CNA Corporation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

CNA CorporationFoundedHeadquartersOriginsKey peopleFocus(es)EmployeesMottoWebsite
1942
U.S. Navy Anti-submarine Warfare Operations Research Group

Robert Murray, President & CEO

Katherine McGrady, Ph.D., Executive Vice President & COO
Research and analysis services to DoD and other government agencies
>750
"Analysis and Solutions"
www.cna.org

CNA Corporation is a non-profit organization that serves the public's interests by providing in-depth research and solutions-oriented analyses to help decision makers choose the best course of action in setting policy and managing operations. CNA is not an acronym and is correctly referenced as “CNA Corporation, a non-profit research and analysis organization located in Alexandria, VA.” CNA Corp. is the parent organization of the CNA Corporation's Institute for Public Research, a not-for-profit research and analysis organizations serving all levels of government, and the CNA Corporation's Center for Naval Analyses, the federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) for the United States Navy and Marine Corps. The center also provides research and analysis services to other military and government agencies to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of U.S. national defense efforts.

Solution Centers[edit]

Divisions of CNA Corporation's Institute for Public Research[edit]

Air Traffic Management

CNA Corporation's Air Traffic Management (ATM) Division provides the Federal Aviation Administration and other aviation system clients with wide-ranging technical and analytical support in helping to ensure a safe, secure, and efficient global airspace system that contributes to national security and U.S. economic development. ATM also supports the civil aviation security responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ATM’s team of analysts includes engineers, scientists, mathematicians, economists, and information systems professionals. These experts work directly with clients to solve complex technical, operational, and policy problems, and consult with the broader aviation community to obtain requisite technical and operational input.

Education

CNA Corporation’s Education Division combines the scientific rigor of a research institution with a firsthand understanding of education issues and their real-world implications; addressing problems with objective scientific methods, evidence-based analysis, on-scene field experience, and absolute data integrity. The division assists a diverse range of stakeholders – from state and federal policymakers to higher education institutions to foundations and associations to districts and schools. Its team’s extensive experience with applied research, experimental trials, program evaluation, and technical assistance allows the division to provide clients with clear, credible analysis and actionable solutions. CNA Corporation’s Education Division also operates the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Appalachia, part of a network of ten laboratories funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences. REL Appalachia provides extensive technical assistance and research support to educators and policymakers in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Energy, Water, and Climate

CNA Corporation’s Energy, Water, and Climate Division explores issues related to competing water and energy demands, water-management policies, climate change, and energy. The division focuses on integrated analysis of energy, water, and climate linkages based on the idea that understanding the implications of these linkages will support the development of sound policies and programs that will improve energy security, foster efficiency, and improve the likelihood of a secure, climate-friendly energy future.

Military Advisory Board

CNA Corporation’s Military Advisory Board is an elite group of retired three- and four-star flag and general officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps that studies pressing issues of the day to assess their impact on America’s national security. Since its founding in 2006 the Military Advisory Board has released four major reports: National Security and the Threat of Climate Change,[1] (2007), Powering America’s Defense: Energy and the Risks to National Security.[2] (2009), Powering America’s Economy: Energy Innovation at the Crossroads of National Security Challenges,[3] (2010), and Ensuring America's Freedom of Movement: A National Security Imperative to Reduce U.S. Oil Dependence (2011),

Safety and Security

CNA Corporation’s Safety & Security Division uses research and analysis to deliver solutions that improve decision-making during crisis operations and develop innovative answers to challenging safety and security problems. The division’s applied expertise allows first responders, emergency managers, public health and agriculture professionals, homeland security practitioners, and corporate and citizen partners to integrate risk-management policy, planning, and operations and to develop and sustain prevention, protection, response, and recovery capabilities at a national level.

Divisions of CNA Corporation's Federally Funded Research and Development Center[edit]

Advanced Technology & Systems Analysis (ATSA)

Areas of focus: aviation systems and technology; science and technology; information technology and operations; force structure and employment; maritime search and undersea warfare; expeditionary systems and supportResearch conducted by the Advanced Technology & Systems Analysis Division focuses on analyses of ways to improve future material readiness for the Navy, Marine Corps, and other components of the Department of Defense. Analysts conduct assessments of alternative technical and systems approaches designed to address emerging gaps in the capabilities of U.S. forces, and assess the cost, performance, and risks of various material solutions to address these gaps. ATSA analysts develop a thorough understanding of sponsors’ objectives and operating environments – including sea, land, air, space, and cyberspace – and of the performance characteristics of supporting technologies and systems. Analysts also serve as a link between scientists and engineers in the research and development communities and operators in the Fleet and Marine Forces.

China Studies

Areas of focus: defense and security affairs; foreign policy and transformational issues; leadership and domestic politics; institutional and organizational analyses; internal security; social change, and governanceChina Studies is provides the American public, government officials, and business leaders with high-level analyses of important issues in U.S.-China relations, emerging trends within China, and its changing role in world affairs. Analyses are conducted by researchers who have lived, worked, or studied in China, Hong Kong, or Taiwan and for whom Chinese is a working research language, and publications and programs are designed to provide the insights and context need for leaders make informed judgments and develop sound plans.

Marine Corps Division

Areas of focus: logistics and infrastructure; manpower and training; operations and plans; aviation; combat development and integration; programs and resourcesThe Marine Corps Program conducts analyses on a wide range of issues critical to the Marine Corps leadership, using CNA Corp. headquarters-based analysts as well as analysts serving in the field at Marine Forces Command, Marine Forces Pacific, Marine Special Operations Command, the three Marine Expeditionary Forces, and Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One (MAWTS-1). Analysts are also assigned to support the Deputy Commandants and their staffs and other Marine Corps organizations including the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, Marine Corps Systems Command, and the Commander, Marine Forces Reserve.

Operations Evaluation Group (OEG)

Areas of focus: strategic analysis; tactical analysis; operational analysis; operational testing; readiness and trainingThe Operations Evaluation Group conducts ongoing, field-based research focused on a host of strategic, operational, and tactical challenges facing decision-makers at Navy, Marine Corps, and Joint commands. Through its Field Program, OEG sends analysts on two- to three-year deployments to provide real-time analytic support to operational commands around the world (including aircraft carrier strike groups, Marine expeditionary forces, the U.S. Central Command, and the U.S. Pacific Command).

Operations & Tactics Analysis (OTA)

Areas of focus: maritime domain awareness; combat system interoperability; fleet systems; command-and-control structures: precision strike warfare; consequence management; counter-IED and counter-mining; aircrew training; engagement and humanitarian assistance operations; and training for operators at the tactical and operational levels of warOperations & Tactics Analysis focuses primarily on evaluating current military operations and capabilities – from major combat, to smaller-scale directed strikes, to peacetime engagement missions with partner nations to build capacity or provide humanitarian assistance. OTA also evaluates the effectiveness of new tactics and systems employed to counter such threats as mines, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), chemical/biological/radiation weapons, GPS jammers, and cruise/ballistic missiles.

Resource Analysis Division (RAD)

Areas of focus: infrastructure and readiness; manpower management; materials management; environment, climate change, and energy; facilities and real estate; acquisition and cost management; budget and execution management; metrics and competitive sourcing; cost and schedule analysis; workforce, education, and trainingThe Resource Analysis Division provides analytical services to help develop, evaluate, and implement policies, practices, and programs that make people, budgets, and assets more effective and efficient. All of the division’s analyses are aimed at resolving sponsors’ problems through empirical research, or through modeling and simulation.

Strategic Studies Division

Areas of focus: political-military issues; irregular warfare; in-theater analysis of Afghanistan and Iraq operations; strategic concepts and futures planning; leadership analysis; U.S. military engagement and shaping activities; Middle East and Latin America security issues; East Asia security strategies; the Afghanistan/Pakistan nexus; Project Iran; North Africa Piracy and the Gulf of GuineaThe Strategic Studies Division is CNA Corporation’s focal point for the research and analysis of regional political-military and policy issues, and U.S. strategy and force assessment planning. Its work is characterized by a heavy use of primary sources of information, the operational and policy expertise of its analysts—which includes foreign language skills and experience gained by living, working, or studying abroad—and by recommendations that focus on understanding the “why” behind today’s headlines and identifying and analyzing “the issue after next.”

CNA Corporation's History[edit]

CNA Corporation traces its roots to World War II. During the Battle of the Atlantic the Navy turned to a small group of MIT scientists for help in responding to the German U-boat threat. These scientists pioneered the concept of operations research by insisting on deploying with Navy forces in order to directly observe operational challenges and collect the data needed for meaningful analyses. Their groundbreaking work not only resulted in anti-submarine warfare barrier equations that set the standard for future operations research methods, it also helped establish operations research and analysis as a distinct field, and style, of study. Over its more than 60 year history, CNA Corporation’s work has been defined by multi-disciplinary, field-based "real world" operations research and analysis that combines observation of people, decisions, and processes by rigorously trained analysts to help decision makers understand the consequences of possible actions and to implement the best possible solutions.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNA_Corporation