Assessing the Value of U.S. Army International Activities

A number of important steps have been taken in recent years to improve the planning and management of Army International Activities (AIA). Still, a need remains, and is widely recognized, for a high-level assessment mechanism to allocate AIA resources more efficiently, execute AIA programs more effectively, and highlight the contributions of AIA to the National Military Strategy, the DoD Security Cooperation Guidance, and The Army Plan. This report presents a framework for assessing the value of the Army’s non-combat interactions with other militaries. It provides an overview of AIA programs and establishes their connection to the U.S. government’s current strategy for security cooperation. It also provides a matrix of eight AIA “ends,” derived from top-level national and Army guidance, and eight AIA “ways,” which summarize the various capabilities inherent in AIA programs. Next, the report presents a method for linking AIA “ends” and “ways” that involves a theoretical rationale for security cooperation, selection criteria for AIA “output” and “outcome” indicators, and related measures of performance and effectiveness. The report also describes the new online AIA Knowledge Sharing System (AIAKSS) that is being used to solicit programmatic and assessment data from AIA officials in the Army’s Major Commands. In addition, the report includes the results of three test cases — involving the Army Medical Department, the National Guard Bureau, and U.S. Army South — that helped to identify potential problems in evaluating AIA and to suggest improvements in the proposed AIA assessment mechanism. Finally, the report contains an extensive list of “output” and “outcome” indicators that have been reviewed by AIA officials throughout the Army.