The workshop on Humanitarian and Peace Operations: The NGO/Interagency Interface was held at the National Defense University on 18-19 April 1996, the seventh in a series that explores advanced command relationships. The workshops are sponsored by the Directorate for Advanced Concepts, Technologies, and Information Strategies (ACTIS), which has a charter from The Joint Staff to develop Mission Capability Packages (MCPs) that will support improved joint and combined command and control (C2) for Operations Other Than War (OOTW), including coalition peace operations. In addition to developing MCPs, ACTIS serves as the bridge between the defense-related technical and operational communities, creating opportunities for communication between the two groups.
ACTIS workshops are designed to focus on command and control issues by bringing together select groups of senior analysts and operators to explore a particular issue, operation, or problem.1 A primary goal is to analyze and improve the linkages between the military operational and technical communities. In the past, participants have included the activities' sponsors (The Joint Staff and the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence [C3I]), the individual military services, representatives of the U.S. Unified Commands, other relevant U.S. Government agencies, academics, and private organizations. All ACTIS workshops are conducted on a non-attribution basis and work toward consensus on major issues. Evidence Based Research, Inc. (EBR) acts as rapporteur for the discussions.
During a previous workshop that explored the interfaces of civilian-military communication and planning during Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti, ACTIS determined that the U.S. Government interface with private voluntary organizations (PVOs) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) needed to be studied in greater depth. ACTIS convened the seventh workshop in the series to explore the dynamics of the NGO/interagency interface, particularly as it relates to the military, and to search for ways to improve necessary communication between these two very different groups. Discussions in virtually all the prior coalition and peace operations workshops highlighted the key role of NGOs and PVOs. Relations with these organizations are clearly an important determinant of mission accomplishment in many OOTW scenarios. In recognition of the importance of this interface, ACTIS is sponsoring development of a prototype system to exchange information with NGOs and PVOs. This system would facilitate closer coordination by allowing government and NGO participants to exchange information over a global computer network.
The NGO/Interagency workshop was structured to examine and discuss three areas critical to the NGO/U.S. Government interface during humanitarian and peace operations:
The participants were asked to identify situations in which the two communities worked well together and situations in which working together was difficult for each of these topic areas.
Organizing the discussion around these critical operational areas helped to reveal broad and significant differences among the NGO community, U.S. Government agencies, and the military. Cultural barriers, vast differences in resources, capabilities, and in-country experience, and divergent viewpoints on coordination and the use of technology were quickly identified as obstacles to effective NGO/Interagency interface.
Workshop participants also identified a number of areas where they might cooperate and develop plans and programs to improve their relations and interactions. These ideas and suggestions are discussed in Chapter 5. One of the significant ideas emphasized the need to develop procedures whereby NGOs and U.S. Government entities can train together to improve their understanding of each other. A second theme focused on improving communications between the two communities and within the NGO community itself by developing a networking mechanism to share information, possibly using computer technology. The workshop also touched briefly on the difficult problems of transition and exit strategies.
This report summarizes the workshop's free-flowing discussion. It does not offer solutions to problems with the NGO/Interagency interface independently of ideas expressed by workshop participants. The rapporteurs have adhered closely to the discussion and observations of workshop participants. The report does seek to reflect individual insights into the specific problems of NGO/military interfaces during humanitarian and peacekeeping operations. Chapter 2 explores the composition and traits of the NGO community in an effort to place NGO participants' comments in context and to identify underlying causes of the apparent divergence between U.S. Government agencies, the military, and the NGO community. Chapter 3 identifies aspects of the interface that have worked well in the past and that serve as the foundation for future improvements. Chapter 4 focuses on the problems confronting NGOs, U.S. Government agencies, and the military when trying to improve their working relationship. Chapter 5 reports the suggestions generated by the workshop participants to enhance communication between the communities and to create systems to foster better coordination, planning, training, and use of technology.