department of the navy international programs …

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DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

OFFICE

STRATEGIC PLAN 2021

DISTRIBUTION A. Approved for Public Release upon removal of attachment; distribution unlimited.

MARITIME SUPERIORITY THROUGH PARTNERSHIP

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VISION AND MISSION

Our Vision: Lead the Department of the Navy Security Cooperation (SC) enterprise in building enduring global partnerships and advancing global maritime security.

Our Mission: Strengthen global maritime alliances, partnerships, and coalitions through security and technology cooperation.

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR TO NIPO STAFF Navy International Programs Office’s (NIPO) foundational imperatives remain Alignment and Execution within a “Yes-if” culture. As we entered FY20, we identified four strategic focus areas based on our assessment of the current geopolitical environment. These four Lines of Effort (LOEs) were: 1) Contribute to the "good" column of U.S. Partnership 2) Better competitor in the great power rivalry 3) Explore opportunities for revolutionary process change in the Tech Security & Foreign Disclosure policy development and policy process review 4) Continue improving Department of the Navy (DoN) SC synergy Although these LOE went beyond our direct control and authorities, they were areas where we could help lead forward progress. Then, due to COVID19’s global impact, we added a 5th LOE: COVID Response, Adjustments, and Accelerations. I am very happy to report solid gains in all these areas, and we have provided separate feedback as to many of our accomplishments. Thank you for answering the call! Looking forward, our leadership team recently conducted a four-day strategic workshop facilitated by the Naval Post Graduate School (NPS). This workshop allowed us to start with a clean sheet, challenge our past assumptions and strategy, bring in new thoughts and ideas, and ultimately, to tighten up our thinking. In the end, we found that our imperatives of Alignment and Execution remain valid, and that our “Yes-if” culture remains essential to success and who we are. Therefore, what you will see in the pages that follow is a similar, yet slightly tighter strategic plan. We base this plan going forward on three LOE (See Figure 1): 1) Alignment 2) Execution 3) Workforce Agility



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Figure 1 describes NIPO’s Strategic Imperatives, or LOE The following pages will be both familiar and slightly nuanced towards the future and why. As has been our practice, this document will set our course and framework, as we get underway in 2021. Course corrections will be required. The unpredicted will become a priority. When writing the 2020 strategic guidance, COVID19 was not in our scan or our vocabulary. Now it has shaped much of what we do. Appendix A provides our initial objectives and tasks that support each of these FY 2021 LOE. Most of our activity will remain aligned with these LOE. Our 2020 strategic focus areas remain and are now categorized under these three LOE. Moreover, our “Yes-if” culture remains foundational to who we are and how we execute. One of the key tools we used in our workshop was a Strategic Positioning Approach. This approach (see Figure 2) identifies the position that our international products, or services, hold in the view of our friends, allies and partners. Effective positioning is key to knowing where we need to compete versus our international rivals. This strategic approach will help us provide better value than competitors and communicate this differentiation in an effective way. To be the partner of choice, we must continue our Full-Spectrum approach – but we must do so with greater speed, in anticipation of demand and reducing total life cycle cost. History shows the vast majority of DoN acquisition programs are eventually exported to our partners and allies. We must plan for exportability earlier in the acquisition process to reduce total life cycle cost to both the U.S. taxpayer and our international partners. As illustrated in Figure 2, our biggest focus areas of gain are Delivery Speed to Customer, and Tech Release. We will maintain our diligence regarding Quality of



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Product, Cost, and Quality of Follow-on Support. You will see many of our objectives are targeted appropriately.

Figure 2 illustrates SC Strategic Positioning (assessed as of OCT 2020)

ALIGNMENT

SC tasks are executed across various organizations. To ensure common outcomes, alignment is essential. We will continue to align our resources, priorities, engagements, and messaging with senior leaders, including SECNAV, ASN RD&A, USD (A&S), CNO, Commandant of the Marine Corps, Commandant of the Coast Guard, COCOMs, DSCA, DTSA, and Fleet Commanders. We will maintain and continuously refresh the Alignment Roadmap as our primary alignment tool, especially with Fleet Commanders. Our Alignment efforts with each Fleet Commander will remain centered on our semi-annual International Requirements Board (IRB), where the Fleet Commander relays any changes in SC priorities, and we (the SC enterprise) provide an overview of our SC activities that contribute to those objectives. We will conduct Gap Review Boards (GRB) with OPNAV Resource Sponsors in an effort

Figure 3 highlights DON SC Synergy



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to address USN capability gaps through international programs. We will continue to support and operationalize the Navy Security Cooperation Council (NSCC), the OPNAV Building Allies and Partners (BAP) initiative and DSCA’s Strategy to Capability framework.

To achieve SC synergy, we will align with and support COCOM, NCC, CNO, and DoD strategic documents when released (see Figure 3).

EXECUTION

No other DoN organization is better positioned than NIPO to drive International Armaments Cooperation activities whether through the identification of, negotiation and establishment of International Cooperative Programs or under the various elements of Security Assistance, including Foreign Military Sales and Building Partner Capacity (BPC) through Case Execution, enabling and delivering capability and capacity as promised. To achieve this, policy, technology, and regional activities must be in sync with aligned priorities. Our efforts to improve Execution will focus on Organizational and Process Optimization, Metrics, Collaboration, Communication/Outreach, Information Technology and Prioritization.

Organizational and Process Optimization: We will identify and analyze constraints to determine where delays occur in our processes. We will optimize workload and shed non-essential work, assume risk where necessary and focus on key constraint areas. We will shift labor to key areas in order to optimize throughput, while maintaining and enhancing a talented and motivated workforce. Typically, when program challenges become an overall organizational priority, we have already lost unrecoverable schedule. To reduce the incidence of such inefficiencies, we will aggressively administer efforts on early steps where management attention and resource adjustment can make a difference on the long-term case timeline. We will continue to compare alignment/best practices across the SC enterprise. As part of our organizational DNA, we will continue to find ways to expedite the delivery of coalition capacity and capability, from when the requirement is understood, to when the article or service is delivered. We will continue to seek revolutionary or evolutionary changes in processes, seek efficiency through parallel efforts, delegation of efforts, removing redundant steps or prioritizing specific steps.

Metrics: We will include alignment and accuracy in our data reconciliation efforts, compare “apples-to-apples” and establish trust in our data. Although our current metrics are solid, we will move beyond summarizing past performance. We will develop more leading metrics and utilize advanced analytics techniques to allow timely reaction to execution challenges or signal lagging processes.

Collaboration, Communication and Outreach: Great organizations are transparent, trustworthy, embrace and exploit diversity, skillful in communications and fully accountable for their output. We will maintain effective internal communications with the NIPO staff



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and external communications with the Naval Enterprise, DoD and other interagency stakeholders. In addition, we will continue our robust outreach efforts to align U.S. industry plans and efforts with U.S. government SC objectives.

o We will proactively achieve results by clearly understanding senior level policy

guidance and effectively managing stakeholder expectations. o We must continue working as teammates (both internally and externally) regardless

of where we sit or to whom we report. o We will coordinate, cooperate, and most importantly, COLLABORATE with each

other, our stakeholders, and our partners to achieve success.

Information Technology: We will use existing tools efficiently and effectively. We will assimilate new tools and products quickly. We will leverage innovations and expertise from across the acquisition and SC enterprise.

Prioritization: Where we are resource constrained, we will prioritize efforts to achieve alignment roadmap objectives.

WORKFORCE AGILITY

Workforce agility is an added LOE since so many of our identified efforts, now and moving forward, are directed towards further advancement of our talented and specialized workforce. In addition, we know that this investment and focus is absolutely necessary given the complexities of our business, expanse of our responsibilities, and diversity of our workforce – not to mention the challenges of our era.

Set the Standard: We will ensure active adherence to the principles of Equal Opportunity, Equal Employment Opportunity, workplace diversity and inclusion, and the prevention of sexual harassment. We will exhibit the highest standards of personal integrity and ethical behavior; recognize and reward top performers; and promote a healthy work/life balance.

Enhance our Talented and Motivated Workforce: As the international SC environment

becomes increasingly complex and fast-paced, developing and maintaining a fully proficient, diverse, inclusive, and intrinsically motivated workforce is our top priority. We will continue to empower, equip, train, mentor, and guide this workforce while creating an environment that promotes enhanced employee engagement, performance, satisfaction, and retention.

o We will continue to improve and assess our organizational culture o We will continue to support implementation of the 2017 National Defense

Authorization Act (NDAA) and Security Cooperation Workforce Development (SCWD). We will provide for better training and career paths for the civilian and



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military personnel conducting the SC mission and support new certification requirements.

o We will continue to utilize and refresh the “SC War Room” to share best practices and improve communication to the workforce and enterprise stakeholders.

o We will continue to educate the SC workforce to reinforce our “Yes-if” culture and better respond to our environment of Great Power competition.

Change in Risk Balance: Our "Yes-if" mindset regarding policy and execution is essential

to achieve the speed required in today's Great Power Competition environment. The world is changing and the risk balance has shifted in an ever more competitive environment.

Let me close by thanking all of you for the tremendous work, agility, perseverance, and professionalism displayed throughout 2020. We ended the FY with a 15-20% increase from historical norms in LORs received, LOAs and amendments offered, TSFD policies achieved, Third Party Transfers, International Agreements, and Partner and Industry engagements. Quite remarkable. A combination of continued demand, urgency to execute available defense dollars, geopolitical environment, remote work efficiencies, and ability to adjust work norms in this dispersed environment. OUTSTANDING!

As we begin to attack 2021, we will take this success and momentum forward - capture what new efficiencies we have discovered and absorb as standard – reinitiate what brings value as constraints are removed this coming year – and do away with or modify past non-value added efforts and processes. We will continue to build on our successes, learn from our shortcomings, and address the unexpected as professionally as we have demonstrated this past year. As always, it continues to be an honor and privilege to serve this mission area, at this time in history, with all of you.

“Maritime Superiority Through Partnership!”

F. D. MORLEY Rear Admiral, U.S. Navy

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