Applying business management thinking to investigate well-known but only partly-understood challenges and opportunities for Defence organisations is proving fruitful for identifying ways to better adapt and innovate.
Hosted by the Military Engineering Centre of Excellence at the German Army Engineer School in Ingolstadt, the NATO conference brought together directors and their deputies from all 30 NATO-accredited Centres of Excellence (COEs) for a 3-day conference.
NATO's COEs form a crucial network of applied research, education and knowledge exchange activities to directly enhance the alliance's strategic capabilities and operational performance. Supported by a wide range of NATO member-states and partner states, these COEs play these key roles by developing doctrine, identifying lessons learned, improving interoperability, and testing new concepts for improved Alliance-wide capabilities and performance.
Facilitating the invited session showcasing the ESRC research project, Lieutenant-Colonel Arno Zeps, Staff Officer (COE Coordination for Lessons Learned) and Subject Matter Expert Military Police remarked on the significance to his COE:
“The systematic collection and analysis of observations and their processing to ‘Lessons Learned’ status is crucial for the continuous improvement of capabilities and operational efficiency within the Military Police Community of Interest. It requires commitment and contribution of all stakeholders, Nations and NATO entities of all levels - tactical to strategic- in order to reflect holistic needs and develop the right things right”.
The 2-hour workshop co-led by John and the ESRC project's Principal Investigator (Professor Tom Dyson, Department of Politics, Royal Holloway, University of London), demonstrated that an integrated analysis of Lessons Learning processes seems highly promising for enhancing the vital work of the COEs.
At the conclusion of the COE Directors’ workshop, Professor Dyson remarked:
"The research will deliver vital outputs for the lessons-learned community within NATO and its member-states and partner-states. Dr Tull has made an invaluable contribution to data collection for the ESRC project by conducting the majority of the 220 interviews across the three country case studies, as well as NATO organisations. Dr Tull's excellent ability to engage and communicate with policy makers has helped us to develop the conceptual and theoretical dimensions of the project and, equally importantly, to disseminate our findings effectively among military practitioners."
Welcoming this ongoing collaboration, Professor J. Andres Coca-Stefaniak, Associate Head of Research and Knowledge Exchange, School of Business, Operations and Strategy said:
“Complexity and uncertainty are at the heart of the geopolitical security landscape we live in today. This research which has continued following John's move to University of Greenwich from Royal Holloway is key to providing a safer future for all of us in the UK, Europe and democracies around the world."
“The corporate world has been using knowledge exchange for decades to future-proof business enterprises. It is wonderful to see military leaders in western democracies taking this approach on board through the insights this cutting edge research is providing.”
The workshop resulted in several invitations to engage further with NATO organisations, opening potential research avenues for the near future. The interest extends even wider; earlier NATO events had led to a separate invitation for John to present to the Australian Defence Force Academy while he was on vacation, a seminar held on 8 August with 30 ADFA academics in Canberra, Australia.
Pictured: Dr. John Tull co-leading the NATO COE workshop 11.09.24. Credit: @MILENG COE
