Bexfield, James

Michealson, Kirk

Otte, Doug

English

Calhoun, Institutional Archive of the Naval Postgraduate School

Calhoun: The NPS Institutional ArchiveDSpace RepositoryFaculty and Researchers Faculty and Researchers' Publications2014-09How to Propose a MORS Special MeetingBexfield, James; Michealson, Kirk; Otte, DougMORShttp://hdl.handle.net/10945/63880This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, UnitedStates Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in theUnited States.Downloaded from NPS Archive: CalhounMORS/MAS D,WTO �--uu1J James Bexfield, FS, jim_bexfield@comcast.net s p e Ci a I M e et I n g Kirk Michealson, FS, Tackle Solutions, LLC, kirk.michealson@gmail.com ------------------------Doug Otte, Examples of Past Special Meeting Justifications Naval Postgraduate School, deotte@nps.edu re you working on an impor­tant topic that you think de­serves greater emphasis in the national security analysis community? Are you willing to devote some time and en­ergy to help organize an event on this special topic? If your answers to these questions are, "yes," you may want to submit a pro­posal to MORS suggesting a special meeting to advance the community's awareness and capabilities in an im­portant area. Over the past 25 years, MORS has held more than 70 special meetings on topics ranging from the Department of Defense (DoD) Quadrennial Defense Review to military recruiting. For example, on page 9 of this issue you can find a descrip­tion of a workshop MORS will conduct • Experimentation, October 2006: Experimentation allows the military to explore new concepts and doctrine. This workshop will explore ways ofincreasing the analytical rigor used in the planning and conduct of experi­ments, thus increasing the efficiency of the experiment with a correspond­ing decrease in cost while helping to ensure that valid new conceptsmature at a rapid rate into the force.• Affordability Analysis, October 2012: "How much military capability canthe US afford?" is an important question in these times of decreasing bud­gets. This workshop, with the robust participation of other societies andindustry, will explore ways of making the tough tradeoffs needed to ensureour military dollars are well spent.• QDR, May 2013: The QDR is an every four year strategic assessment ofthe military capabilities needed by the DoD to confront current and futurechallenges. Those attending this workshop will better understand thesuccesses and limitations of previous QDRs, better appreciate the fiscalclimate influencing the 2014 QDR, and be exposed to some new conceptsthat may be used to make this QDR better than its predecessors.in October. The following paragraphs tell you how to submit a special meet­ing proposal to MORS. The process is simple; it involves preparing and submit­ting a two-to-three-page concept paper that contains the essential information needed by the MORS leadership to approve the initial planning and prepa­ration of the special meeting terms of reference (TOR) document. The Concept Paper Template There are 12 sections in the concept paper template: (1) Purpose, (2) Type I I t:;Jse aMORS • MORS/MAS . . .  Special Meeting Continued from page 15 of Meeting, (3) Justification, (4) Other MORS Events/Groups, (5) Sponsor/ Proponent Interest, (6) Meeting De­scription, (7) Prospective Chair, (8) Organizing Committee, (9) Location, (10) Proposed Dates, (11) ProposedMilestone Schedule, and (12) ConceptPaper Point of Contact.Purpose, Type of Meeting, and Justification The first three sections of the special meeting concept paper provide the initial "who, what, and why" of the proposed special meeting. In the pur­pose section, the submitter describes the topic and expected meeting out­comes, and identifies the population that may be interested in attending. The next section describes the type of meeting proposed. There are four types of MORS special meetings: • A mini-symposium focuses ontimely exchange of importantstate-of-the-art information withina subfield or a particular appli­cation area of national securityanalysis. It raises awareness ofthe status of analysis in the topicarea, including the research beingconducted to advance the topic,with little or no effort to evaluate orsuggest solutions. It often consistsof large plenary sessions with lim­ited, or no opportunities to meet insubgroups. The mini-symposiumproducts are the slides and pa-pers (if available) presented at the meeting. Like all MORS events, it offers networking opportunities. • Workshops include all of the edu­cational and network focus of amini-symposium, but, in addition,are expected to produce a prod­uct that could include improveddefinitions of problems, evalua­tions of research, and sugges­tions for future actions that couldadvance the analytical topic area.They typically start with plenarysessions that contain foundationalknowledge and then break intoworking groups that probe spe­cific issues in the analysis/prob­lem area. Their products includeproceedings and a brief that con­tain the insights and suggestionsemanating from the workshop.• A colloquium is a small confer­ence or seminar (typically 10-75attendees) that seeks to advancea segment of the analysis com­munity. An example is the annualMilitary Operations Research So­ciety's Education & ProfessionalDevelopment Colloquium.• Tutorials are another small eventaiming to provide training. Thistype of special meeting includesOR practitioner courses and certi­fied education unit (CEU) courses.It should be noted that larger mini­symposium and workshop events may contain elements of a colloquium or 20 PHALANX - SEPTEMBER 2014 tutorial. For example, workshops often start with a half-day of tutorials that provide relative newcomers to the top­ic area the background they need to be active participants in the workshop. The justification section is perhaps the most important section and the toughest to write. Recent govern­ment guidance requires an individual attending a meeting to provide a statement about why the meeting is professionally beneficial to the pro­spective attendee. This section should contain information that helps the potential attendee meet this require­ment. The sidebar (page 15) provides justification examples developed for some recent special meetings. Other MORS Events/Groups, Sponsor/Proponent Interest, and Meeting Description In this section of the concept paper, the author identifies other MORS activities that could inform the topic. These include earlier special meet-ings, as well as related symposium working groups, composite groups, and MORS communities of practice (CoPs). The sponsor/proponent inter-est section contains information on potential interest by the MORS Spon-. sors and other potential proponents (including non-DoD organizations and industry) for the special meeting. Finally, the meeting description con-tains plans for the meeting, including classification and whether foreign nationals will be invited. Prospective Chair, Organizing Committee, Location, and Proposed Dates The prospective chair section should contain a list of people that may be willing to lead the special meeting. The organizing committee section recommends committee members and their intended roles. A detailed committee structure is not essential and can be accomplished after the meeting has been approved, but having an idea of who may be willing to work to make the meeting a success can help with the approval process. In the location section, a geographic area or city is recommended with rationale that includes how it will facilitate attendance by the intended participants. Finally the recommended timeframe is included in the proposed dates section. This should typically be at least six months after the submission of the proposal and may consider other related events and the availability of venues in the suggested location. Proposed Milestone Schedule The proposed milestone schedule section provides key information for planning, as well as information for the MORS Board of Directors and Executive Council to consider when determining whether to approve the meeting. It is recommended that it (ACP) (if needed) • Completion of post-meeting products Concept Paper Point of Contact The final section contains your con-tact information. Submitting Your Proposal When the concept paper is ready, please send it to the 2014-2015 MORS special meeting Committee Chair, Ms. Deb Ray (deborah.l.ray2. civ@mail.mil) and to the MORS office (morsoffice@mors.org). The MORS special meeting concept paper is a decision document. It should be concise but provide the essential in-formation required by MORS leadership to confidently direct the initial planning and preparation of the TOR and make initial plans for the meeting itself. The special meeting Committee has made the process for propos-ing a special meeting as simple and include suggested dates for complet- straightforward as possible to enable ing the following activities: all of our members the opportunity to suggest an event that will benefit • Identifying plenary speakers and a large number of our members and working group chairs (if needed) advance the practice of analysis in • Publishing the meeting TOR (more national security. detailed information) • Starting the advertising campaign, including issuing an announce-ment and call for presentations We look forward to your ideas and to holding a special meeting that will make you a better analyst! e PHALANX - SEPTEMBER 2014 21 

How to Propose a MORS Special Meeting

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