Operational Research Tools Supporting the Force Development Process for the Canadian Forces

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Abstract:

In June 2005, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) of the Canadian Forces (CF) mandated that Capability Based Planning (CBP) be institutionalized as a part of a centrally driven, top-down approach to Force Development (FD) within the Department of National Defence. For the last two years, Operational Research ana­lysts have been instrumental in the development of tools and processes to support all aspects of CBP. In this paper three CBP tools will be described: The CDS Ac­tion Team 3 Capability Assessment Methodology (CATCAM), the Capability Dis­cussion Matrix (CapDiM), and the Strategic Costing Model. CATCAM was devel­oped to compare the value of disparate CF capabilities. Presently, the tool deter­mines a priority list of activities (the sub-components of capabilities) by employing a top-down risk assessment of activities against the desired mission effects of a spe­cific FD scenario. CapDiM was developed to prioritize force options by evaluating their contributions against a set of criteria. To display the resultant priority list of force options, CapDiM creates a “Bang for Buck” graph that plots the value of each force option against its corresponding cost. The Strategic Costing Model was cre­ated to cost all aspects of the CF force structure. The model costs the total capabil­ity demand for the CF including, for example, the capability cost of: personnel; capital; research and development; operations and maintenance; and national pro­curement. The Strategic Costing Model permitted the first 30-year view of CF de­mand versus supply.