The Defense Department is working on a new strategy to guide investments in prototyping and
innovation initiatives as part of the congressionally mandated reorganization of the office of the under
secretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.
The Pentagon, in a written response to a draft Government Accountability Office report, said one of the
outcomes of the ongoing AT&L reorganization, which will establish new under secretary posts for
research and engineering as well as for acquisition and sustainment, will be a strategy for prototyping
and innovation initiatives.
The department “is currently working this strategy to communicate strategic goals and priorities and
delineate roles and responsibilities among DOD’s prototyping and innovation initiatives,” DOD states.
The Pentagon response was published alongside a June 27 GAO report, which states the department
had reaped some benefits from prototyping and other innovation initiatives, but has yet to form a
comprehensive strategy to guide its investments.
“DOD has not set strategic funding targets for its initiatives,” GAO states. “Failing to do so could
prevent them from gaining traction and puts their long-term success at risk.”
The Pentagon also concurs with GAO’s recommendation that it consider a “strategic buckets” approach
to prototyping and innovation initiatives that would involve allocating resources to different types of
projects based on an organization’s strategy