Military Research And Development Policy Pros And Cons

Running head: COSTS AND BENEFITS OF MILITARY RESEARCH 1

The Costs and Benefits of Funding Military Research and Development Policy
Public Policy Research Paper
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Abstract
The central issues when evaluating the overall the United States research and development policy are the characteristics of a public good. A public good by definition is one that has a zero marginal cost of providing the good an additional person and from which individuals cannot be excluded. Research and development policy contributes to the level of knowledge and technology of the entire country. Knowledge is in most cases, a public good under the aforementioned definition. Giving
One type is through a direct subsidy. With this type of invention, the government grants money to a private firm to work on a specific project. The next type of government solution is awarded through tax incentives. Firms awarded tax breaks for conducting research that they show to have value. The final way that the government intervenes is through contracts. This is the primary way that the DoD funds research and development. Research and Development and Defense Contracting
Defense contracting is part of the greater acquisition cycle by which the DoD procures everything from t-shirts to jet fighter planes. The acquisition cycle is a four-part process. After the service acquires approval from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, it proceeds through the four steps of the acquisition cycle. The first phase is concept formulation. This stage is where the military decides on the specifications of a weapon or piece of equipment. The service identifies the flaws in what it currently has, and then determines what the new good should do. These early decisions are critical, because they form the core around which the entire process is wrapped” (Mayer, 1991). In this phase, contracts for research and development are awarded to come up with specific
This cost-issue is an important concern for managers who make the decisions as to which projects to undertake, which contractors to award the projects to, and when to discontinue R&D of a certain type altogether. Unrealistic performance goals and unnecessary initial requirements can contribute to the eventual failure of a project and the loss of funds that were allocated to it. This again implicates the managers who must oversee the process from beginning to end in order to assure the eventual product or technology is both possible and worth the