Download the Total Defence Force Workshop Programme (PDF 1.7MB)

Defence workforces are complex, comprising regular force military members, reservists, defence civil servants, and contractors working for private military and security companies. These groups of personnel are employed towards the same overarching goals related to national and international security, and are often highly integrated in the performance of their functions. At the same time, despite the often high levels of partnership and integration, different personnel management systems are in place. These cultural differences affect their integration, the nature and quality of their collaboration, and ultimately affect personnel outcomes such as performance and retention, as well as organisational and operational effectiveness.

Defence organizations around the world are increasingly recognizing the importance of optimizing the intragroup employment, as well as the intergroup integration, of defence personnel and many are adopting terminology to imply they form a cohesive whole [select examples include, the Defence Team (Canada), the Whole Force Concept (United Kingdom), One Defence Team (Sweden), Total Defence Workforce (New Zealand), Total Force Concept (United States), and the Adaptable Force (Netherlands)]. Since most research has traditionally focused on regular force military personnel, gaps in research on personnel in the other components – that is, research focused on reservists, defence civilians, and defence contractors, will be addressed in the context of this workshop.

Key questions include:

• What is the right mix of these groups in delivering on the defence mandate? In what roles?
• How should they be optimally employed and integrated into a cohesive whole to meet the defence mandate?
• What is the role of culture, identity and other relational issues in shaping whole force integration and collaboration?
• What are the main personnel management and organizational factors affecting these workforces in defence organizations?
• What are the main considerations related to the roles, integration, and collaboration among these groups in deployed settings?
• Overall, what are the challenges and enablers both within and between these components, including both intergroup and intragroup topics?
• What are the best practices, strategies, programmes and policies for effective management related to Total Defence Forces?

This workshop is being organized through a collaboration between the Canadian Defence and Security Network , the Total Defence Force working group of the European Research Group for Military and Society (ERGOMAS), and the Swedish Centre for Studies of Armed Forces and Society (CSMS).