that the programs have completed
only 11 of 68 projects funded in fiscal 2003 and 2004
and that just four of those were fully in play.
The DACP has so far “adopted the most disciplined and
structured process for selecting and managing projects”
and has reported few management problems aside from
having to process a large number of proposals, said GAO.
It said the TTI has established selection criteria and
processes as well but may not be “reaching its intended
audience and has had less success in tracking its projects.”
The QR Fund, which has a flexible process to field
innovations has had some difficulty selecting, management
and tracking projects, GAO said.