Initiatives & Analysis (I&A)

Overview

Mission & Vision

Initiatives & Analysis (I&A) aims to achieve strategic impact with technology innovation. Disciplined people, thought and action can achieve superior operational capability without excessive, non-productive hierarchy, bureaucracy, or management controls.

    I&A fosters innovation by:
  • Discerning unarticulated operational needs
  • Identifying and leveraging "underappreciated" trends (emerging technologies gaining momentum)
  • Willingness to question conventional wisdom.
        • High payoff risk is acceptable when failure results in value added knowledge to inform future doctrine, concepts, and requirements. I&A programs and projects are encouraged to trade across 5 dimensions without sacrificing rigor:
      • Cost
      • Schedule
      • Performance
      • Process
      • Requirements
Contact
Initiatives & Analysis (I&A)
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Resources

Programs
Initiatives & Analysis has three primary components:

Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) Agility:

The increasingly wireless nature of the global economy, coupled with advances in cognitive radio frequency (RF) technologies, present opportunities to develop new capabilities that sustain and extend DOD’s military advantage in the EMS domain. The EMS Agility projects pursue capability development that contribute to increased maneuverability in the EMS, resilience against adversary effects in the EMS domain, and cognizance of an increasingly complex, dense spectrum environment.

Spectrum Access Research & Development Program (SAR&DP):

The $500M Spectrum Access R&D Program (SAR&DP) was initiated via partnership between the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research & Engineering), DoD Chief Information Office, and Joint Staff J6 to develop and implement innovative spectrum technologies that accomplish the following:

  • Mitigate risks associated with the third Advanced Wireless Services (AWS-3) repurposing of DoD spectrum to commercial use and associated transition
  • Enhance Operational Capability to maintain resilience in the EMS environment

Rapid Innovation Fund (RIF):

The Rapid Innovation Fund provides a vehicle for small businesses to provide the Department with innovative technologies that can be rapidly inserted into acquisition programs that meet specific Defense needs. The fund is administered jointly by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, and Office of Small Business Programs.

Additional information on the RIF can be found on the Defense Innovation Marketplace RIF Portal.