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This electronic representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for non- commercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND electronic documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND electronic documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see RAND Permissions. This report is part of the RAND Corporation research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity. Evaluating the Impact of the Department of Defense Regional Centers for Security Studies Larry Hanauer, Stuart E. Johnson, Christopher J. Springer, Chaoling Feng, Michael J. McNerney, Stephanie Pezard, Shira Efron C O R P O R A T I O N NATIONAL DEFENSE RESEARCH INSTITUTE Evaluating the Impact of the Department of Defense Regional Centers for Security Studies Larry Hanauer, Stuart E. Johnson, Christopher J. Springer, Chaoling Feng, Michael J. McNerney, Stephanie Pezard, Shira Efron Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense Approved for public release; distribution unlimited The research described in this report was prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The research was conducted within the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by OSD, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community under Contract W91WAW-12-C-0030. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available for this publication ISBN: 978-0-8330-8513-9 The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND’s publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors. Support RAND—make a tax-deductible charitable contribution at www.rand.org/giving/contribute.html R® is a registered trademark. Cover images: © Jezper, Fotolia.com © Copyright 2014 RAND Corporation This document and trademark(s) contained herein are protected by law. This representation of RAND intellectual property is provided for noncommercial use only. Unauthorized posting of RAND documents to a non-RAND website is prohibited. RAND documents are protected under copyright law. Permission is given to duplicate this document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Permission is required from RAND to reproduce, or reuse in another form, any of our research documents for commercial use. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please see the RAND permissions page (www.rand.org/pubs/permissions.html). RAND OFFICES SANTA MONICA, CA • WASHINGTON, DC PITTSBURGH, PA • NEW ORLEANS, LA • JACKSON, MS • BOSTON, MA CAMBRIDGE, UK • BRUSSELS, BE www.rand.org Preface The U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) five Regional Centers for Security Studies are rela- tively small-scale but highly valued U.S. security engagement tools. Though virtually all U.S. officials who interact with the centers assert that they are key to advancing DoD goals and objectives, neither the centers nor their stakeholders have been able to measure the extent to which they do so. As DoD looks to identify inefficiencies and accommodate reduced budget authority, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and the regional centers themselves expressed interest in developing more effective means of assessing the regional centers’ impact on DoD objectives and priorities. In response to a request by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Partnership Strategy and Stability Operations, RAND undertook a comprehensive study of the centers’ missions and objectives, the contributions that the centers assert that they make to DoD goals, and the ways in which the centers and their stakeholders assess their programs and the result- ing outcomes. This report recommends steps that the centers and their stakeholders can take to collect more relevant data for evaluation, improve their evaluations of center initiatives, and better assess the centers’ impacts on strategic objectives. This report will be of interest to policymakers and military leaders grappling with questions regarding the most effective use of increasingly scarce DoD resources for promoting U.S. security objectives around the world, particularly by fostering strong military-to-military ties with partner nations. It will also be of interest to policymakers and military personnel with an interest in security cooperation, mili- tary education and training, and the implementation of confidence-building measures to miti- gate regional security tensions. Finally, the report’s analysis of the regional centers’ program evaluation methods will be of interest to program managers who design metrics and assess- ment tools to evaluate the effectiveness of DoD initiatives. This research was sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and conducted within the International Security and Defense Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute, a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, the Unified Combatant Commands, the Navy, the Marine Corps, the defense agencies, and the defense Intelligence Community. For more information on the International Security and Defense Policy Center, see http:// www.rand.org/nsrd/ndri/centers/isdp.html or contact the director (contact information is pro- vided on the web page). iii Contents Preface ........................................................................................................... iii Figures and Tables ............................................................................................. ix Summary ........................................................................................................ xi Acknowledgments ..........................................................................................xxvii Abbreviations .................................................................................................xxix CHaptER ONE Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1 Overview of Findings and Recommendations ................................................................ 3 Brief Outline ...................................................................................................... 4 CHaptER TWO Regional Center Missions and Histories ................................................................... 7 George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies (GCMC) ..................................... 7 GCMC History ................................................................................................ 7 Mission and Purpose .......................................................................................... 8 Current GCMC Policy Guidance ..........................................................................10 Unique Partnership with Germany .........................................................................10 Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies (APCSS) ..........................................................11 APCSS History ................................................................................................11 Mission and Purpose .........................................................................................12 Current APCSS Policy Guidance ...........................................................................12 Center for Hemispheric Defense Studies (CHDS) ..........................................................12 CHDS History ................................................................................................12 Mission and Purpose .........................................................................................13 Current CHDS Policy Guidance ...........................................................................13 Africa Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS) ..................................................................13 ACSS History .................................................................................................13 Mission and Purpose .........................................................................................14 Current ACSS Policy Guidance .............................................................................14