In July 2020, the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, based in Arlington, Virginia, released a policy paper entitled “Resolving America’s Defense Strategy-Resource Mismatch: The Case for Cost-Per-Effect Analysis.”1 Shortly thereafter, Section 147 of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act called for a “study on measures to assess cost-pereffect for key mission areas” of the Air Force.2 The 2020 policy paper appears to have directly informed the writing of Section 147.

Cost-per-effect analysis aims to improve decisionmaking through what we describe as an enterprise approach to cost-effectiveness. Such an approach would allow decisionmakers to compare alternatives not just within a single mission area or facet but also across an entire enterprise.