Lessons Learned Initiative
SIGIR is carrying out an initiative to capture the lessons learned in Iraq
reconstruction. The initiative is designed to enhance continuing work in Iraq
and also to inform future U.S. reconstruction efforts. On each of these issues,
SIGIR is gathering information from extensive research and interviews,
collating and distilling the information into white papers, and gathering
panels of experts in three forums to evaluate the findings and make
recommendations.
The Lessons Learned Initiative focuses
on three key subject areas:
- Human Capital Management
- Contracting
- Program Management
Iraq Reconstruction: Lessons Learned in Human Capital Management
In February 2006, SIGIR released Iraq Reconstruction: Lessons in Human Capital Management. The report is the product of SIGIR
audits, other research, and the Lessons Learned Forum held in September 2005 at Johns Hopkins University’s Washington, D.C.
campus. The document identifies and discusses four key components of effective human resource management:
- Policy Alignment
- Workforce Planning
- Recruitment
- Continuity
Iraq Reconstruction: Lessons Learned in Contracting and Procurement
This is the second of three reports in SIGIR’s Lessons Learned Initiative. It begins by examining contracting activity
early in the Iraq program and traces its evolutionary development through the effort’s succeeding phases. The concluding
section lays out a series of key lessons followed by six recommendations for improving the U.S. government’s capacity to
support and execute contracting and procurement in contingency environments.
Iraq Reconstruction: Lessons Learned in Program and Project Management
The third and final Lessons Learned report, which SIGIR released in March 2007, focuses on program and
project management during the U.S.–led reconstruction mission, and tracks the evolution of the three organizations
responsible for providing the strategic oversight and tactical direction of the reconstruction effort: the Office
of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, the Coalition Provisional Authority, and the U.S. Mission-Iraq.
A detailed description of the lessons learned process is available under the Lessons Learned Initiative section.