Who should make multi-billion dollar decisions?
Part of the reason for “programming” the budget was to give decision-makers at the top the ability not only to decide on how much money […]
Search Results for ppbs
Panel discussion on maximizing defense innovation
In this episode of Acquisition Talk, we’ll listen in on a panel discussion hosted by the Lincoln Network that focuses on defense acquisition, called, “From […]
The more things change, acquisition reform remains the same
History offers little to suggest that today’s acquisition reform will succeed where its predecessor efforts failed… Behavioral change is needed to effect any transformation. Acquisition […]
Why the zero-based budget is not effective
Following in the steps of the Army, which did a “night court” deep-dive look at its budget to identify about $25 billion in savings to apply towards […]
Rise of centralization post-WWII
To one extent or another, each of the technical services carried out research and development (including test and evaluation), procurement, production, supply, and even maintenance […]
Only the highly efficient can burden inefficient processes
“It is a good thing that we are a rich country, because poorer countries just could not afford to waste this kind of money,” the […]
The market as a discovery procedure
They had a healthfully vague understanding that the dynamic competition which is always at work in free markets. It continually inspires market movements, movements in […]
Where should DARPA focus its innovation?
DARPA has no doubt stimulated many important innovations over the past 60 plus years, from the internet and GPS to drones and autonomous vehicles. But […]
The issue of centralized control in defense budgeting
In assessing change many observers are inclined to stress the more dramatic shifts in policy or even the stated goals of policy. They are perhaps […]
What are they not telling us about Navy experimental exercises?
The Navy and Marine Corps are continuing a series of exercises to understand what technologies and tactics the services need to rapidly develop to fight […]
How are defense officials captured by industry?
Regulatory capture happens when Government officials bias policies in favor of the firms supposedly being regulated. Usually there is no overt corruption involved in capture. […]
To End the Reform Pendulum, Fix the Budget
After a 2009 law increased centralization of defense acquisition decisions, reform began to swing in the other direction starting around 2015. The new emphasis is […]
How Google Works: acquisition review (part 1)
The book How Google Works, by Eric Schmidt and Jonathan Rosenberg, offers many insights in a post-industrial (or post-corporate) world. I’ll discuss the book’s ideas […]
How to save $1 trillion on defense spending
I was recently in an interesting round-table discussion where one gentleman was talking about a plan to cut $1 trillion of defense spending over ten years. He said there was interest on this subject from both the progressive left and the deficit hawk right. But how would you do it?
