DoD, OPM Announce Defense Business Board NSPS Review

Deputy Secretary of Defense William J. Lynn III and Director of the Office of Personnel Management John Berry asked the Defense Business Board yesterday to establish a task group to conduct a review of the National Security Personnel System.

The task group should deliver recommendations aimed at helping the Department determine (1) if the underlying design principles and methodology for implementation are reflected in the program objectives; (2) whether the program objectives are being met; and (3) whether NSPS is operating in a fair, transparent, and effective manner," wrote Lynn in his instructions to the Defense Business Board.

The task group will seek public input over a series of opportunities to be announced at a later date, and present its findings and draft recommendations to the Defense Business Board during a public meeting later this summer. The board will provide its final report to the secretary of defense and to the director, Office of Personnel Management, shortly thereafter.

The task group will be chaired by Rudy deLeon, the senior vice president of National Security and International Policy at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C. The other members of the group will be Michael Bayer, chairman of the Defense Business Board, and Robert Tobias, a professor at American University and director for the Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation.

The Defense Business Board, an independent advisory body that operates under the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972, was established to provide the secretary of defense independent advice and recommendations on effective management of the Department of Defense.

On March 16, 2009, the Department of Defense and the Office of Personnel Management had announced that they will undertake a review of the National Security Personnel System, including policies, regulations, and practices.