National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that Minerva has met both those goals over the past decade. Gates envisioned a role for researchers in promoting 'soft power-the elements of national power beyond guns and steel.' He also hoped Minerva would improve what he called the often 'hostile' relationship between DOD and social scientists by creating a cadre of researchers willing and able to use their analytical skills to help defend the nation.Ī 2019 evaluation by the U.S. 'Too many mistakes have been made over the years because our government and military did not understand-or even seek to understand-the countries or cultures we were dealing with,' Gates said in an April 2008 speech announcing the program. Then–Defense Secretary Robert Gates saw it as a way to enhance-and maybe even avoid-the military's deployment of lethal force in waging war. The program, which represents a tiny fraction of DOD's $2.6 billion investment in basic research, began in the waning days of the George W. 'He thinks it's soft, and his priorities are elsewhere.' A two-way street 'The current undersecretary doesn't believe that Minerva is science,' says a Democratic congressional staffer familiar with the program. Griffin, who oversees a $16.5 billion research budget, has made developing hypersonic weapons his top priority, and DOD watchers say Minerva doesn't meet Griffin's definition of what his office should be funding.

Michael Griffin, DOD undersecretary for research and engineering, put Minerva on the chopping block as part of a review by Defense Secretary Mark Esper that identified some $5 billion worth of programs deemed less essential to DOD's mission.

Department of Defense (DOD) wants to kill a unique social science research program that has helped it understand nontraditional threats to national security, from the rapid growth of China's technological prowess to the mind of a suicide bomber.ĭOD's $740 billion budget request for fiscal year 2021 drops core funding for the $20 million Minerva Research Initiative.

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