Technical b r Report - International Military Testing Association

Scientific and Technical Information (CFSTI). All iriiiortant are the informal
and conti.r*,ing contacts between researchers and potential users.
A report by Dr. William A. McClelland, at the Cor!fercnce on Social
Research and ?Iilitary Euqyzment at the University ofi Chicago, June 1967,
gives an insight into possible characteristics of unTuccessfu1 and successful
research iinplemcntation: UNSUCCESSFUL RESEARCH EFFORTS :
(1) Poor communication. Neither briefings nor reports effective
communicated the validity and opccntional value of the research.
(2) Lack of timeliness. The product of the research effort did not meet
a valid, contcnporary rcquiremcnt. It was available too lntc or too cariy,
or it was too tangential in nature.
(3) Degree of change. Too many c’.nngcs in operating procedures were
required. For cxamp le , training was shortcncd (or lengthened) too much, or
the csisting Army structure was incompatible with the indicated change. Existing
or tradititinal practice may have hccn too strongly threatened.
(6) L?ck of strong command support. Not enough people at high enough
cchc ions wanted to change.
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(5) costs.
not fc obtained.
Funds and personnel required had not been programed and could
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(6) Lack of cngintcring capability. Thd training experts required to
translate the research rindings into more ~\phrationsll; usable form did not
exist or were not: available+
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(7) Policy problem. There was a lack o G doctrine under which to fit a
new or improved training or operatik,nal capability.
:,3) Insufficient “snlcsmanship”. f’rojc L t people did not devote enough
effort to “selling” the product. At one tim , for esaapic, we believed this
was not the job of the research agency.
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Possible reasons for successful implcmcntation I are largely the ob-zcrse oi
this list. SUCCESSFUL RESEARCH EFFORTS : I
(1) Timeliness. A rccoznizcd instructional rap was filled. The.work was
obviously relevant to a planned or on-goin revision in Army practice.
(2) Command in terts t .
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There was n strong operational command interest,
including that of a subordi.natc command.
and working levels.
Interest existed at both management
(3) Engineered product. The end-product was concrete. It was a material,
plup,-Ln item, specifically cnginecrcd for a given situation requiring little
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