Defense Resourcing for the Future: Building a Strong Technical Foundation

A report written by Service Design Collective

The original report is available for download on our website.

About this project

Developing the national defense budget is no small task. The Department of Defense (DoD) budget exceeds $800 billion, nearly 13% of the total 2024 budget and 3% of GDP. It is made up of 48 unique investment activities spread over 23 different appropriations and managed by more than 1,700 distinct budget line items. Every year, DoD and Congress work together to bring the budget to fruition. In 2024 that collaboration is called the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process. While rigorous, the PPBE process takes significant time and effort.

In 2022, Congress established the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform to investigate the PPBE process and make recommendationjs for improvement. In 2023, The Commission released its interim report. In 2024, the Commission released a final report, entitled Defense Resourcing for the Future.

Between October 2023 and March 2024, Service Design Collective collaborated directly with Commission staff to explore the DoD’s technology, communication, information sharing, and data practices. Portions of our research were incorporated directly into the Commission’s final report.

This supplementary work is designed as a starting point for recommendation 19, “Establish Classified and Unclassified Communication Enclaves.” However, our recommendations are broadly applicable to the five critical areas for reform outlined in the Commission’s report. In particular, investing in Human-centered Design, improving product delivery, and implementing data management best practices will lead to more effective uses of technology across the enterprise.

Research for this project was funded by a grant from the Federation of American Scientists.