[email protected] sofia, 2 april 2012

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Bridging the collaboration gap

Results from a global survey of collaboration on coalition operations

Recommendations for smarter Defence collaboration

[email protected]

Sofia, 2 April 2012

2 © Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Contents

Introduction

Overall findings Improving coalition operations

- Collaborative Ways of Working

- Sharing information+ better common operational platform+ driving information management

- Exploiting technology

Improving Defence cooperation

Conclusions


We carried out a global defence survey to identify what could be done to improve coalition working

The global defence survey carried out interviews covering: - More than 100 individuals’ experience of

operations- Wide range of operation types- Respondents from 12 nations- including comments on a total of 340 coalition

partners from 61 nations- Wide range of respondents (all services, front &

back office, senior – junior ranks) - Operations from 1994 to 2008

Respondents were asked to:- rate the effectiveness of different aspects of

coalition operations- comment on what was difficult- Recommend their priorities for improvement

Invited external experts to provide their independent perspective

- Fred Stein, RUSI, HCSS

Note: see report for full survey demographics.

Figure 1: Survey sample – respondent country

Figure 2: Survey sample – coalition countries

US

Canada

UK

Europe

ROW

Sample size=106; Mentions = 340.

US

Canada

UK

Europe

Rest Of World (ROW)

Sample size=97

Introduction


There are three main areas where defence forces can intervene to improve their coalition performance

Introduction

Define roles and responsibilities, policies and procedures, organization structures. Develop new skills through training and development programs.

Implement NEC and the latest technologies to improve interoperability. Create a shared infrastructure and the technical tools to support more effective coalition operations

Create a Common Operational picture through improving the sharing of information among coalition members. Develop and implement common standards and policies to overcome security, language and other constraints to information sharing. Build trust in partners’ data.

COLLABORATIVE WAYS OF WORKING

EXPLOITING TECHNOLOGY

SHARINGINFORMATION


Our analysis aimed to highlight which factors have greatest influence on the effectiveness of coalition operations

Does effectiveness improve over time?

Does effectiveness depend on who you are?

Does effectiveness depend on what you are doing?

Composition of coalition

Nation

Seniority / length of service

Function

Duration of operation

Operation mission

Complexity of operation

Nature of collaboration

Introduction


Contents

Introduction



- Sharing information + better common operational platform+ Information management



Conclusions


Overall effectiveness has remained consistent over time.

Would expect improvement through experience as well as technology innovation

Improvements could be offset by increased complexity of operations

Could be higher expectations of recent operations

A ceiling of effectiveness is not supported by survey findings

The overall findings indicate that coalition effectiveness is not improving over time

Figure 4: Effectiveness of coalitions v mid point

Operation Midpoint

Overall findings

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Source: IBM Global Defence survey


Shared language and culture plus strong overall capabilities are important determinants of coalition effectiveness

Coalitions comprising a broad range of different cultures and languages do not perform as well

Coalitions with a track record of co-operation, training on exercises and working together on coalitions will be more effective (e.g. “5 eyes”, NATO members)

Coalitions with “advanced” members can help improve the overall effectiveness of the coalition

the 4 eyes only nations hampered the information exchange to the other coalition partners. That resulted in a not well informed COP, with information held on 4 eyes only HQ’s.

NATO ops are without a doubt far more effective with regards to military operations.

Overall findings

However, there are several exceptions to these broad findings – we need to look deeper into the effectiveness of coalitions


US encourage collaboration, BUT USING THEIR STANDARDS and POLICIES - not all nations can agree, and secure collaboration is still a pipedream with all but a select few

The countries that are ranked as most effective coalition partners have shared language, culture and experience

Canada and the UK were rated highest as effective coalition partners.

The lower score the US received can be explained as a consequence of its leadership role

The lower scores of other European and the Rest of the World reflect the large number of countries, with different languages and cultures

Figure 5: Average effectiveness of coalition partners

The British were completely integrated into the United States command and control network and effectively acted in the role as U.S. forces. Japan and Korea were coordinated efforts but were not integrated into the command and control system

Overall findings

Coalition PartnerUS Canada UK Europe ROW

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Intelligence respondents and junior officers rated their coalitions more highly

Figure 7: Effectiveness of coalitions v rank

The intelligence respondents rated their coalitions as more effective than operational and C2 functions. Logistics scored their coalitions worst.

More senior officers view collaboration as less successful.

Figure 6: Effectiveness of coalitions v function

Overall findings

Currently, in theater, interagency collaboration is excellent at the lowest tactical levels, but lacks integration at the higher levels of command.

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Operations of shorter duration, appear to be more effective.

This applies to all the areas in which coalitions collaborate - through ways of working, information sharing and exploiting technology

Possible explanations include: - Greater complexity of long

operations- Greater intensity of short

missions- Greater expectations of longer

operations

Operations that last longer appear to be less effective

Figure 8: Effectiveness of coalitions v duration

Collaboration Areas

Overall findings

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Contents

Introduction



- Sharing information+ better common operational platform+ driving information management



Conclusions


Effective coalitions need collaborative ways of working

We identified a number of actions that defence and military leaders could take to tackle the challenges of coalitions and improve ways of working:- Adapt policies and procedures - Change command and organizational

structures - Utilize incentives or rewards - Develop new skills- Make changes to leadership

competencies and behaviours

The key question is which of these actions will have the greatest impact at improving collaborative behaviours ? Effective collaboration is heavily depending on

respect and knowledge of culture, history, norms and values

Collaborative ways of working

Images courtesy of US Department of Defence: Defenceimagery.mil


Our recommendations to improve collaborative ways of working fall under three categories

Improve coalition planning

Implement solutions

Provide leadership and sponsorship

To the extent possible, review collaboration policies and procedures and respond to lessons learned prior to start of operations

Select leaders with an appropriate mix of collaborative behaviors.

A number of actions will need to be taken in combination for optimum impact.

Establish CONOPS/SOP that includes collaboration objectives and procedures.

Emphasise the development of key collaborative skills e.g. language skills and cultural awareness, particularly among leaders.

Preload integrated directory of all organizations/individuals the coalition anticipates collaborating with during operations

Networks work well for specific tasks, hierarchies for more structured decision making.

Organizational flexibility is needed to adapt accordingly.

Use performance metrics to measure and encourage collaborative behaviors.

Identify collaboration "champions in each organization. Ensure they are

identified and encouraged Staff colleges should be joint and multinational. Course content should encourage cross cultural understanding.

Organize multinational exercises specifically designed to address information sharing and collaborative behaviours.

Collaborative ways of working


Effective information sharing is essential to collaboration - by building a Common Operational Picture that aids coalition decision making.

Particular difficulties in information sharing in coalitions include managing with different languages, the different ways information is structured and building sufficient trust to overcome national security concerns.

There have been huge leaps forward in the volume of electronic information available to those on the front line – but is this a help or a hindrance? What improvements are needed that can make practical improvements in the way that information is shared?

The key element in sharing information is not technical - it is the absolute honesty and openness of revealing one's national position

Standardization and will to share information are critical. It is not a technological problem but a cultural one

Sharing information

Images courtesy of US Department of Defence: Defenseimagery.mil



Implement solutions Provide leadership and sponsorship

Always aim towards a shared coalition Common Operational Picture, with an agreed baseline of authoritative data..

Create CONOPs/SOP to capture how the multiple networks and communication mechanisms will be used, and for what purpose

For tactical and non restricted information can minimise policy constraints on information sharing

Develop a structured approach to Information management – role based, with a balance between information availability and capacity to use it.

Implement multi level security systems, with proper partitioning and access control of sensitive data

Continue to progress multi-national harmonization of data standards

Deploy improved user tools to help with effective data analysis and mining

Improve the presentation of information – so as to better support decision making.

Support with adequate training and supervision

Establish proper attitude and commitment to effective collaboration- to build trust in partners data.

Effective communication of the various information sources and networks and how to use them effectively.

Intensify efforts to install the culture of “duty to share” in leadership behaviours and encourage creative approaches to collaboration.

Sharing information

Our recommendations to improve the sharing of information fall under three categories


Effective coalitions require technologies that work together

Many new technologies promise to improve joint working (e.g. from email, streamed video, data links and increasingly networking tools) but are these having the expected impact on the overall effectiveness of the coalition?

Defence forces have invested heavily in technology in recent years. Are they investing in the right things, or are there other priorities that can make a difference to the effectiveness of coalition operations?

Your network is only as strong as your weakest network link. Without Coalition compatible IT policies and procedures the network will be less secure and will prevent the development of compatible IT infrastructure.

Exploiting technology

Images courtesy of US Department of Defence: Defenseimagery.mil


Our recommendations to improve the exploitation of technology fall under three categories


Implement solutions

Provide leadership and sponsorship

Establish and populate a coalition IT Command organization early in coalition planning.

Apply net-centric principles, open architecture and use commercial software where possible to facilitate interoperability of coalition member systems.

Where it is more practical to use the systems of coalition leader, manage the reactions of other coalition members.

Plan for the demands of new technologies (e.g. bandwidth)

Continue to progress multi-national approaches to harmonize technical standards, security policies.

Exploit technologies proven at improving collaboration –

translators and dynamic directory systems containing contact and access data.

Explore the potential uses of web technologies in particular situations Build language translation capabilities into solutions

Establish IT procurement policies that respond to coalitions’ needs

Ensure leaders are aware of how to exploit the latest technologies

Need to execute IT plans in a structured, co-ordinated way and phased way, consistent with the overall strategy

•Support IT deployments with adequate training and

communications.

Exploiting technology


Contents

Introduction



- Sharing information + better common operational platform+ driving Information management



Conclusions



Lessons learned international defence programs

Obstacles in big NATO projects are often the lack of political will to share risks and National interests influenced by interests of National industries

Delays in NATO projects are often caused by differences in political-strategic cultures related to the use of mil forces in conflicts

Interoperability is often not achieved due to the unwillingness of nations to commit time and resources and implement agreed standards.

Successful NATO projects are focused on lease and pooling of strategic airlift , sea transportation and logistic support of expeditionary operations

Common weapon systems maintenance programs by NAMSA are successful EDA has small project focus; most successful in common trainings programs

for helicopter pilots in co-operation with NATO Multinational programs like BICES and Majiic demonstrate that the way to

more Defence cooperation is via regional or via right sense countries



Our recommendations to improve Defence cooperation

Focus on gaps and surplus capabilities

Considerate carefully

partnerships

Define the right collaboration area

Multinational units must be capable to work in complex civil-military environments

NATO should deliver capabilities in a much more agile manner

Pooling and sharing enforces common military power but must keep in place national disposition

Connect the capability development with existing capabilities and gaps on European level

The flexibility and speed to react on new security risks are important that means common acquisition, education and training concepts and agility of defence industries

Safeguard freedom to act in international forums

Multinational cooperation brings advantages, obligations & dependencies

Safeguard national claim in exceptional cases

Value national forces depend heavily on value in coalition

Align with similar political decision models, role of parliaments and strategic culture

Rely in an early phase on trustful industrial partnerships

Start with common acquiring and maintaining

Set up common operational concepts, training and education

Combine and share capability knowledge

Exchange and divide capabilities in the frame from operational collaboration

Decide to specialisation only with partner Nations who have same strategic culture & together huge operational experience


Contents

Introduction



- Sharing information + better common operational platform+ driving Information management



Conclusions


Coalition planners can utilize the results of the Global Defence study to help optimize their coalition’s capabilities Coalition Planners will need to design an approach to their mission that

minimizes the collaboration gap

Increase

Capability

Simplify

Capability

Collaborative WoW Sharing Information Exploiting technology •Define coalition policies and ways of working

•Increase training in collaborative behaviours, cultures + supporting skills in Information and technology

•Use collaboration champions

•Improve COP, with greater trust in partners’ information

•Establish more detailed coalition information standards and procedures

•Invest in more sophisticated Information Management

capabilities

• Simpler COP, perhaps more driven by coalition leader’s information

•Lower volume of information sharing

•Simplify policies and procedures, particularly relating to security (with non restricted data)

• Minimize investment in formal coalition structures

•Simplify policies & procedures, organizational structures

•Adopt a less structured

approach to collaboration

•Establish a Common IT infrastructure, based on agreed standards, NCO strategy etc

•Provide sophisticated technologies to supplement traditional methods

•Adopt a more structured approach to IT procurement and deployment

•Make practical use of most effective existing infrastructure – e.g. of coalition lead

•Rely on interoperable technologies

•Keep it simple (e.g. IT policies)

Conclusions


Our survey respondents were optimistic with a clear message that coalition effectiveness can be improved There has been a long history with little noticeable improvement in the

effectiveness of coalition operations Coalition operations are becoming more complex and more pervasive – the

need to improve collaboration cannot be ignored However there are grounds for optimism:

- There are many very positive reports of effective collaboration – in some instances defence forces may be leading examples

- There is a clear appetite to get to the root causes of poor coalition performance, - Respondents at all levels and in all nations had positive recommendations for how

collaboration could be improved- Relatively new and emerging technologies and techniques are recognized as having

great potential to improve coalition effectiveness – but they will take time to become embedded

- Awareness and access to leading practices is growing as defence forces and others demonstrate innovative ways of collaborating

Conclusions

Efforts to improve collaboration must recognize the multi-national nature of the challenges.


Nations can make progress in five areas to ensure continuous improvement in Defence cooperation,

Include in their Defence planning process as a standard an investigation for multinational cooperation

Focus this investigation on gaps and surplus capabilities in coordination with NATO

Considerate by all means carefully partnerships in relation to the right collaboration area’s

Make use of successful multinational programs run by the EDA and the agencies of NATO

Rely in an early phase on trustful industrial partnership

To build collaboration capabilities in the longer term will require fundamental changes in the way defence forces operate

Conclusions

© Copyright IBM Corporation 2012

Bridging the collaboration gap

Results from a global survey of collaboration on coalition operations

Recommendations for smarter Defence collaboration

[email protected]

Sofia, 2 April 2012

[email protected] sofia, 2 april 2012

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