Welcome to the Acquisition Research Program
Written by Acquisition Chair   

Established in 2003, Naval Postgraduate School’s Acquisition Research Program provides leadership in innovation, creative problem solving and an on-going dialogue, contributing to the evolution of Department of Defense acquisition strategies.

Objectives of the NPS Acquisition Research Program include:

  • Establishing NPS acquisition research as an integral part of policy-making for Departments of Defense and Navy officials.
  • Creating a stream of relevant information concerning the performance of DOD acquisition policies with viable recommendations for continuous process improvement.
  • Preparing the workforce to participate in the continued evolution of the defense acquisition process.
  • Collaborating with other universities, think tanks, industry and Government in acquisition research.

 

Historically, the operating forces of the U.S. military look to the past for lessons learned when developing new strategies. With evolving technologies, world events and increased collaborative efforts globally, the challenge is to apply lessons learned to produce a coherent and executable framework for continued success in military operations.

In achieving this end state, the process followed is important. The emerging strategy should be developed in a free and open forum that invites innovation and debate while maintaining intellectual rigor. An approach such as this is also of value to the business processes of the Department of Defense (DOD). Specifically, the DOD acquisition system would benefit from an ongoing dialogue among practitioners, scholars and students of the process.

The faculty of the Graduate School of Business and Public Policy (GSBPP) at the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) are particularly well positioned to make a major contribution to such a dialogue. Additionally, the students enrolled in the MBA program stand to gain immensely from participation in these discussions via their MBA professional projects and Annual Acquisition Research Symposium  held each May in Monterey, California. Through research and creative problem solving on defense related topics, GSBPP provides a major source of analytical capability for the Department of Defense.

A full spectrum of research is envisioned for the faculty and students of the GSBPP and collaborating partners ranging from scholarly efforts published in relevant peer reviewed journals to articles in acquisition related periodicals and more application oriented student projects.  This range of research will contribute to the dialogue of the DOD acquisition community, be an important element in the continued accreditation of the GSBPP and ground the future DOD acquisition workforce in the issues of the day.

 
 
© 2008 Acquisition Research Program