No. 21. PPBE Impact on Technology Transition: Findings and Recommendations

The $850 billion U.S. Defense budget is formulated, vetted, debated, and spent through the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process. The funding for every warfighting and deterrence capability developed and deployed by the Defense Department goes through this process. In turn, PPBE is at the center of the discussions concerning defense spending and defense capabilities alike.

This paper discusses the findings and recommendations stemming from six case studies exploring the impact PPBE has on defense programs adopting new technologies. This is a distillation of a longer report prepared for the Congressionally-mandated Commission on PPBE Reform, Case Studies of Technology Transition (McGinn, Hyatt, Letts, & Kojac, 2024).

Findings

• 1: Senior leader advocacy is a key contributor to success in PPBE
• 2: Program Element (PE) consolidation fosters project success in PPBE
• 3: Barriers between PPBE “colors of money” can disrupt program progress
• 4: Linear obligation benchmarks and annual close-out constraints have unintended negative consequences
• 5: Congressional actions within PPBE have significant impacts on program progress
• 6: Effective communication with Congress facilitates program success in PPBE
• 7: Program office PPBE collaboration with external partners facilitates success
• 8: Programs accelerate progress by leveraging authorities outside PPBE
• 9: Programming can occur before planning to speed program progress
• 10: Association or lack of association with a prior funding line can determine program progress
• 11: Fast-track frameworks are not a panacea
• 12: The end of OCO funding has impacted responsiveness to urgent needs

Recommendations

• 1: Consolidate PEs to increase program budgetary flexibility during execution
• 2: Increase Reprogramming thresholds commensurate with the DoD budget and inflation
• 3: Amend the Defense Modernization Account
• 4: Allow money to be moved between Colors of Money within a program
• 5: Amend the Continuing Resolution prohibition on new starts
• 6: End the practice of linear obligation benchmarks
• 7: Increase program office coordination and collaboration with Congress and external entities
• 8: Promote the use of existing rapid acquisition authorities and contracting strategies
• 9: Institutionalize PPBE workforce training

Download the White Paper.