Complex Adaptive Systems and Command & Control

1. Complex Adaptive Systems and Command & Control Lorraine Dodd IOCS presentation Ottawa meeting

2. It's all about type of engagement • Purposeful relationship-based engagements can be : • collaborative • coercive • contractual • controlling • …and can lead to action-based engagements as occur in: • conflict • crisis. • All of these drive types of activity, and thence, the nature of inter-activity. • Command creates conditions of balance for establishment of: • direction and operation • Control manages feedback for maintenance of direction and operation.

3. confrontation confrontation conflict tension small  coercive controlling compatibility overlap crisis collaborative contractual large  critical degrees of freedom relatively tight feasibility or do-ability

4. activities • complimentary (e.g. maritime support to land-based forces) • coordinated (e.g. forces taking part in same time-place planned activities) • coherent (e.g. providing covering fire in assault operations – reacting to adversary) • connected (e.g. reacting wholly to others' actions at real-time) • leading to different types of interactivity • procedural (mutually-exclusive but supporting) • through pre-defined ordinate 'system' (e.g. clock, map, synch matrix) • through well-practised 'feel for each other's ways' (real exercises) • through always-on communication (capable of reacting to anything)

5. Accountable and regulated operations need F,A,B,C ISTAR B values A C Logs Arty Engr CAS Info F Physical forces + organic assets Direction and priorities policy Operative support restraints constraints directives WAYS to meet ENDS MEANS What about unregulated forces? What does being unaccountable mean for degrees of freedom? WAYS

6. how do we 'deem possible' our actions/options? imagine all potential options without prejudice and from multiple viewpoints performable options obligated options required options available options achievable options permitted options how to promote inquiry and not advocacy? do-able options desirable options possible options

7. expectation-driven goal-based plan don't mind as long as parameter stays within these tolerance limits parameter (e.g number of forces in region) optimal value of parameter Parameters, expectation and limit-setting

8. Action repertoires, direction and restraints on actions directed actions don't mind as long as action falls in acceptable range and achieves purpose no action submissive action warning action defensive action aggressive action range of potential actions 'desired' action

9. Now consider: parameter  corrective action trigger and what happens when there is high noise or error in parameter position? parameter need to adapt or correct still OK actions current action corrective action?

10. Now consider: effect of noise/error on corrective action trigger and what happens when there are many points of view about 'OK-ness' of parameter and 'OK-ness' of actions? parameter need to adapt or correct? still OK everyone? actions carry on..?

11. Social complexity: sources of power & accountability • Need to first address different organisational perspectives • Four broad types of power as they relate to the perspectives

12. Aspects for analysis • Initially need multiple analytical frameworks • Based upon different perspectives • Each perspective has its own dynamic and set of reference frames • Each perspective has a different model for driving power • positional power (e.g. command hierarchy, veto/weapon-key, etc) • expert power (e.g. legal/medical expertise) • reward/punishment power (e.g. penal system, career, medals, etc) • referent power (e.g. local tribal leaders, hero, politicians?) • Perspectives help to define nature of interactions, interdependencies, relationships and to understand reasons for particular infrastructures and need for adaptive C2 structures.

13. four organisational perspectives Use design-time conditions to get assemble-time flexibility to give operation-time agility It all comes down to what people in the organisation are able to do at operation-time enables adaptive-ness enables flexibility social (action potential) referent power knowledge (frames/learning) expert power organism (success/failure) reward/punishment formal (layered/hierarchy) positional power degrees of fixture

14. types of powerFoucault: "power is about relationship, it is not a possession"so power can only be relative • Positional Power – due to assigned rank or authority - as number / importance of relationships increases, freedoms for positional power increase. • Expert Power – due to expertise and knowledge which is expected in operational relationships - trust and social-role norms are important. • Reward and Punishment Power – due to 'inheritance' relationships that afford capacity to award (money, medal, promotion, imprisonment, setting boundaries) – needs surveillance system. • Referent Power – due to relationships of reverence (eg leaders, role models) – this is hardest type to remove deliberately as it is not 'localised' within any formal organisational structures. Power provides the (relational) fulcrum on which to lever force. Types of power help to distinguish command, leadership and management

15. So…. … does all that change the way we need to think about CAS and C2? If so what does it mean for our conceptual and analytical frameworks? Answers on a postcard to ….