The ECF as a simple and practical means to enhance sociocultural understanding of the OE. The ECF helps analysts identify and understand any of the 12 Exploitable Conditions in a specific area. U.S. adversaries, competitors, and interested agents alike are regularly looking for ways to capitalize on a target’s weaknesses. GCKN created a simple way for users to recognize and explain the environmental conditions that actors will exploit to gain advantage. In other words, the framework will isolate actual and potential sociocultural instability and how specific actors may take advantage of it to their advantage and the disadvantage of the U.S. Army. GCKN is both a consumer and a teacher of the ECF; The 12 Exploitable Conditions were determined through GCKN’s own social science research and methodologies, but the ECF can be understood through a short period of instruction.
The ECF Course is a scalable (2+ hours) course of instruction that introduces the ECF as an analytic structure and explains how to apply it. The course demonstrates the ECF’s value to planning and decision-making by highlighting causes of instability and creating a more nuanced understanding of potential adversary actions. Instructors emphasize the tool’s operational value by using GCKN products as exemplars.
Learning Objective:
Action: Examine the Operational Utility of the ECF.
Conditions: In a classroom environment, provided the ECF handout, select GCKN analytic products, and GCKN Instructors
Standards:
Who Is the ECF Course For?
Novice and expert analysts
What is the Benefit of the ECF Course?
The benefit of the ECF over other means of analysis is that it explains the most commonly exploited conditions of sociocultural instability around the world, precluding analysts from having to do so themselves. This allows analysts to focus on their area(s) and/or actor(s) of interest.
Choose Your Way To Learn:
Sessions:
The GAM is an analytic process and research methodology that carries a military analyst from RFI to explanation. It is rooted in the social sciences and leverages Structured Analytic Techniques (SAT). The GAM can handle large amounts of disparate data, systematically control for bias, and create an auditable trail to support analysis.
The GAM Workshop is a 5-day resident or extended/self-paced distance learning course that provides analysts with a basic practical understanding of the GAM. GCKN instructors guide analysts through an RFI response process from which they can provide detailed, auditable explanations for complex questions about the OE. Courses are ready-made to handle common questions or can be tailored to specific research requests. In addition, the course includes SME participation to augment and refine the analysis as designed by the GAM process.
Action: Apply the GCKN Analytic Methodology to conduct a guided analysis of an assigned topic.
Conditions: In a classroom environment, provided GAM 101 materials, a research question, curated research materials, curated SME support, and GCKN Instructors
Who Is the GAM Workshop For?
What is the Benefit of GAM?
The GAM provides the principles and practical ways of collecting, refining, managing, synthesizing, integrating, and connecting large and complex bodies of sociocultural data. This, in turn, facilitates analysis in support of military decision-making.
On request, GCKN provides in-depth presentations and discussions of published GCKN research and analysis. Please check the GCKN products catalogs on our website for regular updates. Instruction is designed for 2-hour sessions, but can be scaled by request
Action: Explore specific subjects of GCKN Research and Analysis to enhance planning, decision-making, and operations.
Conditions: In a classroom environment, provided GCKN research and analysis products, potentially SME support, and GCKN Instructors
Who Is GCKN Analytic Product Instruction For?
Anyone
What is the Benefit of GCKN Analytic Product Instruction?
GCKN Analytic Product Instruction provides greater depth of knowledge on specific topics by examining operationally relevant sociocultural aspects of the OE. These aspects may affect, or be affected by, U.S. operations as well as those of U.S. adversaries, competitors, partners, and other actors in the OE.
The SME Course is a 1-hour block of instruction that explains the value of building SME consultation into an analytical process and how to maintain professional, collaborative relationships with SMEs. GCKN Instructors explain how to identify, recruit, and utilize operationally relevant SMEs to enrich analysis.
Action: Explore the utility of SMEs in research and analysis.
Conditions: In an online environment, self-paced
Who Is the SME Course For?
What is the Benefit of the SME Course?
SMEs are a useful means to provide new insight and resources, mitigate group-think and bias, and consider alternative points of view.