Strategic defense project management does not operate in isolation; it
depends on robust national and international innovation systems for technological
foresight, insight, Research and Development (R&D), and risk mitigation. Given the
complexities and risks associated with Emerging and Disruptive Technologies (EDT)
and the demands of coalition and combined military operations, the international
Science and Technology (S&T) community is a critical and essential component of the
defense innovation system. S&T collaboration and coordination across the human,
information, and physical sciences facilitate technological advancement, address legal,
moral, and ethical concerns, and help to ensure interoperability at all levels. This, in
turn, fosters technologically relevant and operationally effective defense capabilities.
For more than 70 years, the Science and Technology (S&T) community of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), particularly the Science and Technology
Organization (STO) and its predecessor organizations, has played a crucial role for
NATO and the Alliance. As the largest global network of defense and security
researchers drawn from academia, industry, and government, the NATO STO has been
instrumental in fostering these technologically relevant and operationally effective
defense capabilities. Examining the NATO STO from the perspectives of
sociotechnical systems and organizational theory provides valuable insights and
highlights best practices, including those associated with collaborative project
management. These insights underscore the importance of a global perspective in
defence programme management, the structures that underlie its success, and the
limitations and constraints inherent in collaborations across the global Science and
Technology (S&T) network in defence and security.
Keywords: Capability-based planning, International collaboration, North atlantic treaty organization (NATO), Organisational theory, Programme management, Research and development (R&D), Science and technology (S&T), Sociotechnical systems, Strength-weakness-opportunity-threat (SWOT) analysis.
