Future Trends in Naval Applications: Democratization of Innovation

摘要

Thomas Jefferson said in 1816, 'Laws and institutions must go hand in hand with the progress of the human mind. As that becomes more developed, more enlightened, as new discoveries are made, new truths disclosed, and manners and opinions change with the change of circumstances, institutions must advance also, and keep pace with the times.' The programs we live by, the laws we follow, and even the singular human mind cannot keep pace with the collective advances that technology is enabling. There are several evolving programs focused on transitioning the cumbersome 'business as usual' acquisition process into a more open and all inclusive program. In August of 2014, the White House announced the launch of the U.S. Digital Service (USDS), a new team of America's best digital experts dedicated to improving and simplifying the digital experience that people and businesses have with their government. In April 2015, the DoD introduced the latest update to its effort to make its acquisition system faster and more economical. The document, 'Better Buying Power 3.0,' places greater emphasis on enabling the U.S. military to maintain its technological advantage despite declining defense budgets and rapid gains in technology by some adversaries. The Request for Quotation (RFQ) for the Agile Delivery Services Blanket Purchase Agreement (Agile Delivery BPA) hit the streets in June of 2015. 18F, a newly formed organization within the General Services Administration (GSA), established a government-wide blanket purchase agreement (BPA) featuring vendors specializing in agile delivery services (e.g., user-centered design, agile software development, DevOps). However, the complete answer to the growing divergence in identification and implementation of technology should not exclusively focus on streamlining the acquisitions process, changing investment strategies or engineering processes to support emerging technologies. The question and subsequent answers should extend into enablement and empowerment of an entire work force to harness the rapidly shifting landscape of innovation and technology.