C2 Agility and Requisite Maturity Loughborough University Participation in NATO Task Group SAS-085

The purpose of this proposal is to fund the participation of Professor Michael Henshaw, with his expertise in systems engineering for Network Enabled Capability (NEC), in a new NATO Technical Activity Programme (TAP) on Command and Control (C2) maturity. The need for agility within the multinational forces of NATO is paramount in operations ranging from combat to disaster relief. In particular, the need for effective and agile interoperation with civil authorities is a priority concern. The work of this NATO TAP will lead to improved matching of appropriate C2 to the dynamic complexity of the operational context and the organisations that are responding to it. There are ten nations taking part in the TAP, which is chaired by Dr. David Alberts (of US Dept. Of Defense) who is recognised internationally as a leading thinker in C2 and whose work on Warfare in the Information Age has fundamentally changed the nature of western military operations.NATO has conducted a number of studies in C2 maturity and these have indicated the importance of matching the sophistication of the C2 to the complexity of the operation or event in which it is deployed. Studies of disaster relief, such as the New Orleans floods and Pakistani earthquake of 2005, have revealed significant failings in the relief effort due to the mismatch of the military and civilian C2 and the problems associated with using a sophisticated C2 in the absence of sufficient technology and infrastructure. Furthermore, as the operational situation changes dynamically, the C2 should change correspondingly; an understanding of how it should change is the objective of the TAP.The NATO TAP will not only research requisite C2 maturity, it will transform the research outputs into core documentation and educational materials to enable force transformation.Between Aug06 and Apr09, Prof. Henshaw directed an EPSRC-BAE Systems sponsored research programme in systems engineering (called NECTISE) to support industry's response to the NEC challenge. A model for achieving agility was developed and systems engineering tools and processes needed for more agile systems were created. The outputs were, necessarily, focused on the systems to be developed by industry. The NATO TAP focuses on the military (and civil) decision making and, thus, forms the complementary part of the overall system of interest. Prof. Henshaw's participation in the working group will provide a systems engineering input to the work of the group and enable a better understanding of C2 by the systems engineering community to inform the developments of the future. The high level objectives of participation can, therefore, be summarised as:- dissemination of knowledge and methods developed by the systems engineering community in the areas of complex, dynamic, and agile systems of systems into the C2 community in order to enhance the exploitability of new knowledge within both communities. - extend the impact of the EPSRC-sponsored NECTISE research programme on the international stage- create the opportunity to develop new multi-disciplinary and international research programmes in the area of complex, dynamic systems Success Would Look Like:- Direct application of NECTISE models and other outputs in the SAS-085 Task Group products.- Significant advances in the definition of C2 and requisite C2 maturity- At least two research papers published in high quality systems journals (IJSSE and IEEE Systems Journal) bringing together knowledge from systems engineering and C2.- Improved educational material for military and civilians/industry in the area of C2 for Network Enabled Capability.- Submission of new research proposals in agile, complex systems- Participation of Loughborough University in a lecture series on C2 agility.

The impact can be considered from two points of view: firstly, the impact of the task group activity overall and secondly the impact of Prof. Henshaw's participation in the task group. The overall impact of the task group will be to improve the agility and reliability of NATO armed forces working in collaboration with each other or independently. Furthermore, the studies upon which this work is founded and the plans for dissemination of the outputs will lead to more effective command and control working between armed forces and the civil authorities and NGOs. Thus, the ultimate impact will be an improvement in the protection and relief of civilians in conflict zones and in disaster situations. Prof. Henshaw's participation will impact the task group itself through the inclusion of systems engineering expertise and through the contribution of research outputs and knowledge from a previously EPSRC-sponsored research programme in Network Enabled Capability (NECTISE). In this sense, participation in the task group will lead to greater impact of the NECTISE research. Impact will be achieved through the task group products (report and education programme) that will be communicated to military and technical personnel working in NATO and more widely through publication on the Command and Control Research Program website. Additional outputs, authored by Henshaw, will include a paper targeting the Int. J. on Systems of Systems that will address the inclusion of C2 considerations in systems engineering, and a paper targeting the IEEE System Journal that will extend previous work on the development of scenarios to test systems, again through the inclusion of C2. The purpose of these will be to improve systems design for agility. Systems Engineers will benefit through seminars at the Systems Engineering Innovation Centre and the updating of two key systems-based MSc./MEng. modules (one led by Prof. Henshaw). This will impact both industry and academic systems engineers. Collaborative papers with other members of the task group are anticipated; these will target the Int. Command and Control Research and Technology Symp., which is attended by C2 specialists and others involved in systems research. It is intended to develop international collaborations in research that build on the work of the task group. An area of mutual interest with groups in the US and the Netherlands is that of dynamic complexity. The challenges of matching systems complexity (which includes the C2) to the prevailing situation and the dynamic changes associated with a situation (e.g. disaster zone) are an area of important research. The relationships developed through this task group will lead to research opportunities involving the systems engineering and C2 communities associated with measuring and responding to dynamic, complex environments. As currently constituted, the task group has no other systems engineering membership; Prof. Henshaw's participation is, therefore, an important opportunity for the systems engineering community to impact the development of C2 and to use knowledge derived through participation in the task group to improve systems engineering practices.