RCDS Strategy Exercise and Contracted Support

The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) is an eleven month post graduate course in international strategic studies, focused upon security, stability and prosperity at the grand strategic level of governmental decisions both nationally and within the international community. The Members (as students are called), predominantly but not only from military backgrounds, are selected for their potential to reach the highest ranks of senior leadership and advisory posts in their own countries.

As part of the core syllabus the RCDS runs two Strategic Exercises exposing its Members to the complexity of strategic analysis and formulation in two stages, enhancing their understanding of the requirements of strategy-making and developing their skills of strategic analysis and policy formulation. The requirement is to provide 2 separate but inter-linked exercises designed to exploit the Members’ understanding of the international system, focusing upon but not limited to the themes of international security, stability and prosperity.

The exercises should be challenging and stimulating, demanding an examination of major geopolitical issues, regionally and globally in the near term, and provide the opportunity for the Members to engage in realistic and thorough strategic analysis and formulation and for their outputs to be tested in a realistic and developmental fashion. In both exercises the Members have to demonstrate an understanding of and ability in: strategic analysis and formulation; decision making in a complex, dynamic near-real-time environment; communicating with and influencing other actors; developing and communicating a strategic narrative; operating imaginatively and persuasively under stressful, real-life conditions The exercises are, in effect, mutually supporting in that they lead the Members, in sequence, through the business of strategic analysis and formulation before testing these against plausible real-world disruptive crisis management catalysts.

The essential differences between the two exercises are that the first, Strategy Exercise 1 is a mentor led teaching evolution with a national strategy focus and sequential catalysts providing an initial deliberate and procedural approach to the principles and art of strategy-making. It should provide a coherent thread which can then be further developed throughout the remainder of the course and tested in the second evolution.

Strategy Exercise 2 is a more complex and dynamic member led undertaking requiring a global grand strategy focus with catalysts played concurrently after being introduced. The Exercises and immediate preparation will take place at RCDS, Seaford House, London SW1X 8NS and the filming will take place there, or at the Defence Academy, Shrivenham or RAF Halton.