Expert Related Publication Feeds

Global Force Posture Under the Threat of Sequester

ian — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

In a recent discussion on Department of Defense (DoD) budget reductions, we asked two dozen seasoned scholars and practitioners one simple question: does anyone disagree that we could cut defense spending further yet still preserve the essential capabilities we have today?

Super Committee Fallout and the Implications for Defense

ian — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The “Super Committee” did not produce any plan for deficit reduction, setting in motion mandated cuts under sequestration. How did we get here? What happens next? What does it mean for the Department of Defense?

Q1: How did we get here?

Defense Industry Access to Capital Markets

gsanders — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Private companies rely on cash raised from capital markets to finance ongoing operations as well as new investments in long-term assets (such as facilities and equipment), independent research and development, and retirement of old debt. Despite the unique role defense companies play in U.S. national security, they are as beholden to these capital markets as any other private firm.

Structure and Dynamics of the U.S. Federal Services Industrial Base, 2000-2010

gsanders — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. government has a permanent and, until recently, growing reliance on contracts with the private sector for a wide range of services. For the past six years, the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group (DIIG) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has tracked the trends driving the services industry.

DHS Contract Spending and the Supporting Industrial Base

jdunton — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400

This report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) examines the contracting practices of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the contractor base that supports it.

Defense Spending and Deficit Reductions: Funding the Future

ian — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400

It is common wisdom that the federal budget defi cit is the biggest challenge facing the U.S. government today, but the debate rages over how to reduce that defi cit and bring under control the growing debt burden.

DoD Workforce Cost Realism Assessment

jdunton — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Over the past decade, federal spending on service contracts more than doubled in constant terms, from $164 billion in 2000 to $343 billion in 2010. Policymakers have recently attempted to reduce or even reverse this increase, emphasizing instead what is now called the “insourcing” of services contracts.

Cost and Time Overruns for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (2011)

gsanders — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Cost and time overruns in Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) have become a high-profile problem attracting the interest of Congress, government and watchdog groups. According to the GAO, the 98 MDAPs from FY2010 collectively ran $402 billion over budget and were an average of 22 months behind schedule since their first full estimate.

Cost and Time Overruns for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (2011)

rlivergood — Wed, 11 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Cost and time overruns in Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) have become a high-profile problem attracting the interest of Congress, government and watchdog groups.

These are the summary data tables for MDAPs which will be presented at the May 2011 Naval Post Graduate School annual Acquisition Symposium.

Defense Contract Trends

ian — Fri, 06 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

In DoD contracting overall, services grew at a much faster pace in the past 20 years than did products and R&D, and were it not for combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan would possibly have continued to receive the lion’s share of DoD contract awards.

A Diminishing Transatlantic Partnership?

jdunton — Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Over the past five decades, the United States, its NATO allies, and other European Union countries have been partners in maintaining transatlantic security and leading contributors to international stability and economic development.

Defense Contract Trends

ian — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0500

A new edition of this publication became available on May 11, 2011.

Structure and Dynamics of the U.S. Federal Professional Services Industrial Base, 1995-2009

gsanders — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. government has a permanent and growing reliance on contracts with the private sector for a wide range of professional and support services. For the past five years, the CSIS Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group has tracked the trends driving the professional services industry since 1995.

European Defense Trends

jdunton — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The international security challenges facing European governments are more complex than ever. In parallel, the economic recession has forced governments to make difficult choices in their defense budgets that will greatly affect their near- and long-term military capabilities.

National Security and the Commercial Space Sector

ian — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0400

This report examines the relationship between U.S. national security and the commercial space sector, with specific focus on the current state of the space launch industry and launch market. Building on a CSIS annotated briefing released in 2008, entitled “Health of the U.S.

Final Report on Lessons Learned

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In May 2009, CSIS was chartered by the Department of Defense to determine lessons learned from the activities in Iraq by the Task Force for Business and Stability Operations to support military missions.

Cost and Time Overruns for Major Defense Acquisition Programs (2010)

gsanders — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Cost and time overruns in Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) have become a high-profile problem attracting the interest of Congress, government and watchdog groups. According to the GAO, the 96 MDAPs from FY2008 collectively ran $296 billion over budget and were an average of 22 months behind schedule.

Implementation of the Weapon Systems Acquisition Reform Act of 2009

gsanders — Wed, 26 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

The primary challenge for today’s defense acquisition system is to execute acquisition programs without major schedule delays and cost overruns. Meeting that challenge has been the goal of acquisition reform improvements for decades. Today, all parties agree that the time is right for renewed efforts to improve the performance of the defense acquisition system.

European Defense Trends: Annotated Brief

gsanders — Tue, 18 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

An in-depth understanding of the supply and demand sides of the European defense market and the regulatory framework that governs it is critical to assessing broader European defense policies and capabilities.

DIIG Current Issues No. 21: The Time Is Right for Export Control Reform

jhofbauer — Mon, 17 May 2010 00:00:00 -0400

Over the last year, a flurry of meetings, papers, announcements, and legislative initiatives has focused on an issue area that has bedeviled policy makers and industry officials alike for decades: how to reform the U.S. Government’s “byzantine amalgam of authorities, roles, and missions” relating to export controls.

National Security and the Commercial Space Sector

gsanders — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0400

In this DRAFT report, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) examines the relationship between U.S. national security and the commercial space sector, with specific focus on the current state of the space launch industry and launch market. Building on a CSIS annotated briefing released in 2008, entitled Health of the U.S.

DIIG Current Issues No. 19: Fixing the Shortfalls: Defense Budget Trends and Long Term Impact

jhofbauer — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0500

Defense budgets run in cycles, with periods of increase followed by periods of decline. For years, defense analysts have been predicting that the defense budget is coming down, but it has been on an historic run for the past decade. The FY 2009 Department of Defense (DoD) Authorization Act was 65 percent higher than in FY 2001 in real dollars.

Organizing for a Complex World: The Way Ahead

jhofbauer — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Complex defense and network-centric systems have proven to be difficult to develop on time and on budget, a consequence of the complexity inherent in both the systems and the acquisition environment. These programs pose governance and management challenges, and it is difficult to know in advance the program-management model most suitable for a given program.

DIIG Current Issues No. 8: The President's Government Contracting Review

Mon, 30 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0400

Sound companies always benefit from smarter customers.

Structure and Dynamics of the U.S. Federal Professional Services Industrial Base, 1995-2007

Thu, 12 Feb 2009 00:00:00 -0500

The U.S. government has a permanent and growing reliance on contracts with the private sector for a wide range of professional and support services. For the past three years, CSIS research has tracked the trends driving the professional services industry since 1995. This report analyzes these trends through 2007, the most recent year for which reliable data are available.

Transitioning Defense Organizational Initiatives

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

The CSIS U.S. Defense and National Security Group and Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group examined eight years of defense reforms during the administration of George W. Bush and identified for the incoming administration (1) successful reforms to maintain, (2) partially successful reforms to improve, (3) and failed experiments to halt.

DIIG Current Issues No. 3: Defense Economics

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

While the U.S. economy slowed in the third calendar quarter, defense spending leaped, far outstripping other government agencies. It is tempting to draw the conclusion that defense spending is somehow not aligned with the rest of the economy. Here is why that conclusion is incorrect.