190 - Evaluating the transformation of governance and organisation in armed Forces

Abstract Information: Since 2019, the Swedish Armed Forces (SAF) has undergone a comprehensive restructuring of its governance model and organisation. The governance principles have change from a centralized management approach to a decentralized, with increased autonomy for the military branches and units, and with a greater focus on mission-type tactics. This transformation has required a new organisational structure, reformed distribution of responsibilities, mandates, and decision-making powers, as well as changes in mentality, behavior and culture. This is taking place within an organisation, known for its strong hierarchical structure and steadfastness-oriented culture. In addition, the transformation is challenged by a deteriorating security environment in Northern Europe, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This demands development and a rapid increase of both troops and defense materiel, which comes after decades of increase in military expenses. Problem Formulation The Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI, Totalförsvarets forskningsinstitut) assists the SAF in the follow-up and evaluation of the introduction of the new governance model and the following organisational transformation. In this memorandum and the intended presentation at the 2024 annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, we offer a review of the challenges encountered in this organisational transformation, as well as challenges to follow-up and evaluation process associated with an organisational transformation under such straining conditions. Specifically, we aim to answer the following questions: (1) How does a comprehensive structural organisation change constituted by an implementation of a new governance model facilitate (or hinder) a corresponding cultural organisation change under high uncertainty? (2) What challenges arise in an organisational change due to an incongruent organisational culture under high uncertainty? At the 2024 annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, we intend to give a presentation of our work so far, including a discussion of our theoretical approach and a discussion of the preliminary results of our analyses. This will be followed by an interactive discussion with the audience to collect feedback and further both our analyses and the data collection in the upcoming rounds.