How security cooperation systems get funded

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1. Why there is a framework at all

A foreign military sale is written, tracked and billed inside computer systems that the United States government pays for. Those systems are funded the way other government programs are funded, through a review that decides what gets built and who signs it off. The manual sets out that review in one chapter.

The starting point is that the agency runs a standing process rather than a series of one off purchases. It administers a defined and repeatable investment framework through which security cooperation decision makers align spending with business strategy. The same framework is meant to deliver interoperability, fiscal accountability and compliance with defense rules and standards (SAMM C13.2.1).

It is not a free standing arrangement. "IT governance for the SC community is required to operate within the parameters and constraints of the governance structure approved and implemented by the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF)" (SAMM C13.2.1). The framework also carries management controls over the integrity of investments, with senior oversight from the military departments where that is appropriate.

2. Two boards, one endorses and one approves

The framework runs on decision making and advisory boards, of which two matter most: the Portfolio Investment Review Board and the Strategic Investment Board (SAMM C13.2.2). Their roles are deliberately different, and the manual states each in a single line.

The first board looks at an investment as a matter of running the business. Its role is stated as "The PIRB to endorse IT investments from a business operations perspective" (SAMM C13.2.2.1). The second looks at the same investment from higher up: "The SIB Chair to approve IT investments from a strategic, mission, and policy perspective" (SAMM C13.2.2.2).

Endorsement and approval are not the same act. The review board offers counsel and recommendations to the investment board, and makes operational and tactical decisions in support of the strategy the investment board has already set (SAMM C13.2.4.2).

Seniority follows that split. "The SIB is chaired by DSCA’s Assistant Director for Business Operations and includes executive-level SC enterprise functional members from across DSCA, MILDEPs, and Implementing Agencies (IAs) with equity in IT investments" (SAMM C13.2.4.1). The review board is chaired by the agency chief information officer and draws its members from deputy assistant directors and their equivalents in the military departments (SAMM C13.2.4.2). Which offices these are is set out in who holds which authority.

3. The technical layer underneath

Below the two boards sit the bodies that supply expertise rather than decisions. "IT Advisory Committees are established on an as needed basis and provide the governance boards with subject matter expertise in the review of and advice on specific subjects such as technical requirements, enterprise data, business architecture, and impacts of system changes" (SAMM C13.2.4.3).

A standing board handles engineering. Chaired by the agency chief technology officer, the Engineering and Architecture Review Board is an internal team supplying technical expertise to the advisory committees, the chief information officer and both governance boards (SAMM C13.2.4.4).

Its reach extends past the agency’s own systems. "The E&ARB provides strategic engineering and architectural guidance for core IT systems across the SC community, to include those managed by the MILDEPs" (SAMM C13.2.4.4). A system operated by one military department is therefore reviewed against standards set centrally.

4. Where the dollar lines fall

Approval authority is set by size. "SC-specific tiers are established for IT investment requests within business system category (BCAT) III, to include the required approval authority within the IT investment framework for each tier" (SAMM C13.2.5). The two larger categories are decided outside the agency altogether.

The published table gives the figures. A priority business system expected to exceed 250 million dollars of budget authority over the current defense program is category one, decided by the defense chief information officer. More than 50 million dollars is category two, decided by that officer with the relevant military department. Everything below sits in category three, which is where the agency’s own tiers begin (SAMM Table C13.T2).

Within category three the lines are 2 million dollars and 250 thousand dollars. Above 2 million the investment board decides. Between 250 thousand and 2 million the review board decides. At or below 250 thousand, where the spending maintains existing operations, the agency chief information officer decides (SAMM Table C13.T2).

Two alternative triggers sit alongside the dollar figures. An unfunded requirement of more than ten percent of the original investment lifts a request to the investment board, and more than five percent lifts it to the review board. A chair may also pull any special project up to the higher table (SAMM Table C13.T2).

One footnote prevents a common misreading. "Approval of BCAT III requirements by the DSCA CIO, PIRB, and/or SIB does not authorize funding" (SAMM Table C13.T2). Money follows a separate route, described in how the administrative budget is built.

5. From a request to a funded project

Requests enter through one door. "DSCA utilizes the centralized Intake to Prioritization (I2P) Process to align IT projects and demands through a vetting and prioritization process to improve consistency and efficiency across the SC community" (SAMM C13.2.6.1). Every request runs through six phases against standards the chief information officer has set.

The first phase checks whether a request is complete, whether it duplicates something already in hand, and whether it belongs with the service desk instead. The second develops the business requirement with the requester and tests initial technical feasibility. The third is the engineering board’s review, which settles whether the work is feasible, whether it is in scope, and whether it will be done internally or contracted out (SAMM Table C13.T3).

The last three phases turn an accepted request into a queued project. Courses of action are developed, board review is arranged where the thresholds require it, and expert approvals and governance decisions are collected. Only at that point does a demand become a project and enter the development lifecycle (SAMM Table C13.T3).

6. What a supplier can take from this

Two things are worth holding on to. The first is that a change to a system a partner relies on is an investment decision with a named approver, and the approver is set by the size of the change rather than by its urgency. A small fix sits with one officer. A large one sits with a board of senior members drawn from across the departments.

The second is that approval and funding are separate steps. A request can clear every board in the framework and still wait for money, which is why the timetable for a system improvement rarely matches the timetable a program office would prefer.

Key terms

Strategic Investment Board	The senior board that approves investments on strategy, mission and policy grounds. SAMM C13.2.4.1.
Portfolio Investment Review Board	The board that endorses investments from a business operations perspective. SAMM C13.2.2.1.
Engineering and Architecture Review Board	The internal technical board that reviews systems across the community, including those run by the military departments.
Business system category	The classification that decides who approves an investment, set mainly by dollar value.
Intake to Prioritization	The six phase route every request travels before it becomes a funded project.

Every statement above links to the document behind it. The full source list for this piece is on the sources page.

This page describes public United States government programs for general information. It is not legal, regulatory or procurement advice, and it does not address the facts of any particular case.

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