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 IDA's Annual Report
Since the end of the cold war, now more than a decade and half ago, national security leaders have been dealing with an increasingly complex world environment, characterized by global interdependence and a widening range of the causes and nature of conflict. Further, the technologies available to potential enemies have expanded in scope and in their consequences overseas and at home. These trends and others have increased the challenges facing the national security leadership.
To help meet the needs of this more complex environment, we have steadily expanded IDA’s structure and research capabilities to provide broader scope where appropriate, more depth where called for, and faster response when needed as the nation moves increasingly from a national security environment that changed only incrementally year to year to one that can change drastically overnight. We are meeting those needs while maintaining the high standards of quality that makes our work so valuable to national security decision makers. The most convincing evidence that we are on the right track in meeting these needs is the increasing demand for our work from a wide range of sponsors. We welcome the increased opportunity to contribute to national security.
The challenges, and others, influence the trust on the part of our sponsors that is so essential to fulfilling our mission – trust in the quality of our work, trust in our objectivity and credibility, and trust in the value returned from investment in our research. In our fiftieth year, we have earned the trust and confidence of the national security community. Throughout this special 50th Anniversary issue of our Annual Report we have highlighted our continuing evolution as we grow and broaden the depth and breadth of our research capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our sponsors. Today, as we look forward to the next 50 years, IDA remains committed to continuous improvement in our ability to serve the national interest.
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