Research for Research Memoranda

Outsourcing is one way, although not the only way, to increase efficiency. Outsourcing, or more generally, competition (whether public or private) provides cost visibility - customers begin to see what they pay for goods and services. It also can provide alternative sources, enhance flexibility, introduce better business practices, and take advantage of emerging technologies and innovations. Outsourcing and competition are sometimes considered something new and untested, as experiments. In fact, they are not. The public sector has relied on the private sector for years. Although it is hard to write contacts for something as risky as developing and manufacturing a major weapon system, the Department of Defense (DOD) has done it repeatedly. DOD has outsourced successfully functions as complex as acquisition, and as straightforward as laundry services. This is not uncharted territory. The purpose of this paper is to take a first look at what outsourcing opportunities exist and what types of cost savings are possible. To glean some insights into implementation, we look at how one naval technical center has outsourced various functions. We consulted several databases to quantify good candidates.

In a period of shrinking resource, the Navy is searching for ways to reduce the costs of operating and supporting its forces. Those savings can be used to help recapitalize the Navy as the turn of the century approaches. Past efforts at reducing support costs have often focused on outsourcing or privatizing work that can be done commercially. Evidence from past research indicates that savings are available form outsourcing work and from public-private competitions. The evidence indicates that the pressure of competition, among private sector firms and between government activities and the private sector, is the source of those savings. In the Program Objectives Memorandum (POM) process, resource sponsors pay a price for each billet they authorize. The Navy has begun to include more explicit personnel costs in the POM process. This paper considers the potential for how that cost information may improve manpower resource decisions and examines broader decision-making frameworks as well.

The purpose of military Humanitarian Assistance Operations (HAO) is to relieve the suffering of populations affected by a natural or man-made disaster. But the military rarely provides relief on its own throughout an operation. Civilian humanitarian relief organizations are often on the ground when the military deploys to an area, or they follow soon after. These relief organizations, many with significant resources and experienced staffs, specialize in providing relief. Whoever is in charge of an operation as a whole, the military and relief organizations usually develop the same relationship. The relief organizations provide the actual relief and the military supports their efforts by providing assets and conducting operations. This relationship make perfect sense, given the expertise of the relief workers and the resources of the military. To support these relief organizations, the military must coordinate its efforts with them. Past operations and exercises, however, have shown that military coordination with relief organizations has been vital, but difficult. This paper covers two types of HAOs -- those in response to a natural disaster and those that are a result of civil strife. The latter types of HAOs, which often cause, exacerbate, or do not allow the mitigation of starvation -- are called complex humanitarian emergencies.