Old and new thoughts on R&D

Since Arthur Cebrowski died last month, I have spent a lot of time re-reading his writings. They are so good that we decided to share them. You can read an excerpt of his last published thoughts on the following pages.

Cebrowski, a decorated Navy vice admiral who most recently served as director of the Defense Department's Office of Force Transformation, was skilled at conveying complex thoughts in ways that are easy to understand. I found myself returning to his ideas hours or days after I read them. He will be missed, and his shoes will be difficult to fill.

As you read the excerpt on the following pages, it will become clear that one of the issues close to Cebrowski's heart was research and development.

"R&D is really quite nuanced. There is a texture to it," he wrote. "As [DOD] moves into a period of uncertainty, discovery and invention are increasingly important."

We have used Federal Computer Week's editorial page several times this year to stress the importance of government funding for information technology R&D. Therefore, we were momentarily heartened last month when House Democrats published their Innovation Agenda, which includes additional government spending for R&D, among other priorities.

However, we were quickly reminded of how issues can get sidetracked in the partisan sniping that seems to define so much of politics these days.

But we give credit when credit is due. Our hopeful side says that Democrats included R&D spending in the Innovation Agenda as a way of raising the visibility of what they believe is an important issue. Our cynical side says the agenda is merely a way to appease IT executives and score political points.

If the former perception is accurate, kudos, and we look forward to progress on what we believe is a critical issue. If the latter motivation is true, however, we cringe at the prospect of R&D spending getting mired in the partisan bog.

-- Christopher J. Dorobek