September 23, 2021
Presentation is key: Why the Pentagon’s budget data needs a makeover
Within the fiscal 2022 defense budget request, the Department of Defense has invested in the next generation of leading emerging technologies and capabilities. Ironically, at the same time, the way in which the funding of these new capabilities is organized is entirely outdated. As a pleasant surprise, however, the FY22 National Defense Authorization Act, which had its House Armed Services Committee markup hearing earlier this month, requires the DoD to provide reports on how to improve defense budget-related materials.
While improvements to budget data materials don’t earn the award for sexiest line in the NDAA, it was a pleasant surprise to see this issue garner some attention. Although we’ve become accustomed to traversing the treasure trove of budget data, improvements to the materials are long overdue — not only to make the lives of budget analysts easier, but to ensure greater transparency and oversight, thus helping ensure resources align to strategy.
As technology advances, Congress and the DoD need to not only focus investments on capabilities, but also on DoD processes and organizational culture.
Each year, the department releases budget justification documents, which consist of essential budget data, in the form of thousands of PDF pages and several Excel files across multiple websites. The format of these materials has not changed for roughly 20 years.
The first major issue with the presentation of defense budget data is that it’s scattered. Data is dispersed across PDFs and Excel files, making it difficult to accurately and comprehensively cover the financial tracks of an entire program. Moreover, the sorting and tagging functions within the materials are rudimentary at best.
Read the full article from Defense News.
More from CNAS
-
The DownLink: The U.S. National Space Council is Back in Business
Podcast
This week U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris convened the Biden Administration’s inaugural National Space Council meeting. It had three agenda items: STEM education, to create ...
By Sarah Mineiro
-
Who’s to Blame for Asia’s Arms Race?
Commentary
As Beijing has grown stronger, it has also become increasingly belligerent....
By Tom Shugart
-
For JADC2 to Have a Chance, DoD Needs to Get Serious About Data Standards
Commentary
We are past the tipping point where information and decision-centric capabilities are more important instruments of war than kinetic weapons....
By Robert O. Work & Billy Fabian
-
The U.S. Military and the Coming Great-Power Challenge
Commentary
Simply put, China and Russia had no interest in joining a U.S.-led international order. They had long rejected it. They had only lacked the means to openly contest it....
By Dr. Andrew Krepinevich, Jr.
