Strategic Engagement in Global S&T: Opportunities for Defense Research (2014)

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D Sample Questions Asked During the Committee’s Fact-Finding Visits Committee visits to Naval Research Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory and Army Research Laboratory Some questions asked of the laboratories on Technology Awareness and Global Engagement  Is global engagement in S&T an explicit objective in any research strategy or planning documents?  What is your strategy for determining what the ‘best’ S&T is?  What mechanisms does lab management employ to facilitate interna- tional awareness and engagement among its technical staff?  How do you interact with your overseas field offices?  How do you engage with the external research community in each of your fields? Specifically, with whom and how do you engage interna- tionally?  How do you capture the information you receive, both from confer- ences and from your direct interaction with foreign researchers? How, and with whom, is this information shared (across research groups, lab-wide, with ASD(R&E) and across DOD S&T enterprise, and be- yond)?  How do you leverage S&T knowledge and investments made by other researchers across USG?  What are the biggest barriers to: 1) understanding what important S&T is happening globally? 2) being engaged in international collaborations?  What can be done to remove the barriers mentioned above. 113 

114 Strategic Engagement in Global S&T Questions/discussion topics for meetings with overseas organizations Mission:  Do you have an international S&T mission? What is it? o Is it to maintain S&T Awareness? o Is it to build S&T collaborations with foreign partners? How do you choose global partners? o Is it to fund research in other countries? Is it to influence future re- search priorities/investments? o Is there a short–term versus and long-term mission or strategy? Technology Awareness:  What mechanisms do you use to maintain global S&T awareness?  How do you prioritize which technologies or researchers you would like to engage with?  What is your strategy for determining what the ‘best’ science is?  Do you use data analytics?  Do you participate in conferences? Which conferences do you attend and why?  Is your S&T engagement strategy specific to individual countries? Building and Sustaining Relationships:  For each of the following organizations in your country, how would you characterize their willingness to engage with you in S&T: univer- sities, industries, and government agencies? With which have you been the most and least successful, and why? Does your engagement approach vary across each sector?  What about for U.S. universities, U.S. industries, and U.S. govern- ment agencies (both those in the U.S. and those with overseas offic- es)?  What is your relationship to your national defense science enterprise?  Do you ever work with the U.S. defense science enterprise?  How do you build and sustain relationships with foreign researchers or organizations? Coordination:  How do you capture the information you receive, both from confer- ences and from your direct interaction with foreign researchers?  How, and with whom, is this information shared?  How do you create opportunities to integrate foreign research into your own organization’s larger S&T portfolio? 

Appendix D 115 Metrics:  How do you measure the value or success of your global S&T en- gagement efforts in the near-term (1-5 years) and longer-term (5-10 years)?  What are the biggest barriers to success?  Do you have examples of work, research, products, etc. that resulted from international research engagement or collaboration? Career Development:  What is the career trajectory for staff who are involved in internation- al S&T programs 

116 Strategic Engagement in Global S&T Questions for the Services’ Overseas Offices Mission:  What is your mission? o Is it S&T Awareness (eyes and ears on the ground? o Is it building S&T collaborations with U.S. partners in DoD Labs? in universities? o Is it to fund actual research? o Is it to influence research priorities/investments, and if so, for whom? o Is there a short–term (e.g. taking advantage of a new S&T capa- bility) and long-term (e.g. building an enduring relationship in S&T collaboration) mission?  How would you differentiate your mission from that of the other Ser- vice offices in Tokyo?  How is your mission complementary or different with respect to sup- porting DOD leveraging of S&T overseas? Technology Awareness:  What mechanisms do you use to maintain global S&T awareness?  How do you prioritize which technologies or researchers you would like to engage with?  What is your strategy for determining what the ‘best’ science is?  Do you use data analytics?  Which conferences do you attend and why?  Do you have a different S&T engagement strategy for each country in your area of responsibility? Building and Sustaining Relationships:  For each of the following, how would you characterize their willing- ness to engage with you in S&T: universities, industry, and govern- ment? With which have you been the most and least successful, and why? Does your approach for S&T engagement vary across each of these sectors?  What funds does your Tokyo office have to support foreign research- ers? How do you prioritize which projects you will fund? Which countries receive the majority of funding? How many of these pro- jects go on to receive subsequent funding from your home office?  How do you sustain relationships with foreign researchers (particular- ly ones with whom you do not have established bilateral science pro- grams, such as the Taiwan NanoBio program)?  Do you work primarily with university researchers or government of- ficials (and if so, are they foreign defense science)? 

Appendix D 117  How do you sell “collaboration or partnership with the U.S.” to for- eign researchers (what is your elevator pitch)? What does the U.S. gain from these collaborations? Coordination:  How do you capture the information you receive, both from confer- ences and from your direct interaction with foreign researchers?  How, and with whom, is this information shared?  How do you coordinate your efforts with the other Service offices in Tokyo?  How do you leverage S&T knowledge and investments, as well as personal/institutional/governmental relationships, made by the other Service offices in Tokyo?  Do you interact with other U.S. agencies that have international S&T offices?  What is your relationship with NATO STO and TTCP? Connectivity to your U.S. S&T Office:  How do you stay abreast of the S&T areas of interest to your U.S. counterparts?  How do you create opportunities to integrate foreign research into your Service’s larger S&T portfolio?  Do you have examples of work that you funded or introduced that was subsequently funded by your U.S. office? Metrics:  How do you measure success in the near-term (1-5 years) and longer- term (5-10 years)? E.g., is it how much funding they give out? how well they connect people and technology to the U.S? Are there citable example of people or technology that has benefitted the U.S. DoD?  What are the biggest barriers to success?  What steps have you taken to compensate for shrinking travel budgets while maintaining awareness of global S&T?  Do you believe you have adequate staffing (in terms of number and scientific expertise) and resources (e.g., for infrastructure, programs, conferences, site visits, funding for foreign research, etc.) to accom- plish your mission? 

118 Strategic Engagement in Global S&T Career Development:  What was your most immediate position?  What kind of training, if any, did you receive for this position?  What is the typical career trajectory for staff rotating through the overseas offices?