Speed, Flexibility, and Transparency: Surveying Budget Execution Methodologies to Better Support Emerging Technologies
The Department of War’s ability to develop and field emerging technologies at the pace of modern threats depends on the deliberate and intentional use of existing financial management authorities and budget execution methodologies rather than the creation of entirely new ones.
Drawing on interviews with former Pentagon and Congressional officials, the paper evaluates key budget execution methodologies across four metrics: speed, flexibility, transparency to congressional appropriators, and transparency to Industry.
The paper identifies a range of available authorities, programs, accounts, and funding that offer meaningful flexibility when properly understood and applied. The paper concludes with six recommendations that target specific friction points where budget execution methodologies could be expanded, clarified, or more effectively applied to improve outcomes.
