About the Digital Capabilities Directorate (ID)

The Digital Capabilities Directorate (DCD) is the Air Force Research Laboratory's premier organization for digitally transforming how business is conducted throughout the technical directorates and total workforce. The DCD is accelerating the transformation through faster research, better decisions, streamlined transitions, and low-friction business and operations. 

  • Mission: Measurably accelerate the generation and transition of adoption-ready technology with demonstrable military benefit. Apply digital transformation to perform research and development (ideate, research, design, prototype, test, analyze, transition) and to execute business and operations (initiate, plan, resource, manage, deliver).
  • Goals: The Digital Transformation Strategy features four enduring Strategic Goals, taking us from 2022 to 2030. Supporting each goal are objectives to be accomplished within the next five years.

MADE to Accelerate

AFRL’s Digital Capabilities Directorate facilitates the delivery of new capability to the warfighter at the speed of relevance to enhance our technical and investment decision processes; seamlessly connect with our peers, collaborators, key stakeholders, and acquisition decision processes; and improve our execution efficiency.

We employ our mantra of Model, Analyze, Decide, Execute (MADE) to Accelerate and pervade every level of AFRL to develop and implement the digital techniques, training, and information technology ecosystem to empower our workforce.

digital capabilities accelerate

Strategic Goals

digital capabilities goals

The DCD focuses its resources on the most impactful technologies, concepts, and risk-reduction activities to achieve its four enduring Strategic Goals. Each goal is anchored by a set of objectives to be accomplished in the next five years, all of which include supporting actions that will be captured and updated in the Digital Transformation Action Plan.
  • FASTER RESEARCH - Accelerated Research, Experimentation, and Innovation
  • STREAMLINED TRANSITIONS - Seamless Entrance into Acquisition and Implementation
  • BETTER DECISIONS - Analytically Rigorous Technical, Business, and Operations Decisions
  • LOW-FRICTION BUSINESS AND OPERATIONS - Flexible and Responsive Business and Operations

Foundational Capabilities

The Digital Transformation Strategy features five foundational capabilities that measurably accelerate the generation and transition of adoption-ready technology. The DCD is using an adaptive planning and agile execution approach to incrementally deliver “things of value” while on its journey of delivering more impactful capabilities to AFRL. 

digital capabilities

DCD Collider Event

Time as a Weapon! Lean in on this innovative concept for AFRL’s Digital Transformation. Delivered at the Digital Capabilities Industry Collider. See how the AFRL Digital Capabilities Directorate is converting “Toil into Time” giving Airmen and Guardians a way to move from our current state to future state – FASTER!
 

DCD collider event slides

Useful Links