(SECAF 2030 S&T) Air Force 2030 Science and Technology Organizational and Process Study at Northwestern University

Northwestern University will lead an Organizational and Processes Study in response to the Secretary of the Air Force 2030 Science and Technology Study announcement. The overall study objective is to identify and recommend effective business processes and organizational structures to manage early stage research, including exploitation of rapidly developing science and technology (S&T). The multi-phase study will target four key themes identified by the U.S. Air Force (USAF): (1) Strategy; (2) Return on Investment; (3) Identifying Research Areas; and (4) Organization Structure. Each theme will engage internal and external experts, Government, and industry partners to identify current processes that can be adopted or adapted by the USAF to prioritize and conduct early stage research. In phase 1, the study team will visit key personnel at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to learn about the history, challenges, and priorities of the USAF related to early stage research. Phase 2 will be a 1.5 day workshop hosted at Northwetsern University’s Kellogg School of Management. A combination of internal/external panels, discussions, short talks, and will provide an opportunity to identify methods, processes, and tools as well as challenges for continued discussion. In phase 3, the study team will combine information from the site visit and workshop into a report for USAF that highlights challenges, recommendations, and opportunities for collaboration. We anticipate that the study will provide recommendations on techniques, best practices, and structure for basic research enterprises use to prioritize, act, and creativity support development of promising future research areas. These recommendations will be provided to USAF via a draft report on June 30, 2018.