TTCP: Activites

Participation in TTCP is coordinated through regular meetings of national members of the Subordinate Elements at which areas of potential collaboration and program alignment are identified. In addition, symposia are conducted which, if appropriate and agreed by all TTCP participants, may be opened to a wider participation than TTCP members.

TTCP Subordinate Elements achieve their objectives by:

  • mutual review of each nation's programs to identify common areas of interest and gaps in existing programs;
  • recommendations for new research and development activities, changes in emphasis and avoidance of duplication;
  • recommendation of cooperative programs on projects of high mutual interest where special capabilities, facilities, personnel and geographical or environmental regions can be utilized to greatest advantage;
  • exchange of information, including correspondence, technical reports and data, meetings, symposia, visits and exchange of scientific personnel;
  • transfer of materials, equipment, software and test items;
  • establishment of methods and standards for test and evaluation of experimental results;
  • preparation of TTCP Publications and other papers as appropriate; and
  • provision of assistance to Service Standardization Organizations on questions requiring technological input.

The greatest benefits for all members of TTCP are achievable when cooperative activities involve all nations. Wherever practicable, groups give higher priority to conducting collaborative activities than they give to the exchange of information. TTCP recognizes that information exchange is necessary, but the existence of a Group or any of its dependent Technical Panels (TPs) and Action Groups (AGs) based solely on information exchange, requires the approval of the Principals.

Symposia

On occasions when broader acquisition or dissemination of information is required it is recommended that symposia under TTCP auspices should be held. Groups (including TPs and AGs) wishing to sponsor a symposium must obtain prior approval from their Group Executive Chair who will submit an advance copy of the program to the Group Counsellor for information. The proceedings, major discussions and recommendations of the syrnposium will be fully documented and cleared prior to circulation or publication using appropriate national security procedures. They should bear TTCP and national security markings as appropriate.

Membership and Appointments

TTCP operates between governments wherein assurances are provided that each participating nation receiving information through TTCP will protect all such material. Such assurances between governments form the basis of trust inherent in the cooperative program. TTCP membership is therefore restricted to staff directly employed by the participating governments. Similarly, officials are eligible to hold appointments within TTCP only if they are directly employed by the participating government which they represent.

Where other scientific and technical persons participate in TTCP in accordance with the provisions of the following section, it is the responsibility of the government officials, who have been formally appointed to TTCP membership, to ensure that appropriate and sufficient security and protective measures are in place to safeguard the material and guarantee that assurances made between the participating governments with regard to both the national security and commercial protection and use of material, information and intellectual property, as defined in the MOU, are not diminished.
Participation by Non-TTCP Officials

Normally, TTCP meetings and workshops are closed to non-members of the defense departments of member nations. However, when it is considered beneficial to TTCP nations to invite experts from government, academic or industrial organizations, the Subordinate Elements and their dependent bodies may consider doing so. Such participation is subject to the Executive Chair obtaining the prior agreement of the appropriate National Representatives and to the concurrence of the Deputies.

Project Arrangement

A TTCP Project Arrangement (PA) provides the formal authorization for a collaborative project. This formal arrangement is an undertaking that is 'binding' on the participants. A TTCP PA must be submitted through the relevant Cognizant Deputy for initial endorsement and subsequently approved by the NAMRAD Principals. PAs will be used where the level of participants' interdependence is so great, and the resource commitment so big, that the withdrawal of resources of any participant would lead to major losses by the other participants.

The PA requires the relevant authority within each participating nation (i.e., the one ultimately responsible for those resources involved in or contributing to a TTCP program) to endorse that the funding or facility being pledged will be available as and when promised.

A PA provides a mechanism to supplement the more common 'best efforts' undertakings. PAs are intended where collaboration requires a genuine reliance or interdependence of one participant upon another. Such an arrangement should not be invoked unless absolutely necessary to carry out the proposed activity.

The PA format can be found in the Formal Agreements section of the Reference page.

Technology Demonstrators

TTCP encompasses basic research, exploratory development and demonstrations of advanced technology development. More emphasis is currently being given to these technology demonstrators.