Systematic Method for Prioritizing Investments in Game-Changing Technologies: The Evaluation and Comparison Process Framework

The current economic and technological environment requires making difficult choices about technology investments. Technologies that might be critical to meeting the enduring challenges faced by the Department of the Air Force (DAF) are proliferating and developing at an accelerating pace. In some cases, these technologies have dual-use applications that are the focus of commercial activity in the United States and abroad. Current and potential adversaries, especially those with near-peer capacity, are developing increasingly robust capabilities to challenge U.S. dominance. U.S. government and civilian organizations face budget constraints that will require choices to be made about which of the gamut of technologies to invest in to meet these challenges. A systematic method of comparing and evaluating technology options to ensure that limited resources are invested wisely is needed.