Support for the Commission on Programming, Planning, Budgeting & Execution

This report is now available in a digital format

Developing the national defense budget is no small task. The Department of Defense (DoD) budget exceeds $800 billion, nearly 13% of the total 2024 budget and 3% of GDP. It is made up of 48 unique investment activities spread over 23 different appropriations and managed by more than 1,700 distinct budget line items. Every year, DoD and Congress work together to bring the budget to fruition. In 2024 that collaboration is called the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) process. While rigorous, the PPBE process takes significant time and effort.

In 2022, Congress established the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution Reform to investigate the PPBE process and make recommendations for improvement. In 2023, The Commission released its interim report.

Between October 2023 and March 2024, Service Design Collective collaborated directly with Commission staff to explore the DoD’s technology, communication, information sharing, and data practices.

In 2024, the Commission released a final report entitled Defense Resourcing for the Future.

Portions of our research were incorporated directly into the Commission’s final report.

Service Design Collective collaborated directly with Commission staff across several areas of critical reform. We explored shared communication patterns, technical tools, and data practices. Portions of our research were incorporated directly into the Commission’s final report.

This supplementary work is designed as a starting point for recommendation 19, “Establish Classified and Unclassified Communication Enclaves.” However, our recommendations are broadly applicable to the five critical areas for reform outlined in the Commission’s report. In particular, investing in Human-centered Design, improving product delivery, and implementing data management best practices will lead to more effective uses of technology across the enterprise.

Congress established the Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) Reform in Section 1004 of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act to examine the effectiveness of the Defense Department’s PPBE process. The Commission is comprised of 14 Commissioners who bring a wealth of experience across the congressional, defense, budgeting, acquisition, and innovation ecosystems. The Commission’s work focuses on finding ways to improve the PPBE process to enhance the United States’ ability to counter strategic competitors.

The PPBE process was first developed in the 1960s by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. It applied rigorous analytic techniques to budget formulation and allowed the DoD to examine budgets over multiple years. This top-down approach allowed for the Services to plan their own budgets but required review and oversight by the Department’s Comptroller. For decades, the PPBE process was effective in applying order and accountability to the budgeting process.

Sixty years later, in a quickly evolving security environment, the PPBE process struggles to meet DoD’s needs. This is especially true when it comes to critical adopting technological advances and hastening projects from research and development into production.

Research for this project was funded by a grant from the Federation of American Scientists.

• The Commission on Planning, Programming, budgeting, and Execution Reform
• FY22 National Defense Authorization Act, section 1004
• PPBE Commission Interim Report, August 2023
• PPBE Commission Final Report, March 2024

To discuss this work, please reach out to our team at: ppbe.project@servicedesigncollective.com