Business Plan: Executive Summary

Introduction to CENSA

The Council for Emerging National Security Affairs (CENSA) is a non-partisan, non-profit 501 (c)(3) research organization established in 1999. Its membership is a diverse international group of public sector foreign policy specialists, military officers, private sector professionals, and accomplished academics. CENSA's mission is to contribute to the ongoing dialogue shaping national security policy through formal discussions, graduate level teaching programs, virtual collaboration, frequent publications, and high quality research programs that draw upon the diverse talents and innovative perspectives of its membership.

 

Why CENSA

Parallel revolutions in information technology and military affairs, as well as fundamental changes in the geopolitical landscape, suggest that America and the international community will be facing a host of new, more complex security challenges in the future. To effectively respond to these challenges, government must be able to access, recruit, and support the next generation of foreign policy leaders. In this spirit, a group of 40 rising professionals (now 165) teamed up to translate a shared vision into collective action: to give the next generation of policy leadership the opportunity to shape these emerging national security issues now.

Current opportunities for rising policy specialists to contribute to the debate are scarce. They consist mainly of professional development programs, post-doctoral fellowships, research positions at institutes, and post-graduate careers in academia. CENSA's breadth of membership allows it to easily promote innovation and collaboration across the multiple disciplines that have a long-term stake in national security. CENSA provides the platform and network to enrich the national security debate with a diverse constituency that can analyze and respond to the full range of issues on the international security agenda.

Download Executive Summary of the CENSA Business Plan