NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency
Encyclopedia
The NATO Consultation, Command and Control Agency (NC3A) was formed in 1996 by merging the SHAPE Technical Centre
(STC) in The Hague
, Netherlands
; and the NATO Communications and Information Systems Agency
(NACISA) in Brussels
, Belgium
. NC3A is part of the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Organization (NC3O
) and reports to the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Board (NC3B).
The agency has around 800 staff, of which around 500 are located in The Hague and 300 in Brussels. Broadly speaking, the Netherlands staff are responsible for scientific research, development and experimentation, while the Belgian staff provide technical project management and acquisition support for NATO procurement programmes.
The Agency is organised using a balanced matrix
model, with four main areas: the Production area, Sponsor Accounts, Core Segment and Resources Division. The Production area comprises nine capability area teams (CATs) with various areas of expertise. The Sponsor Accounts area has Directors for each of the Agency's major sponsors, providing a single point of contact with the Agency. The Core Segment comprises a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Acquisition, who ensure coherency of the Agency's business, technical and acquisition processes respectively. The Resources Division handles Agency operations such as Human Resources, Finance, Graphics, Building Maintenance, etc. Since 2004, the Agency has used the PRINCE2
and PMI
project management methodologies.
General Manager Georges D'hollander and Deputy General Manager Kevin Scheid split their time between their offices in The Hague and Brussels. Staff are recruited directly from the 28 NATO nations, the majority holding degrees at the Masters level or above. The working language of the Agency is English.
NC3A's prime customers are Allied Command Transformation
and Allied Command Operations, as well as the NATO Air Command and Control System (ACCS) Management Agency (NACMA
), NATO Airborne Early Warning (NAEW) Force Command and individual NATO nations. Its annual budget is roughly 100 million euros. Major growth areas are the NATO Network Enabled Capability (NNEC), Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) and the Alliance Ground Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AGSR) projects. The Agency has traditionally had a strong emphasis on prototyping and currently aims to follow a spiral development model
.
The agency aims to complement, not compete with, national research and development, and is primarily concerned with improving C4ISR interoperability between the nations and supporting major acquisition C4ISR programmes.
SHAPE Technical Centre
The SHAPE Technical Centre or Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Technical Centre was formerly known as the SHAPE Air Defence Technical Centre . It was formed in 1955 and located in The Hague, Netherlands. It conducted research and development for NATO in the area of air defence, in...
(STC) in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
; and the NATO Communications and Information Systems Agency
NATO Communications and Information Systems Agency
The NATO Communication and Information Systems Services Agency, , is a service provider to its NATO and national customers. Wherever NATO deploys on operations or exercises, NCSA is there, providing communication and information systems services in support of the mission...
(NACISA) in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. NC3A is part of the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Organization (NC3O
NC3O
The NATO Consultation, Command and Control Organization was formed in 1996. Its main objective is to provide a coherent, secure and interoperable C3 capability to the NATO....
) and reports to the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Board (NC3B).
The agency has around 800 staff, of which around 500 are located in The Hague and 300 in Brussels. Broadly speaking, the Netherlands staff are responsible for scientific research, development and experimentation, while the Belgian staff provide technical project management and acquisition support for NATO procurement programmes.
The Agency is organised using a balanced matrix
Matrix management
Matrix management is a type of organizational management in which people with similar skills are pooled for work assignments. For example, all engineers may be in one engineering department and report to an engineering manager, but these same engineers may be assigned to different projects and...
model, with four main areas: the Production area, Sponsor Accounts, Core Segment and Resources Division. The Production area comprises nine capability area teams (CATs) with various areas of expertise. The Sponsor Accounts area has Directors for each of the Agency's major sponsors, providing a single point of contact with the Agency. The Core Segment comprises a Chief Operating Officer, Chief Technology Officer and Director of Acquisition, who ensure coherency of the Agency's business, technical and acquisition processes respectively. The Resources Division handles Agency operations such as Human Resources, Finance, Graphics, Building Maintenance, etc. Since 2004, the Agency has used the PRINCE2
PRINCE2
PRojects IN Controlled Environments 2 is a structured project management method endorsed by the UK government as the project management standard for public projects. The methodology encompasses the management, control and organisation of a project...
and PMI
Project Management Institute
The Project Management Institute is a not-for-profit professional organization for the project management profession with the purpose of advancing project management.- Overview :...
project management methodologies.
General Manager Georges D'hollander and Deputy General Manager Kevin Scheid split their time between their offices in The Hague and Brussels. Staff are recruited directly from the 28 NATO nations, the majority holding degrees at the Masters level or above. The working language of the Agency is English.
NC3A's prime customers are Allied Command Transformation
Allied Command Transformation
Allied Command Transformation is a NATO military command, which was formed in 2003 after North Atlantic Treaty Organisation restructuring....
and Allied Command Operations, as well as the NATO Air Command and Control System (ACCS) Management Agency (NACMA
NACMA
NACMA is the NATO ACCS Management Agency. It is responsible for the management of the NATO Air Command and Control System programme, which is a $500M project to provide the NATO commands with a new air command and control system from 2009 onwards....
), NATO Airborne Early Warning (NAEW) Force Command and individual NATO nations. Its annual budget is roughly 100 million euros. Major growth areas are the NATO Network Enabled Capability (NNEC), Theatre Missile Defence (TMD) and the Alliance Ground Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AGSR) projects. The Agency has traditionally had a strong emphasis on prototyping and currently aims to follow a spiral development model
Spiral model
The spiral model is a software development process combining elements of both design and prototyping-in-stages, in an effort to combine advantages of top-down and bottom-up concepts. Also known as the spiral lifecycle model , it is a systems development method used in information technology...
.
The agency aims to complement, not compete with, national research and development, and is primarily concerned with improving C4ISR interoperability between the nations and supporting major acquisition C4ISR programmes.