valsserv_overview_initial document 2010 v1

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Valued Sustainable Services

1 | P a g e D r . L i n t o n W e l l s I I a n d R a l p h W e l b o r n R a l p h . w e l b o r n @ g m a i l . c o m

Valued Sustainable Services:

Building Sustainable, Local Capabilities

Leveraging Reliable Communications and Stable Power

ValSServ Report #1

Dr. Linton Wells II and Dr. Ralph Welborn

Center for Technology & National Security Policy

National Defense University

2010

[email protected] and [email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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I. ContentsExecutive Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 3

I. Context and Underlying VALSSERV Enablers .......................................................................................... 6

STAR-TIDES: A model of distributed collaboration ................................................................... 8

VALSSERV-Relevant Technology Capabilities .......................................................................... 10

Physical Attributes ............................................................................................................ 10

Information Attributes ...................................................................................................... 11

VALSSERV Operational Principles ............................................................................................ 15

II. VALSSERV Planning and Coordination .................................................................................................. 17

Planning and Operational Elements domains, services and infrastructures ........................ 20

Edge Monitoring and Enhanced Understanding. .................................................................... 23

Reach Back Services................................................................................................................. 24

IMPACT Training ...................................................................................................................... 25

Planning and Deployment Elements - Domains and Services ................................................. 26

Planning and Deployment Elements - Infrastructure .............................................................. 31

Edge Monitoring and Enhanced Understanding ..................................................................... 42

Reach Back Services................................................................................................................. 49

III. Summary and Next Steps ..................................................................................................................... 50

IV. Appendix ............................................................................................................................................... 53


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Executive Summary

The Valued Sustainable Services (ValSServ) concept provides a framework to promote services that would be

valuable to, and could be sustained by, local populations with the resources likely to be available to them.

VALSSERV-related projects leverage information and communications, enabled by distributed, renewable

power, to support capabilities and services in domains such as:

Agriculture/Food - Information about market conditions, weather forecasts and transportation; micro-

loans; cool storage and on-site processing of agricultural products; integrated solar/combustion cooking;

irrigation.

Clean Water - Purification systems tailored to local conditions.

Public Health - Cell phone-based services for pre-natal and maternal care in remote areas, satellite-

based telemedicine services to clinics, expanded internet access to hospitals.

Lighting - Basic lighting for streets, stores and households (a light in every kitchen).

Education - Internet expansion to universities, extension of learning access to remote areas.

Business Development - Sharing information on market opportunities, extension of micro-credit,

coordination of buyer/seller relationships, encouragement of entrepreneurs.

Training to Support Sustainable Economic Growth - Hands-on, project-based learning focused on

building local business capacity and t he markets ability to absorb job skills and build local capacity in

developing or war-torn states.

These population-centric activities also could enhance governance through citizen satisfaction, plus

transparency of decision-making and funds transfers. Rule of law could be promoted through innovative

justice and alternative dispute resolution, including the use of cell phones. Private sector involvement is

essential for capacity development and long term sustainability. It is important to monitor implementation

of services through effective metrics to understand the projects contributions. Both success stories and

lessons learned should be shared widely. VALSSERV shares knowledge with the international TIVALSSERV

(Transformative Innovation for Development and Emergency Support) research program.

Critical enablers of the above services include (1) stable power, particularly distributed, renewable

approaches (microhydro, solar, wind, etc.) if national grids arent available, (2) reliable communication s,

including extended infrastructure (radio, TV, cell phone, internet, etc.), and (3) information sharing and


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trust- building with responsible participants, plus ways to help understand and shape content.

Complementary reach back support could be provi ded from subject matter experts outside a country.

VALSSERVcant be implemented successfully by focusing on capabilities alone. Social networks must be

developed and trust built; policy and doctrine need to be converted into effective field operatingprocedures; legal and regulatory constraints must be addressed; resources have to be identified and

allocated; trainers trained, units exercised, and curricula changed to turn lessons observed into lessons

really learned. Experts in associated activities such as public health, food & agriculture, and safety &

security also will be needed.

The VALSSERV approach aligns well with changes in US Government (USG) policy and doctrine since

2004 regarding planning and operations in complex environments. 1 Such situations require great

sensitivity to local conditions, requirements and decision-making processes. This foundation rests onthe recognition that complex operations and the close civil-military planning and cooperation they entail

have become the norm across a broad range of troubled or potentially troubling environments.

The VALSSERV coordination framework consists of four core elements:

1. Planning and Operational Activities operationally relevant essential services and enabling

infrastructures

2. Edge Monitoring and Communications information, analytical and alerting services to

enhance situational awareness and trigger action

3. Reach Back Services information and assessment services regarding locally relevant conditions

and solutions

4. Training set of discrete 1-day training modules covering each aspect of VALSSERV from which

customized courses can be created and delivered to enhance civilian and government

capabilities. 2

1 For the purposes of this paper, complex environments involve civil-military participants in pursuit of common objectives.These include post-war stabilization and reconstruction, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, building the capacity of partnernations, and defense support to civil authorities within the US. See Hans Binnendijk and Patrick Cronin, Civilian Surge: The Key to Complex Operations A Preliminary Report . (Washington DC: National Defense University, 2008).2 VALSSERV-related training covers areas summarized by the acronym IMPACT: Infrastructure, Messaging, Partnerships,situational Awareness, Core domains and related services, and Transition and related topics. This is amplified in Section II.


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In sum, VALSSERV can contribute to positive outcomes in complex situations through population-centric

approaches to building local capacity. It uses a bottom-up approach to complement top-down

development, counterinsurgency, or stabilization strategies.

This is the first of a series of papers from the Center for Technology and National Security Policy (CTNSP)on VALSSERV-related topics. 3 The objective of the VALSSERV series is to assist planners and those

directly involved in implementing VALSSERV-related projects to accelerate roll-out and increase impact

while decreasing the time and costs in doing so. The approach suggests a systemic way of making

sense and taking action to encourage and support sustainable capabilities across a variety of

environment - by pulling together threads of lessons, frameworks and methods. This initial paper

Describes the context for VALSSERV e.g., trends and underlying enablers as well as some strategic

planning considerations and frameworks to support VALSSERV-related operations. Subsequent ones will

drill into specific operations and/or sets of lessons, methods and experiences.

3 Other VALSSERV CTNSP papers are expected to include: one on VALSSERV-A (Afghanistan); A Taxonomy of Essential Services inDifferent Types of Complex Operational Environments; and Instrumenting the Edge: Monitoring Risks and Threats in ComplexOperations.


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I. Context and Underlying VALSSERV EnablersSince 2004, US policy and national security organizations have changed significantly in ways that

promote engagement with civil-military participants in complex operations. Collectively, these reflect

major policy and doctrine changes for the US military - increasing emphasis on conflict avoidance, pre-

conflict peacekeeping, building capacity in partner nations, post-war stabilization and reconstruction,

humanitarian assistance / disaster relief, and defense support to civil authorities within the U.S. All of

these are designed to mitigate the conditions that could give rise to instability.

At their core, they reflect recognition that the sorts of problems that generate complex operations

cannot be solved by military means alone. 4 This has led to new models of public private, whole -of-

government and/or transnational efforts to meet the challenges of complex operations.

The emergence of these new governance models has led to clear requirements to achieve the political,social, and economic goals for which military forces are committed in complex operations:

1. Close communication, collaboration and engagement with both local populations and civil-military mission participants

2. A population-centric focus and acknowledgement of decision rights to local decision makers interms of choosing which types of projects and services to be developed where, when, how andby whom

3. Private sector engagement and a commitment to building sustainable local capacity.

VALSSERV focuses on providing solutions that can be sustained by local populations. It builds on two

infrastructures that are often undervalued in traditional development and military engagements:

Information and Communications (IC) and Power especially distributed renewable energy.

Information and communication (IC) have always been transformational forces. They change societies,

reframe national interactions, determine economic winners and losers, and affect young peoples

thoughts, values, and capabilities. Power, especially distributed renewable power, saves lives in

stressed environments. Even simple acts, such as putting a light bulb in every kitchen in remote areas

4 Binnendijk and Cronin, Op. cit. Defense Secretary R obert Gates stated this requirement bluntly: We cannot kill or capture ourway to victory *we+ need to work with and through local governments to avoid the next insurgency, to rescue the next failing state, or to head off the next humanitarian disaster. Gates remarks before the U.S. Global Leadership Campaign, July 15,2008, www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1262 . Additional influential guidance incluValSServ DoD30000.05, NSPD-44, and the revised Maritime Strategy. See chapter 20, pp. 295 314, by Linton Wells II, Larry Wentz, andWalker Hardy, Linking U.S. Capacity to Local Actors .,
http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1262http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1262http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1262http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1262


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where previously there was no electricity, can have profound changes in terms of lives saved through

enhanced sanitation, skills- gained through creating time to learn to read or study in the evenings, and

social cohesion strengthened through extending opportunities to get together. 5 New technologies and

operational methods afford opportunities to implement these core infrastructures rapidly, affordably,

and sustainably. In turn, what this affords are opportunities to build essential services on top of these

infrastructures including specific services related to health care, agriculture, education, and other

service domains. The core infrastructures enable opportunities for enhanced reach, scale and impact.

The essential services on top of these infrastructures enable opportunities to enhance living conditions

and quality of life. What VALSSERV offers is critical. How it does so is very decentralized, but equally

critical.

VALSSERV rests on specific planning and operating objectives:

1. Be population centric

2. Focus on building sustainable capacity

3. Attack conditions that generate vulnerabilities and/or threats

4. Synchronize development and governance efforts

5. Develop close and genuine partnerships

6. Respect and work through local conditions, relationships and requirements people should beable to choose the services that meet their needs

7. Amplify faint signals to enhance situational awareness of potential risks and threats to overall

strategic objectives and VALSSERV operational objectives as the enablers and services are rolledout

8. Design approaches for re-use elsewhere for prompt response and scale being respectful of local conditions

These are difficult requirements to meet for any environment. They become even more difficult to

realize in complex operations. They require engagement, agility, commitment and coordination among

potentially dozens of different types of parties - each with their own perspectives, policies and agendas.

From these must be crafted coordinated efforts in decentralized environments where there is no unityof command to provide those Essential Services selected by the local population.

5 Manuel Castells, The Information Age: Economy, Society and Culture, Volumes I, II and III . (London: Blackwell, 1998). JeffreySachs, Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet. (New York: Penguin, 2008). Felipe Fernandez-Armesto, Civilizations:Culture, Ambition and the Transformation of Nature . (New York: The Free Press, 2001). Bruce Mau, Massive Change . (NewYork: Phaidon, 2004).


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New models are emerging to support this crafting including public / private collaboration, whole -of-

government (moving towards whole -of-society ) and trans-national approaches. Each involves

distributed networks of people and organizations to deploy essential services and bridge gaps among

disparate communities.

The STAR-TIVALSSERV research project offers one of many possible examples of emerging models of

distributed collaboration for complex operations. 6

STAR-TIVALSSERV: A model of distributed collaboration

STAR-TIVALSSERV is an international, knowledge-sharing research project to provide affordable,

sustainable support to stressed populations post-war, post-disaster, and impoverished. It explores,

demonstrates and provides innovative approaches to public private collaboration, whole -of-

government solutions and trans -national engagements. STAR-TIVALSSERV leverages a distributednetwork of people and organizations to conduct research, support real-world contingencies and bride

gaps among disparate communities. STAR-TIVALSSERV has investigated and been involved in such

diverse areas as stability, security, transition, and reconstruction (SSTR) in Afghanistan, humanitarian

assistance-disaster relief (HADR) in tropic regions, building partner capacity (BPC) in various areas, and

defense support to civil authorities (DSCA) in the United States. The network has supported responses

to events including wild fires in Southern California, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

trailer replacement, shelter solutions for the Canadian Arctic, Cyclone Nargis Relief in Myanmar, and

election monitoring in Afghanistan.

The three main goals of STAR-TIVALSSERV are to:

1. Enhance the ability of civilian coalitions (business, government and civil society) to operate in

stressed environment

2. Extend the militarys ability to work with civilians in such situations

3. Economize by identifying cost-effective logistic solutions and rationalizing supply chains.

6 STAR stands for Sustainable Technologies, Accelerated Research , and TI VALSSERVfor Tranformative Innovation forDevelopment and Emergency Support. TI VALSSERV is part of the broader STAR effort. As a rule, TIVALSSERV projects apply tospecific scenarios, but they also draw on, and contribute to, the distributed knowledge and skill sets of the global STAR-TIVALSSERV network. Until October 2009, the TIVALSSERV acronym referred to Transpo rtable Infrastructures for Developmentand Emergency Support. Transportable infrastructures still are a key part of TI VALSSERV, but the growing scope of the projectnecessitated expanding the construct to transformative innovation. See Linton Wells II, Walker Hardy, Vinay Gupta, andDaniel Noon, STAR-TIVALSSERV and Starfish Networks: Supporting Stressed Populations with Distributed Talent . October, 2009.


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As its network expands and impacts increase, STAR-TIVALSSERV is getting increasingly being encouraged

to expand its services to include providing a set of distributed analytical views to enhance situational

awareness for both pre- and post- conditions in support of specific essential services. The reason for

this is clear: Core challenges in any stressed zones include rapid understanding of whats happening

where, to whom and why. Providing enhanced situational awareness to anticipate surprise and identify

patterns of activities in order to respond promptly, and effectively, is extraordinarily difficulty, yet crucial .

Development of coherent, user-defined operating pictures of whats happening, where, when, why, how

and to whom becomes nearly impossible given the myriad of different organizations engaged in

different aspects of complex operations. Organizations have different agendas, different perspectives,

different data formats, different requirements, and typically draw on different data bases. In short,

they analyze, process, make policy, and act on different types of data. This speech -act fragmentation

creates not only a semantic disconnect but also can lead to distrust, unintended consequences or,arguably as bad, just plain inaction. 7

STAR-TIDESinitial focus on building a global network of relationships was Designed to reduce this

fragmentation through building trust while bridging disconnects through demonstrating results that

can be realized across disparate types of organizat ions. Building the soft side of relationships while

connecting voice s among different parties engaged has always been one of STAR- TIDEScore

objectives. Increasingly , however, such soft influence needs to be hardened codified into a suite

of more systematic approaches to speed insight, enhance situational enhance and scale impacts.

STAR-TIVALSSERV recent efforts are moving in this direction to leverage distributed talent and work for

unity of effort when theres no unity of command . Examples are provided in the CTNSP monograph

STAR-TIVALSSERV and Starfish Networks. 8

Distributed Essential Services (VALSSERV) are Designed for these environments. But they also will

require new governance models to enhance coordination in environments where there is not, and

cannot be, unity of command. Yet, while improved planning and communications are essential. the

7 See Ralph Welborn and Vince Kasten for detailed discussions and lessons on how to bridge these disconnects to supporttransformational and behavioral change what they call the DNA of Execution . Get it Done: A Blueprint for BusinessExecution . (New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2007).8 Op. cit.


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actual provisioning, servicing and measuring of VALSSERV operations require other key capabilities

ones that result from emergent technology capabilities.

VALSSERV-Relevant Technology Capabilities

Technology frequently affords new opportunities for different types of capabilities. This is true for

VALSSERV operations also. Two technology bundles of attributes in particular are of direct relevance

for VALSSERV operations: physical and informational attributes.

Physical Attributes

Stressed population zones frequently lack industrial production capacity, power capacity or sufficient

numbers of people with critical skill-sets - whether the result of the conflict / disaster or existing

conditions to sustain stressed populations until traditional methods of assistance arrives. However,

emerging technology capabilities now exist that be leveraged to support rapid response. They fall into

the categories of what you can do with these technologies namely, you can:

1. Shrink it through miniaturization.With characteristics of requiring less power, less bandwidth, less overall infrastructure tosupport, as well as make it cheaper to build, deploy, maintain and use.

2. Modularize it through discrete, perhaps limited, but usable functionality with real, andmeasurable, impact.With characteristics of being faster to set up and train, (potentially) less infrastructure andenergy to support it, as well as make it cheaper to build, deploy, maintain and use.

3. Localize it through easy to use ValSServign and/or instruction.With characteristics of being easier to use, simpler to train, faster to get buy -in andconsequently have impact.

Much of the capital-intensive infrastructures of the developed world is woefully inadequate in todays

stressed environments; and many of these infrastructures are not likely to be available due to capital

risk in any event. Yet, the emerging bundle of Shrink-it, Modularize-it, and Localize-it technologies

becomes highly relevant, cost-effective, nimble and efficient over a wide range of circumstances. Not

only do these characteristics make them highly relevant, but they complement the overall VALSSERV

approach in that they seldom depend on deployable, costly military systems or fixed terrestrial facilities

that frequently come with use constraints even if they are potentially relevant.


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Additional examples of technologies that reflect the Shrink-it, Modularize-it, and Localize-it technology

characteristics - making them inexpensive and rapidly deployable - include:

Shelter : indigenously-based systems whenever possible, based on light-weight, collapsiblestructures

Water : solar water pasteurization, low power filtration or reverse osmosis units

Integrated cooking : combinations of solar, combustion stoves and retained heat

Power: microhydro, solar, wind, local geothermal, and biomass, among others

Sanitation : chemicals that neutralize harmful bacteria, but are environmentally safe, andsanitation in flooded areas

Heating / Lighting / Cooling : LED lighting, low-wattage cooling fans, insulation, whole-systemapproaches to re-use heat from integrated cooking

Communications : portable satellite dishes, microwave links and mesh networks; robust, low-power computers.

Many other examples exist. The intent here is not an exhaustive enumeration of potentially relevant

technologies, but rather to highlight their underlying commonality supporting VALSSERV operations. 9

Information Attributes

Getting near real-time situational awareness regarding actors, their activities and understanding what

motivated which actions when , where , how and why has always been challenging, particularly in

complex operations zones. Data is frequently scarce, inconsistent or widely scatte red; clear signals of

intent are faint; and interpretations of sketchy data patched together remain open to significant

challenges. Yet, opportunities are becoming available, accelerated by the extraordinary proliferation of

mobile devices, heretofore unavailable satellite imagery, emerging data standards and high end

analytics. In the U.S. alone, mobile devices generate over 600 billion geo-spatially tagged transactions

per day. Afghanistan, itself, has over 6.7 million mobile devices, a growth of nearly 70% from 2008

significantly adding to the data mix. 10 As Jeff Jonas, a seasoned and unconventional observer of trends

in data puts it, Every call, text message, email and data transfer creates a transaction with a particular

spacetime coordinate triangulated by distributed cell towers. Large space -time data sets combined

with advanced analytics enable a degree of understanding, discovery, and prediction that may be hard

9 A follow-on CTNSP paper within the VALSSERV series will ValSServcribe such a taxonomy.10 http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/newslog/SearchView.aspx?q=afghanistan.


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for many people to fully appreciate. 11 The sharing of unclassified imagery and other geospatial

information system (GIS) products maps, watershed boundaries, etc. - with a wide variety of different

types of organizations can make important contributions to stabilization and reconstruction (S&R),

humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) and building partner capacity (BPC) operations.

This[LWII1] is supported by DoDI 8820.02, announced in April 2009, 12 that promulgates policy for

providing ICT (information and communications technology) capabilities, and associated unclassified

data and voice, services to support S&R, disaster relief, and humanitarian and civic assistance.

Information sharing between DoD and non-military organizations has frequently been a challenge. This

challenge has rested on inherent tensions between classified and unclassified data, not the least of

which has involved shifting characterizations of what constitutes the former and how to release the

latter. 13 DoDI 8820.02 acknowledges both the tension as well as the urgent need for new models of

cooperation across governmental, civilian, military and nongovernmental organizations. It is only one of

a series of considerations of how to share unclassified information in support of complex operations

all of which share the objective of enhancing mission effectiveness by spurring access to significant new

sources, and quality, of data. 14

It is one thing to be able to collect significant amounts of data. It is quite another to make sense of it -

identifying patterns to help us understand what has happened and thereby provide some insight into

what may happen - under different conditions and activities. Enhancing situational awareness in

complex operations is as crucial as it is complex. The complexity stems from issues such as being able

to:

1. Identify the connections across wildly different types of data e.g., blogs, operational reports,

newspapers, social media postings, songs, poetry, scientific findings, satellite imagery

11

http://jeffjonas.typepad.com/jeff_jonas/2009/08/your-movements-speak-for-themselves-spacetime-travel-data-is-analytic-superfood.html.12 http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/822002p.pdf , DoDI 8220.02 : Information and CommunicationsTechnology (ICT) Capabilities for Support of Stabilization and Reconstruction, Disaster Relief, and Humanitarianand Civic Assistance Operations, April 30, 2009.. 13 http://www.fas.org/sgp/cui/background.pdf. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_information_in_the_United_States.14 Bill Barlow, Deputy Director, Integrated Information Communications Technologies (ICT) Support (IIS) Directorate, DoDInformation Sharing Update for an Interagency W orking Group. Department of Defense, August 26, 2009. See also, LintonWells II, Larry Wentz and Walker Hardy, Linking U.S. Capacity to Local Actors, in Binnendijk and Cronin, Op. cit., pp. 295 314.
http://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/822002p.pdfhttp://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/822002p.pdfhttp://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/822002p.pdfhttp://www.fas.org/sgp/cui/background.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_information_in_the_United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classified_information_in_the_United_Stateshttp://www.fas.org/sgp/cui/background.pdfhttp://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pdf/822002p.pdf


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2. Discern the local relevance and contextual cues reg arding what this data means, how it

resonates, and its implications to and on different people - as individuals, groups, villages,

tribes, etc.

3.

Assess the relevant half -life of the information regarding its validity involving considerationsof how fresh or stale it is . Real operational impacts depend on these assessments

4. Identify, or even better, make sense of faint signals or outliers which could be just that -

outliers - or they could be indicators of emerging shifts of behavior, intent or activities.

Enhanced imagery and GIS-based products help provide on the ground insight s. Some provide value

through their static, or snap -shot-like, focus such as maps and plots of relatively unchanging

information depicting, for example, the limits of watersheds or deforestation boundaries. Others

provide value through their time-series focus overlaying imagery baselines with rich data visualizations

and data sets. Both the static and time -series services can provide physically -aware answers to

question such as:

How is the construction of the road going? Does it extend past the canal yet?

How are the crops in the fields growing?

What is the progress of building the new store houses, district centers, schools, etc.?

Can we identify the location of poppies growing inside compound walls that are not visible fromground-based observations?

Building on this base, the amplification of faint signals of intent, motivation, and behavior is key. It

requires insight into contextual relevance and patterns across the very different types of data that

inform thes e faint signals at the edge. Edge Monitoring and Instrumenting the edge are core

requirements for effective VALSSERV operations. Section III Describes approaches for edge

instrumentation - to amplify faint signals and thereby shift risk profiles for VALSSERV operations.

For now, its enough to summarize the fundamental opportunity afforded by the fusion of high end

analytics with time-based, geo-based, and conceptual-based data namely, the capability to make

visible what is invisible . Doing so rests on being able to work with the different data domains and

perspectives of:


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Time Space Actors / People Things Physical and Conceptual

Events / Actions Meanings / Contextual Relevance, and Faint signals - patterns of intent, motivation and behavior.

Table 1 lists the different types of data, and examples of edge analytics, needed to enhance situational

awareness.

Table 1: Data Types Needed for Making Visible what is Invisible

Types of Data Core Question Visual Reference Point Examples of Advanced

Analytical Views

Time What trends exist and what patternsemerge across time?

Trend Maps Variety of time -basedtrending and correlations

Space (geo-spatial,location)

What has happened where, when,and how much?

Google Earth Spatial frames for dataoverlays (e.g., routes, areas,volumes)

People /Actors

Whos involved and what is therelationship with other actors andother data types to either strengthenor weaken those relationships?

Clustering / Networks Social Network Analysis,Dynamic Network Analysis,Group Analysis, InfluenceMaps

Things physical andconceptual

What things are involved, impactedand correlated with other datatypes?

Clustering Topic Clouds, DistanceMapping, Semantic Analysis,Narrative / Meme Clouds

Events /Actions

Whats the correlation betweenevents and other data types?

Event-Types (taxonomies)/ Cause-Effect

Simulations, CorrelationMaps

Meanings /ContextualRelevance

What memes, narratives and otherreferential frames shed light onintent, motivation ad behavior?

Clustering Social-behavioral Maps,Meme Clouds

Faint SignalsandSignificance

What patterns of intent, motivationand behavior can be identified?What lights up pr e- and post-

different kinds of events?

Agent-based modeling /simulation

Agent-based modeling /Simulation User- selected linkages

NORA (non-obviousrelationships &associations) 15

15 Jeff Jonas. http://jeffjonas.typepad.com/


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VALSSERV Operational Principles

Accelerating focus on complex operations, emerging models of cooperation, and emerging technology

attributes serve as the starting foundation for VALSSERV-supported activities. VALSSERV builds upon

this foundation based on a number of operating principles.

1. Population-Centricity a.k.a., its all about the 3 Ls of local, locale, and location and

building it from the bottom- up

VALSSERV services are chosen by local populations when provided with communications

enabled by distributed, renewable energy and information. Legitimacy, relevance and impact

result from respect and adherence to the self-determined and prioritized set of essential

services decided upon by those who be directly impacted by them. Consequently, VALSSERV

requires planners to give up some planning control given the need to sit down with local

decision-makers to help them stand up the services they want.

2. Communications, Power (energy) and Information (CPI) as a Foundation for Sustainability

a.k.a., build it and get out of the way

Dave Warner s modified formulation on lessons drawn from complex operations globally

provides the first principle: give me comms, power, and info and well change the world. 16

Information and communication (I&C) have always been transformational forces. They change

societies, reframe national interactions, determine economic winners and losers, and affect

young peoples thoughts, values, and capabilities. CPIs primary, secondary and tertiary benefits

can be extraordinary in terms of laying the foundation for different and emergent uses

depending on the requirements, objectives and capabilities of different environments. 17 This

point cannot be over-emphasized: it is neither possible nor desirable to dictate what happens

on top of CPI foundations. The sub-principle of build-it-and-get-out-of-the-way reflects

VALSSERV population -centric approach. It arguably does more to respect local conditions and

build local capacity than anything else that might be done.

16 Dave Warner, September 10, 2009. Daves original formulation is comms, lift and power based on HADR envir onmentswhich obviously require extraordinary lift / logistics capabilities to get the assets, supplies and materials to devastated areasquickly.17 Linton Wells II, Essential Services in Afghanistan: Leveraging Information, Communications and Distributed Energy to BuildPartner Capacity A Proposal for Nangarhar Province. June 30, 2009.


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For example, Chris Corsten has been installing microhydro power (MHP) systems in

Afghanistans Nangarhar Province (in the east, between Kabul and the Khyber Pass) for the past

several years under the auspices of the State Departments counternarcotics (CN) program run

through International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL). The principle of build -it-

and-get-out-of-the- way directly reflects Corstens lessons from his deployments. We just

finished nine microhydros last week (August 2009) and are preparing to start 24 in the next six

weeks. The power we are giving (roughly 50W-90W/family) is enough for lighting and fans and

small electronics, but when you build power, people get creative with it. 18 His strong lesson is:

build the energy foundation through establishing social trust and relationships. The very

process of building such relationships and an energy foundation is as important as anything

else built on top of that foundation. The process itself is what gets the local population

committed to the foundation and the provisioning of services on top of it as they need, and asthey see fit.

3. Emergent Behaviors a.k.a., identify and share patterns of interest and significance.

Complex operations involve extraordinary amounts of moving parts. Effective planning and

operations recognize that th ese parts impact each other. Thats the easy part. The hard part is

acknowledging that how these elements will impact each other on the ground can neither be

(fully) anticipated nor controlled. Strategic planning and coordination in such environments are

much like the old Japanese strategy game of GO which involves monitoring the movement of

multiple dozens of different yet interdependent stones across a board, the placement of which

gives rise to emergent patterns and sudden shifts in priorities. Making sense of these patterns

and the conditions that give rise to them become important in anticipating and responding to

potential risks.

4. Manage the Inherent Tension between Capacity Building and Edge Monitoring a.k.a.,

instrument the edge.

Social trust can be flash ed or quickly built. 19 But it can only be sustained over time through

18 Conversation with Chris Corsten, August 29, 2009.19 See, fo r example, Debra Meyerson, Karl E. Weick and Roderick M. Kramer, Swift Trust and Temporal Groups, Chapter 9 inR.M. Kramer and T.R. Tyler (eds) Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research, (Thousand.Oaks, CA: Sage), pp. 166-195


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the building of enduring capacity. 20 Yet, the blunt reality is that in certain complex operations,

capacity building and social trust are obviously crucial, but so too are mechanisms to provide

information and insight into potential risks and threats from -the- edge. Key to VALSSERV

effectiveness is shifting the risk profile in Afghanistan for example, a key objective for

VALSSERV includes teasing apart the population from Taliban influence and control. Shifting

this risk profile requires enhanced situational awareness through instrumenting the edge.

Two types of edge questions exist: usage questions and signaling questions. For example,

usage questions include focus on the a) adoption of VALSSERV, b) key influencers both

supporting and hindering the adoption and its use, and c) patterns of usage and disruptions of

that usage. Signaling questions include focus on patterns and sources of a) social aggregation,

b) media channels used for what kinds of purposes, c) content and narrative framing.

This section described the context, rationale and operating VALSSERV principles. The following section,

Section II, shifts focus away from how to make sense of VALSSERV tohow to take operational action.

It lays out an overall VALSSERV framework to support planning and coordination activities. The final

section summarizes lessons and as well as suggests specific tools of potential use to those involved in

such activities.

II. VALSSERV Planning and CoordinationA framework for planning and coordinating VALSSERV activities has four objectives.

1. Build a common vocabulary.

Each organization involved in complex operations likely has different perspectives, agendas and

ways of articulating similar topics. As many with global experience have learned, how issues are

framed often dictate what options are considered and which actions are taken. Consequently,

building shared semantics - to build shared mental models f or where, why and how the

disagreements exist - is one critical means to bridge the disconnects that often exist across

organizations that share a similar mission objective. 21 Building a common vocabulary, or at

20 The authors thank Dr. Paul Bartone, Senior Research Fellow, National Defense University for this insight.

21 Ralph Welborn and Vince Kasten, The Jericho Principle: Collaborative Models of Innovation (New York: John Wiley & Sons,2003).


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least common grammar tools to be able t o communicate differences, is critical to a) shape

alignment and b) frame discussions. This also applies to the creation of metadata dictionaries to

allow for better tagging of data to make it more discoverable on applicable networks.

2.

Identify interdependencies. VALSSERV activities are inherently interconnected. As Corsten s microhydro installations have

shown, sustainable impact can be realized through the deployment of core infrastructures.

However, what sits on top of them will differ depending on local conditions and requirements.

Even if different villages were to deploy similar services e.g., information about agricultural

pricing distributed through SMS capabilities the impacts those services are likely to have

would differ significantly even within similar-sized locations. Consequently, sensitivity to

interdependencies and socio-cultural practices which affect, if not determine, those

interdependencies become operationally vital for VALSSERV planning and operations.

3. Enhance visibility and accountability.

Differences frequently exist between real as opposed to stated decision makers, with those

differences frequently masked by official titles or declarations of intent. 22 Going beneath

whats merely stated to identify who is really doing what, with whom, when, how and with what

results is important. So, too, is identifying which organizations perform what roles and how

those roles impact others. Discerning patterns of interest and significance among the essential

services to be provided is central to VALSSERV planning, as previously discussed. Which ones

will be usable and appropriate depends upon locally relevant conditions many of which are

not visible to the eye. Y et they remain absolutely critical for effective deployment e.g.,

political acceptability, stable security, assets and capabilities. Teasing apart what-impacts-

what-where-when-how-and-how-much becomes vital to fill the blank space between visible

activities that can be deployed and invisible activities that determine their effectiveness.

4. Close the execution gap between strategic intent and operational reality. 23

Bridging the execution gap among planning, operations and measurable impacts is always

difficult, and more so given VALSSERV complex coordination requirements. Consequently, as

22 This is a particular problem for military personnel, who may only visit villages infrequently and who are unlikely to havedetailed local knowledge of who m to trust, or not

23 Welborn and Kasten, Get It Done: A Blueprint for Business Execution , Op. cit.


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much attention needs to foc us on the gaps , and potential gaps among planning, execution and

measurable impacts as on the planning frameworks themselves.

Figure 1 presents a VALSSERV planning and coordination framework.

Figure 1: VALSSERV Planning and Coordination Framework

The framework consists of four core elements:

1. Planning and Operational Activities operationally relevant essential services and core

infrastructures

2. Edge Monitoring and Communications information, analytical and alerting services to

enhance situational awareness and trigger action

3. Reach Back Services information and assessment services regarding locally relevant conditions

and solutions

4. IMPACT Training set of discrete 1-day training modules covering each aspect of VALSSERV

from which customized courses can be created and delivered to enhance civilian and

government capability.

Each of these is briefly described below, followed by a more detailed discussion around each element.


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Planning and Operational Elements domains, services and infrastructures Planning and Operational Elements consist of Domains , Services and the enabling Infrastructure foundations of Communications, Power and Information.

Domains consist of sets of functional areas that directly impact the welfare, living standards and security of populations in conflict / disaster zones .

Figure 2a identifies the proposed set of domains for the VALSSERV-A (Afghanistan) pilot.

Figure 2a: VALSSERV Domains

Enabling Infrastructures consists of core sets of underlying utilities to enhance the development and

impact of a wide range of services and domains.

Figure 2b depicts the core infrastructure proposed for the VALSSERV-A pilot.

Figure 2b: VALSSERV Domains and Infrastructure


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Services consist of sets of specific activities, practices or projects with clearly defined objectives, metrics

and impacts enhancing essential services.

Figure 2c adds in the Services within the framework.

Figure 2c: VALSSERV Domains, Services and Infrastructure

Domains, Services and Infrastructure

The domains (in bold) and their underlying services include (but are not limited to):

Agriculture/Food : Services include cool storage and on-site processing of agricultural products toreduce crop spoilage; information about market conditions, transportation routes and weatherforecasts via cell phone (or internet, if available); information on irrigation ValSServign andoperation, and fuel savings via integrated (solar/combustion) cooking. In some places, precise dataon soil moisture and crop health might be made available via high resolution imagery of fields fromlow-cost sensors.

Clean Water : Services include purification systems tailored to local conditions. Needs range fromtreatment with iodine tablets to simple filtration to low-power reverse osmosis units.

Public Health : Services include cell phone-based services for pre-natal and maternal care, usingboth interactive voice (in local languages) and text messages and extending cellular services whereneeded; provision of satellite-based service to remote clinics; extension of wideband internet accessto hospitals and teaching hospitals, including telemedicine.


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Lighting: Services include basic lighting for streets, stores and households (e.g., a light in everykitchen).

Education : Services include extension of internet services to universities and teaching hospitals,expansion of low cost computer programs (e.g., One Laptop Per Child) based on lessons learnedfrom existing projects, experimentation with cell phone-based learning programs, including games(SIMVILLAGE) with provisions to provide more capability as more bandwidth becomes available.

Business Development : Services include encouragement of entrepreneurs, sharing of informationon market o pportunities, establishment of virtual marketplaces, coordination of buyer/sellerrelationships, extension of micro-credit, etc.

Training to Support Sustainable Economic Growth : Services include building local businesscapacity through a Jump -Start (very focused and intensive) Entrepreneurship Fellowship Program(EFP) with hands-on instruction, training and support around 1) basic business skills, 2) identifyingspecific business opportunities and getting plans started and 3) launch support, including micro-investments or other forms of encouragement to seed multiple businesses, while expanding thecommunity of entrepreneurs. Training local trainers to grow capacity on their own, while beingaware of the ability of the market to absorb new job skills is very important to sustainability. Toooften, education is not linked to the absorption capability of the marketplace.

These domains and their underlying services also can help enhance governance through more satisfied

citizens and transparency of decision making and funds transfers. They also can contribute to more

effective rule of law through innovative justice and dispute resolution methods, sometimes involving cell

phones and internet connectivity.

Table 2 summarizes the definition, objectives and use of this planning and coordination framework.

Table 2 Planning and Coordination Framework

Planning Coordination Framework - SummaryObjective Visually depict VALSSERV elements and their interactions

Domains:Definition

Sets of functional areas that directly impact the welfare, living standards andsecurity of populations in conflict / disaster zones

Services:Definition

Sets of specific activities, practices or projects with clearly defined objectives,metrics and impacts enhancing essential services

Infrastructure:Definition

Set of underlying utilities to enhance the development and impact of a widerange of services and domains

Value 1. Provide visual model to identify quickly set of high level set of interactionsand dependencies among VALSSERV elements.

2. Provides a level 0 context model for elements, which can be drilled downto a level 1 execution model (discussed later)


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Elements 1. Planning and Coordination Framework2. Execution Framework3. Visual / Interdependency-based Models4. Supporting Wiki

Edge Monitoring and Enhanced Understanding.

As discussed earlier, VALSSERV approaches support complex operations that include both long term

development and significant risk and threat events. Risk and threat events can have substantial

mortality and socio-economic impact. The earlier these events are identified, the greater the

opportunity to reduce their impacts. One way to do this is to instrument the edge to:

Anticipate surprise Enhance situational awareness

Understand VALSSERV program effectiveness and

Trigger action.

Understand the effectiveness of VALSSERV projects

Figure 3 depicts the focus of Edge Monitoring and Enhanced Understanding to shift the risk and threat

profiles by enhancing situational awareness to potential risks and threats at the edges , as well as

understanding how VALSSERV- A projects are proceeding and the impact theyre having.

Figure 3: Instrumenting the Edge Focus: Understand Impacts and Shift Risk and Threat Profiles


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Table 3: Edge Monitoring and Enhanced Understanding

Edge Monitoring and CommunicationDefinition Set of processes, technology platform and integrated analytical views to

amplify faint signals of potential relevance and impactObjectives Understand VALSSERV projects impacts, and shift risk profile by anticipating

surprise, enhancing situational awareness and triggering actionUse / Method 1. Create patterns of interest and significance into behaviors, motivations

and action2. Use these patterns to develop explanatory insight into what has

happened and predictive insights into what may happenElements 1. Activity Models

2. Edge Analytical Views 3. ISARM (enhanced understanding) Model Inject (information) :

Situational Awareness : Analyze : Respond : Measure

Reach Back Services

Extraordinary amounts of VALSSERV-relevant activities occur globally and have potentially local impacts.

Key to responding quickly is being able to:

Find this information quickly

Assess the potential relevance of information to specific conditions and

Share information, including personalized alerting and tech support if not available locally.

Reach-back services support these objectives. Figure 4 depict the services supported and Table 4

summarizes its use.

Figure 4: Reach Back Services

Technical Support Services


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Table 4 Reach Back Services Summary

Reach Back Services - SummaryDefinition Set of services to support forward planning and deploymentObjectives Accelerate planning time and reduce deployment risks by providing

information, assessment and alerting services regarding locally relevant

solutions and contextual information. Provide tech support if not availablelocally.

Use / Method 1. Collect VALSSERV-relevant information (solutions, services,infrastructures)

2. Provide Wiki and other online mechanisms of information retrieval3. Provide assessment services e.g., diagnostics, lessons learned,

frameworks of socio-cultural relevanceElements 1. Repository Services

2. Assessment Services3. Information Distribution Services

IMPACT Training

Building local capacity is a key VALSSERV objective. Training for both local populations and government

officials may be critical both to jump -start VALSSERV activities and to sustain their impacts. IMPACT

training has a crisp objective: accelerate training for both local population and government

representatives around specific VALSSERV topics and activities. Each topic consists of a set of 1-day

training modules (or classes). A training program or course is delivered around the modules selected

on the basis of interest, relevance and need. VALSSERV IMPACT training topics are:

I = Infrastructure Communications Energy Information

M = Messaging, and StratCom relevant modules P = Partnerships and methods of social network development & trust-building A = Situational Awareness, and training of how to enhance situational awareness C = Core essential domains and their services

Agriculture Healthcare Business Development ..

T = Transition and additional topics, such as legal and regulatory issues, conflict resolution, etc.


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Each of these either currently, or will, consist of a series of modules that local populations and/or

government representatives can select from to customize their own training programs. For example,

under Infrastructure and Information, 15 separate 1-day training modules exist regarding emerging CIO

or information management issues. Under Infrastructure and Communications, 5-10 modules will soon

exist regarding different aspects of deploying communications infrastructures under different

conditions.

Table 5 IMPACT Training

IMPACT Training - SummaryDefinition Set of 1-day training modules built around many VALSSERV planning and

operational activitiesObjectives Accelerate the strengthening of relevant skillsUse / Method 1. 1-Day module around a specific topic

2. Sets of modules are selected by the local population and/or governmentrepresentatives around which a customized Training Program / Course isdeveloped and delivered

Elements Each IMPACT area consists of a number of different training modules whichcan be tailored for localized selection and relevance.

The following section Describes each of the Coordination and Planning elements in more detail.

Planning and Deployment Elements - Domains and Services

Domains and services differ in relevance depending upon the country, province, district and, often,

village. Consequently, the intent here is not to be exhaustive with regards to which domains and

services are relevant, but rather to illustrate some critical VALSSERV planning and operational

considerations.

Consideration #1: emphasize infrastructure and service interdependencies and the potential

sequence of impacts (both desired and unintended) among them. Each infrastructure or service

project, by itself, may be of interest and may be the primary focus of an organization within a

particular location. However, such single -source projects are likely to be unsustainable over

time, since they rarely b uild the network -effect of local commitment and demonstrated value.

Consideration #2: keep the planning process and execution plans simple, but also sufficient to

address cross-cutting factors. Visual models ease communications particularly across different


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organizations and peoples from different backgrounds, languages, and perspectives. Visual

models also provide quick assessments of key issues as interdependencies, barriers and

breakdowns (particularly if some sort of simulation / agent-based modeling is deployed).

Figure 5 provides an example of a simple visual model highlighting interdependencies among domains,services and infrastructures. Two pragmatic points emerge from such depictions:

1. The lines among the elements are as important for planning and operational considerations as

are the services themselves. They reflect flows - of influence, pressure and/or resources -

shaping how, when and if the services are likely to have the impact intended.

2. Focus on such flows help s anticipate and monitor emergent behaviors and patterns of

interest. Meeting the twin objectives of building local capacity while mitigating threat

conditions requires looking for and understanding such patterns. The lines among the services

become important focal points to build such understanding. They can be used to emphasize:

a. Degree of dependency e.g., bold line may mean direct while dotted lines indicate

indirect dependency

b. Nature of dependency e.g. labeling the lines indicates that kind of dependency exists

whether one of time, space (location), resources, influence, or whatever.

c. Challenges e.g., highlighting different kinds of challenges (or possible constraints) that

need to be overcome to meet operational objectives.

Such visual depictions provide a quick environmental snapshot of a) what is connected with what , how

and why , as well as, perhaps most importantly, b) identification of common barriers or constraints to be

overcome. Such focus could help minimize resources expended and maximize objectives realized. In

addition, such maps often serve as powerful communications tools, helping to build social trust of the

local population by demonstrating sensitivity and awareness of such localized issues that need to be

worked through together.

Figure 5 is not intended to be worked through in any detail. Rather, it is a high level depiction of one

possible approach to create such quick environmental snapshots.


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Figure 5: Issue Mapping to VALSSERV Services an example

Identifying dependencies among services is important to increase the likelihood of them being

sustainable across time. A variety of models exist to identifying such possible dependencies ranging

from simple 2x2 matrices e.g., domain by domain, service by service, or domain by service tocomplex system dynamic models such as the one in Figure 6.


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Figure 6: A System Dynamic Model showing Agriculture / Health / Electricity Service Dependencies 24

And here it gets tricky. Its one thing to know what services may be of hig h impact as well as their

dependencies on both other services and underlying core infrastructure . Its entir ely another to able toact on that knowledge - given local considerations. This is where the logic of planning meets the

reality of local conditions.

Where Bottoms-Up Considerations meet Top-Down Frameworks

VALSSERV rests on deploying services that meet localized and population-determined requirements.

Tensions may exist between planned desirability (in terms of planned highest impact) and

operational do -ability given:

Social networks and relationships

Social-cultural-political considerations

Local capabilities, and Existing assets.

Ultimately, which services will be sustainably implemented will be determined by these four local

characteristics. Michelle Parker, a USAID Foreign Service Officer, developed a framework of pragmatic

implementatio ns in Eastern Afghanistan when serving as a development advisor to NATOs

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). 25 This approach can have value for other populations in

24 John Crowley model and discussion, September 26, 2009.25 Michelle Parker, Programming Development Funds to Support a Counterinsurgency: Nangarhar, Afghanistan , Defense and Technology Paper 53, Center for Technology and National Security Policy , September 2008. http://www.ndu.edu/ctnsp/Def_Tech/DTP%2053%20Programming%20Development%20Funds.pdf
http://www.ndu.edu/ctnsp/Def_Tech/DTP%2053%20Programming%20Development%20Funds.pdfhttp://www.ndu.edu/ctnsp/Def_Tech/DTP%2053%20Programming%20Development%20Funds.pdfhttp://www.ndu.edu/ctnsp/Def_Tech/DTP%2053%20Programming%20Development%20Funds.pdfhttp://www.ndu.edu/ctnsp/Def_Tech/DTP%2053%20Programming%20Development%20Funds.pdf


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stressed environments. Essentially, the framework for deciding on where to engage with assistance

efforts rests on the assumption that sustainable execution requires stability considerations along two

axes: government legitimacy and effectiveness. Figure 7 depicts the resulting Stability Matrix for

framing locally-relevant programs.

Figure 7: The Stability Matrix for selecting local areas for services deployment focus

Operationalizing this frameworks rests on eight steps:

1. Understanding the strategic framework e.g., objectives and range of intervention options from kinetic to stability and sustainable development operations

2. Operationalizing the strategy e.g., defining operational objectives

3. Determining geographic focus through tribal analysis e.g., identify do -able locations forfocus, based on the potential for social trust-building, existing capacity and capabilities

4. Defining project parameters e.g., defining criteria around impact and timing

5. Conducting the project identification process e.g., select domain and services focus againworking with local decision makers


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6. Gaining government approval e.g., working with both formal and informal governanceinstitutions

7. Holding the PRT (provincial reconstruction team) project nomination board e.g., identifying andgetting commitments of organizations / actors to be involved

8. Implementation e.g., deployment, monitoring and assessment.

Figuring which services are desirable is one thing. Having the enabling infrastructure to support them

communications, power, and information is another. Services all sit on top of these core

infrastructures the topic of the next section.

Planning and Deployment Elements - Infrastructure

Communications, Power and Information form VALSSERV critical infrastructural foundations.

Communications

Communications is a broad term, including infrastructure development e.g., radio, TV, cell phone

voice, text messaging, wide-band, high speed internet, publications as appropriate - as well as content

and sensing applications to enhance the utility of the communications infrastructur e. The focus of this

section remains limited to information transport mechanisms such as portable satellite dishes,

microwave links and mesh networks, bridging equipment to link to local communication systems, as wellas robust, low-power computers, geospatial information systems (GIS) and related products. 26

What can be deployed, where, obviously differs greatly across differing operational zones, given

potentially dramatically different conditions. However, despite such conditions, a common set of

deployment principles holds termed R2S2. These R2S2 principles hold that the communications

infrastructure be:

Rapidly configurable

Rapidly deployable

Scalable, given geographically-heterogeneous conditions

26 Other communications infrastructures will be discussed in a subsequent article.


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Simple.

Figure 8 depicts a communications austerity framework (CAF). The CAF is structured along two axes.

One axis forms a continuum of access austerity conditions ranging from extremely limited

bandwidth capability (e.g., with only SMS-potential capabilities) to full internet-enabled, zero-latency,

significant power backup capability. The other axis consists of different domains or services requiring

such connectivity

Figure 8: Communications Austerity Framework (CAF)

The resulting CAF space focuses attention on how to link planning (and operator training) to specific

types of challenges under different conditions of communications austerity. What can be done, for

example, if only SMS capabilities exist? Much, as it turns out. FrontlineSMS:Medic, for example, is a

free, open-source SMS application program that enables large-scale two-way text messaging using only

a laptop, a GSM modem and cell phones. A recent, 6-month pilot test of the system at a hospital in

Malawi saved 1,000 hours of medical professional travel time allowing them to visit more patients

the number of people being treated for tuberculosis doubled, and the hospital saved USD 3,500 worth

of fuel, freeing up funds to purchase more medication. 27 In Uganda, Text to Change uses an SMS-based

quiz to raise awareness among phone users about HIV/AIDS that brought a 40% increase in the number

of people getting tested. A study in Thailand in 2007 showed that compliance with a drug regimen totackle TB jumped to over 90% when patients were sent daily text reminders to take their pills on time. 28

Many other SMS-only examples could be suggested; a recent report funded by the UN Foundation and

27 http://springwise.com/non-profit_social_cause/frontlinesms/.28 http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13437958


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the Vodafone Foundation documented more than four dozen similar types of projects across the

developing world, all existing within significantly austere communication environments. 29

As one moves to the right within CAF space, different types of communications set -ups and

coordination occur. For example, many services require communications capabilities e.g., how do you

locate missing people in a disaster zone which, itself, unpacks into a significant number of procedural

steps to follow, all of which require communications access and coordination.) Extraordinary kinds of

technologies exist, of potential use, within and across each area of CAF space from both military and

private, NGO and commercial. This reinforces the importance of training. As noted above, much can be

done if operators recognize the potential of SMS, but there also are great opportunities if operators

understand how to scale as other bandwidth becomes available. This reinforces the importance of

VALSSERV experimentations and coordination.

One such set of communications-infrastructure experiments has been occurring, and will continue to do

so, in the RELIEF (Research and Experimentation for Local and International Emergency and First

Responders) program being coordinated by the Naval Postgraduate School at Monterey (NPS) at Camp

Roberts in central California. RELIEF provides an environment to solve complex operations problems.

Camp Roberts is linked to test sites in other states so experiments can be run in a wide range of

climates. It leverages distributed communities of like-minded people from a wide variety of

organizations and backgrounds mobilized around specific challenges.

For example, experiments in August, 2009 involved dozens of engineers and social scientists focused on

setting up rapid communications networks in stressed environments. The team explored innovative

ways of enhancing situational awareness using short message system (SMS)/text-messages in limited-

bandwidth situations, and worked to link the updates to useful geospatial products that could be

modified in the field. The products were based on a recently released archive of sub one-meter (1m)

imagery products that NGA made available in July 2009 for participants in US and coalition operations in

Afghanistan. Through collaboration among geographers, software developers, government employees,

and NGO/PVO field staff members, using a mix of freely available, open-source and common

29 http://www.unfoundation.org/global-issues/technology/mhealth-report.html


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commercial tools, effective products were developed, deployed to Afghanistan and used in election

monitoring less than two weeks after the experiment started. 30

A forthcoming NDU VALSSERV report will focus on the Communications Infrastructure, expanding the

CAF framework to help assess and rapidly deploy different types of technical solutions mapped todifferent domains and services under differing communication austerity conditions. 31

Power

Reliable power is a prerequisite for development and reconstruction, and thus for stabilization.

VALSSERV approaches provides ways to get power to remote villages fairly quickly at relatively low cost.

Some larger-based projects are Designed to create or extend the capacity of a centralized power grid.

However, distributed renewable energy is more a way to anticipate the build-out of the grid and

supplement it than to expand the high capacity grid itself. Nonetheless, it can make important

contributions to the well-being of many peo ple by providing key services to those who havent had

them, or have had them disrupted. These people often live in areas where they are subject to

ideological, political and economic disruption or intimidation.

Distributed, renewable energy solar panels, wind turbines, micro-hydro, local geothermal (or hybrids)

with integrating power controllers where applicable - is critical to bring essential services to remote

areas, as well as to support stabilization and reconstruction operations. Such services could include

water purification, lighting, agricultural support, and other services discussed earlier.

Key to VALSSERV power planning (indeed, all VALSSERV planning) is to get local buy -in to meet local

needs as the decision makers perceive them (rather than what outsiders think they should have) and to

make the infrastructure more resilient to disruption (intentional or accidental). Thus, the focus needs to

be bottom -up, starting wi th local governance structures supported by technically qualified staff. A

critical principle, which cannot be overstated, is that making infrastructures more resilient requires that

the owners, protectors and users of those infrastructures be fully engaged in the decision, the build,

30 USAIDs Global Development Commons websit e reported the new partnership to monitor Afghan elections on August 19,2009, http://www.usaid.gov/about_usaid/gdc/31 See also, Linton Wells II, Rationalization of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Activities. February 21,2009, http://star-tiValSServ.net/node/381


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and the maintenance particularly in complex operational zones. In fact, there are many advantages in

having the owners, protectors and users be the same group. Village-focused, distributed power projects

satisfy those criteria. Additional considerations for VALSSERV energy planning include:

Price / economic cost of energy installation and maintenance e.g., do economic externalitiesand infrastructures exist to support the operation? Can a sustainable economic model bedeveloped?

Capabilities e.g., what resources in terms of numbers of people, skill-sets and commitmentexist to support the operation?

Physical environmental conditions - e.g., is there enough continuous wind for wind-turbines?Will waterflows support micro-hydro year-round, etc.?

Equally important are socio-political and cultural considerations as exemplified by relationshipstructures, belief frameworks and behavioral patterns - in terms of how new power sources impact

existing relationships and methods of interaction. Entire disciplines have been Designed around these

types of considerations. 32 The point here is pragmatic: socio-political and cultural sensitivity may not

dictate which services are deployed when and where; but lack of this sensitivity and planning

consideration will certainly weaken the likelihood of operational effectiveness. 33

Within each of these planning elements it is important to consider the type of impact needed. Yet , its

important to keep in mind a simple, but highly effective, lesson which underlies many of theseconsiderations. The very process of building and deploying energy infrastructural capabilities is as

important as the services they enable. Not only does it demonstrate commitment to the local

population, but the foundation provided to build services on top of that infrastructure strengthens social

trust, enhances relationships and deepens local commitment to protect, and use, the infrastructure. In

counterinsurgency (COIN) environments, a key objective is to tease apart the population from

insurgen ts. The very process of the VALSSERV infrastructure-build - by providing jobs, building

capabilities, and demonstrating commitment - contributes to meeting that objective. 34

32 http://www.gnesd.org/centres.htm33 Mark Gerencser, Reginald Van Lee, Fernando Napolitano, and Christopher Kelly, Megacommunities , [need restof reference]34 Kilcullen, Op. cit . Conversations with Dave Warner and Captain(P) Don Smith, August 30, 2009.


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Further validity of that principle comes from significant experience deploying micro-hydro projects in

several Afghanistan provinces by Chris Corsten.

Chris Corsten has been installing microhydro power (MHP) systems in Nangahar Province for the past

several years, as noted earlier. He recently completed a survey of over 450 potential MHP sites inNangarhar, with the following range of potential outputs:

238 sites have a potential output between 2 Kw-9 Kw

133 sites have a potential output between 10 Kw-19 Kw

48 sites have the potential output between 20 Kw-29 Kw



7 sites have the potential output over 100 Kw.

Excerpts from a conversation with Chris highlight this lesson.

when you build power, people get creative with it. For example, one of the projects is

powering a private computer center where a house has four computers and is teaching

computer skills and English classes with it. As another example we are building a system next

month to power the Ghanikhel hospital with 25 kw. This will allow for lighting and fans for thehospital as well as small electronics and will save them having to use expensive generators as

much. Another example is where a school computer lab is being powered by a microhydro .35

Chris ends: It is best to get the power going and not wait to get all the other stuff on board before

starting. Often we keep trying to make big plans that encompass so many facets that we don't get

started. Getting started is the important thing .

Information

VALSSERV cannot function without sharing information and the smart power capabilities of which it is

a central element. Being able to communicate, collaborate, translate and engage effectively with local

35 Conversation with Chris Corsten on August 29, 2009.


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people and populations are critical to achieve the social, political and economic goals for which military

forces have been committed.

A number of key policy refinements to improve information sharing and provide needed services to the

field faster have been proposed by STAR-TIVALSSERV members . They include: Allowing civil-military mission participants 36 to share DODs radio frequency bandwidth under

appropriate circumstances, given concerns of classified vs unclassified materials

Promoting the sharing of UNCLASSIFIED imagery with such partners

Using metadata tagging to make information about SSTR/HADR/BPC contingencies more readily

discoverable, accessible and understandable across participating networks

Focusing on shared responsibility commitmen ts regarding information sharing via hand-

shakes, tea-drinking, or verbal commitments.

Each is important for planning consideration; and each has operational implications for decisions made

regarding whether, if and how to share information.

Bandwidth Sharing

Significant limitations on sharing radio frequency bandwidth have limited DoD and NGO cooperation in a

variety of relief efforts, including that of the 200r tsumani. Such constraints hindered rapid responses,

to the detriment of all parties involved. Accordingly, in April 2009, a DoD Instruction was issued to

remove some of these constraints, including the following:

1. Information-sharing activities that facilitate coordination and cooperation between DoD andnon-DoD partners will be established to enable common understanding of the stabilization andreconstruction, disaster relief, and humanitarian and civic assistance environment; and tosupport an integrated Whole-of-Government response capability.

2. In response to validated requirements, the Department of Defense or Military DepartmentHeadquarters may resource ICT capabilities to share spectrum or bandwidth, and to provideassociated ICT infrastructure services ." 37

36 Civil-military mission participants include other US government agencies, international organizations, non-governmentalorganizations, private volunteer organizations, state, local, territorial and tribal governments, indigenous security services, andothers (including commercial firms and individuals as appropriate) who are directly contributing to the ongoing mission. Thenext several sections draw significantly from STAR-TIVALSSERV and the Starfish, Op. cit.37 DoDI 8220.02 of April 30, 2009, Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Capabilities for Support of Stabilizationand Reconstruction, Disaster Relief, and Humanitarian and Civic Assistance Operations . It is available athttp://www.dtic.mil/whs/directives/corres/pd

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