Preserving capacity, General Tom Lawson, Chief of the Defence Staff, Keys to Canadian SAR
Issue link: http://vanguardcanada.uberflip.com/i/111458
S Science & Technology nomenal. Just think of cyber. The threat has evolved significantly. The CF rely on electronic networks to a much greater extent than they used to. How do we help them operate in those environments? So we are creating partnerships that will allow us to be nimble because taking new scientists on board and developing them takes a fair amount of time; some of the threats are more immediate, so the ability to network internationally and nationally is critical to be able to respond in a timely fashion. DRDC scientists setting up an ice camp. Photo: Janice Lang technologies are emerging. We need to insure we continue to be connected with the best sources of knowledge. And that requires networking like never before, sometimes in non-traditional areas. Q Given the reassessment of programs that is underway, are you changing DRDC's mission critical priorities? We are going to see a few things happen. The first will be in the coming year with the release of a renewed defence and security S&T strategy. What you are going to see in that strategy, however, is less specificity in terms of areas of investment for two reasons: first, we have to be more dynamic, more agile in responding to new technologies and new threats, which are happening faster than ever, so a five-year list would be obsolete by year 2 or 3; and second, we need to focus on the strategic, the sensitive, the classified, the unique research and these are not topics we can broadcast. Q How are your programs tied to what the army, navy and air force might require? We're putting in place the processes to make sure that we are aligned with our clients. We are embedding staff in the various environments, including CJOC (Canadian Joint Operations Command) such that day-to-day our staff hear the issues and the challenges those environments face. Our S&T program, which in the past resided in various research centres, is going to be fully integrated and much more forward looking into the environments. Q Is the intent to focus on those technologies that do not yet have market strength in industry? Our balance of investment – short-term and long-term – is very much environment-dependent and context-dependent in terms of geopolitical events. Our focus for the navy, which has a large, long-term recapitalization program, might be different than our approach for the air force or the CJOC, which has a more operational and short-term focus. We have to take cues from what is happening with the environments and adjust. Advances in technology over the last five years have been phe26 FeBRUARy/MARch 2013 www.vanguardcanada.com Q How are you tied into the foresight communities within the environments and Chief of Force Development? I'd like to think that we're at the cutting edge. In fact, DRDC scientists are pushing the boundaries of scenario development methodologies for the warfare centre, for example. We do a lot of work with the Chief of Force Development and will be launching new projects using new methodologies that we've recently developed in those areas. It's critical that CFD has access to our experts because they are connected with our allies who are at the cutting edge of their own specific disciplines; as CFD develops the force of the future, he can shape it according to the future environment that our experts are connected to. Canada invests well in S&T but we are still a modest player relative to some of our allies. However, they are feeling economic pressures and enthusiastically working with us. We have developed areas where Canada is a leader, and the reciprocity we get is fantastic. Q Within the context of the human terrain work, are you working with outside expertise that you would not have interacted with before? And is the human dimension still an area of focus or has that shifted? We are tapping into the social sciences communities in Canadian universities, and these were not traditional partners in the past. The nature of the conflict in Afghanistan required us to tap into that expertise pool. People are central to the CF, but personnel are increasingly interfacing with fairly complex platforms and we have a role to play in understanding how humans interact with machines or platforms and how machines can be better shaped to interface with humans. Things like signal fusion and creating interface displays that will allow the operator to be more efficient by accessing the information he or she needs for making a decision. Q You mentioned developing new tools to mitigate some of the barriers with industry. Can you elaborate on them? We have embarked on a series of discussions with other government departments as well as with industry to find new ways of working together. The partnership we're building with CIHR is progress in working with the academic community. We need to develop tools to work with the industrial community. Those discussion are in progress and we'll have more to talk about in the coming year.