Strategies to Enhance
Air Force Communication with
Internal and External Audiences

A WORKSHOP REPORT

Committee on Strategies to Enhance Air Force Communication
with Internal and External Audiences: A Workshop

Air Force Studies Board

Division on Engineering and Physical Sciences

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS    500 Fifth Street, NW    Washington, DC 20001

This is a report of work supported by Grant FA9550-14-1-0127 between the U.S. Air Force and the National Academy of Sciences. Any opinions, findings, or conclusions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.

International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-38901-3
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-38901-1
DOI: 10.17226/21876

Copyright 2016 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Strategies to Enhance Air Force Communication with Internal and External Audiences: A Workshop Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

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COMMITTEE ON STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE AIR FORCE COMMUNICATION
WITH INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL AUDIENCES: A WORKSHOP

DOUGLAS M. FRASER, U.S. Air Force (retired), Chair

PAMELA A. DREW, Premier Aerospace and Defense, Vice Chair

RICHARD P. HALLION, Science and Technology Policy Institute

JOANN KEYTON, North Carolina State University

WENDI E. STRONG, USAA

Staff

JOAN FULLER, Director, Air Force Studies Board

ANDREW J. KREEGER, Program Officer

MARGUERITE E. SCHNEIDER, Administrative Coordinator

COURTLAND LEWIS, Consultant

DIONNA C. ALI, Research Assistant

AIR FORCE STUDIES BOARD

DOUGLAS M. FRASER, Doug Fraser, LLC, Chair

DONALD C. FRASER, Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (retired), Vice Chair

BRIAN A. ARNOLD, Peachtree City, Georgia

ALLISON ASTORINO-COURTOIS, National Security Innovations, Inc.

TED F. BOWLDS, The Spectrum Group

STEVEN R.J. BRUECK, University of New Mexico

FRANK J. CAPPUCCIO, Cappuccio and Associates, LLC

BLAISE J. DURANTE, U.S. Air Force (retired)

BRENDAN B. GODFREY, University of Maryland, College Park

MICHAEL A. HAMEL, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company

DANIEL E. HASTINGS, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

RAYMOND E. JOHNS, JR., Flight Safety International

ROBERT H. LATIFF, R. Latiff Associates

NANCY G. LEVESON, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

MARK J. LEWIS, Institute for Defense Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute

ALEX MILLER, University of Tennessee

OZDEN OCHOA, Texas A&M University

RICHARD V. REYNOLDS, The VanFleet Group, LLC

STARNES E. WALKER, University of Delaware

DEBORAH WESTPHAL, Toffler Associates

DAVID A. WHELAN, Boeing Defense, Space, and Security

REBECCA WINSTON, Winston Strategic Management Consulting

MICHAEL I. YARYMOVYCH, Sarasota Space Associates

Staff

JOAN FULLER, Director

ALAN H. SHAW, Deputy Director

DIONNA C. ALI, Research Assistant

GEORGE COYLE, Senior Program Officer

CARTER W. FORD, Program Officer

CHRIS JONES, Financial Manager

ANDREW J. KREEGER, Program Officer

MARGUERITE E. SCHNEIDER, Administrative Coordinator

Acknowledgment of Reviewers

This workshop report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:

R. Stephen Berry, University of Chicago,

Sharon L. Dunwoody, University of Wisconsin, Madison,

Mark J. Lewis, Science and Technology Policy Institute, and

Rebecca A. Winston, Winston Strategic Management Consulting.

Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the views presented at the workshop, nor did they see the final draft of the workshop report before its release. The review of this workshop report was overseen by Chris G. Whipple, ENVIRON (retired), who was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this workshop report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the committee and the institution.

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Contents

OVERVIEW

1 CHALLENGES IN DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING AN EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY FOR THE U.S. AIR FORCE

U.S. Air Force Communication Practices: Current Status

U.S. Air Force Communication Challenges: Today and Future

Key Challenges Discussed: Culture, Organization, and Strategy

2 COMMUNICATING WITH A WIDE SPECTRUM OF AUDIENCES

Issues in Describing the Value of the U.S. Air Force Mission to Diverse Audiences

Internal Communication: U.S. Air Force Stakeholders

External Communication

Role of Social Media in Communication Today

3 ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGIES AND PROCESSES FOR ENHANCING U.S. AIR FORCE COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS

Lessons Learned by Other Organizations

Putting Social Media to Work for the Air Force

Possible Options for the USAF in Organization and Processes

4 MEASURING COMMUNICATION EFFECTIVENESS ACROSS DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS AND MISSIONS

Defining “Effective Communication” in the Air Force Context

Measures of Effectiveness and Success

Available Analytical Tools and Methods

Key Considerations

5 RESTATEMENT OF MAIN THEMES

APPENDIXES

A Biographical Sketches of Committee Members

B Workshop Statement of Task

C Workshop Participants

D Workshop Agenda

Acronyms

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