Building a personnel support agenda

This report proposes methods for analyzing and evaluating personnel support programs in the armed forces. The Department of Defense (DoD) devotes considerable time and resources to attracting and retaining quality members, and a key component of these efforts is the panoply of support programs. This report proposes methods for analyzing and evaluating personnel support programs in the armed forces. It also suggests ways in which DoD can collect and use cogent information regarding program efficacy in light of changing military missions, budgetary priorities, and member demographics. The author recommends methods for evaluating program goals, five research methodologies for assessing the programs, and procedures for using currently available information--as well as improving information--to achieve these results. The services should reconsider and closely define support program objectives. They should employ one or more of these methodologies for program assessment to measure effectiveness in achieving and funding the newly defined goals. Finally, they should use program usage information at their disposal within these paradigms and tailor future data collection to support the new goals and evaluation systems.