A critical review of the functionality of the Joint Force Development Directorate at Headquarters Supreme Allied Command Transformation and the implications for effective practice

<p><br></p> <p>Change is a routine part of (multinational) military organisations, where projects might be expected to draw on change management literature available from other professional fields, notably the business environment, education, health and sport. However, there is currently very limited literature available on military change projects.</p> <p>A significant change programme within a multinational multicultural military organisation, was commenced in 2018 in the Headquarters of the NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation and completed in 2021. By that time and set against a period of considerable upheaval including a worldwide pandemic and a resurgent war in Europe, it was considered less than optimal for the embedded Joint Force Development Directorate, which set in motion an additional internal change project.</p> <p>Qualitative research was conducted using an interpretive / constructivist methodological framework and an action research approach within a case study. The application of a purposive non-probability sampling approach was chosen for the data collection, with 74 interviews conducted with those in the Directorate, and key external stakeholders, selected to cover characteristics such as depth of knowledge (experience), location of work, nationality, gender and rank. Additionally, NATO documents, both historical NATO publications and daily incoming correspondence, were considered for relevance.  </p> <p>Academic and practitioner views on change provided several key considerations on the type of change required, influences affecting it and methods for successfully undertaking the project. Drawing on this information, the project was conducted in two phases, where initial structural models were developed until September 2022, utilising the different steps of the Kotter and Cohen (2002) eight-step model, followed up by a reflective period of the Directorates’ subsequent functionality until September 2023, using the 7-S model (Waterman et. al., 1980) as the lens.</p> <p>The research devised and implemented a new Directorate structure, working practices, processes, roles and responsibilities, and it was argued in the follow-on review that it had led to an increase in its efficacy, effectiveness and efficiency.  It also proposed a revision to the Kotter and Cohen (2002) model and showcased how military operational planning might support wider change projects, highlighting that more enduring organisations can be built through a powerful mix of traditional military thinking with methodologies (and methods) from academic and professional change practitioners.  </p>