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-: Innovation is top of mind
for nearly every defense leader that we meet with.
Ministries of defense know they need
to innovate more effectively,
but their ability to do is often misunderstood.
Accordingly, BCG has been studying defense innovation
for the past several years in conjunction
with the Munich Security Conference.
And the results of this research is clear:
we continue to consistently see a gap
between countries' aspirations for innovation
and their ability to generate results.
This is something we call
the Defense Innovation Readiness Gap.
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-: In our latest analysis,
we found that countries narrowed that gap
over the past year, but they're still well below
the innovation capabilities of leading companies.
Some of the gap is understandable.
The public sector can't always move as fast
as the private sector.
But defense ministries can clearly get better.
-: MODs have focused on partnerships to help close this gap,
with 84% teaming on at least half
of their innovation efforts.
These partnerships or innovation ecosystems
take a range of forms,
each with their own set of challenges.
-: Through our work, we've identified five priorities
for ministries that want to partner
and innovate more effectively.
First: effective innovative collaborations built
on the unique capabilities of partners.
Countries have different strengths,
and partnerships should identify and capitalize
on those strengths rather than trying
to divide a program based on perceived fairness.
-: Second: put the right governance in place.
A single orchestrator should be in charge,
with the right information and the authority
to make key decisions for the overall group.
-: Third: cultivate open and effective cooperation.
This includes sharing information and intellectual property
and incorporating modular, open systems.
This puts the right foundation in place
to accelerate innovation and avoid future misunderstandings.
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-: Fourth: build resiliency into the planning process.
Defense programs are complex and have long timelines,
and there's a risk that they get to the finish line
in time to solve problems that no longer exist.
An agile, iterative approach with real-world input
from users during the design phase
can make programs more resilient.
-: Fifth: make industry and civil society organizations
a force-multiplier.
Capitalize on the private sector
and nontraditional players, like academia and NGOs,
to access the best talent and best ideas.
-: These five steps can make innovation partnerships
far more effective.
They're a proven way for defense ministries
to get better at innovation and for countries
to become more secure.
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