Dr John Tull (University of Greenwich, formerly of PIRP and continuing collaborator) presented the findings of Professor Tom Dyson’s ESRC project ‘A Revolution in Military Learning: Uncovering the Potential of Lessons-Learned Processes’ at the Portuguese Armed Forces Joint Lessons Learned Conference. The conference was hosted at the NATO Communications and Information Academy in Oeiras, Portugal, on the 8th-9th October 2024.

Dr John Tull presenting project findings to the conference

Our presentation, the sole civilian presentation at the event, focused on the best-practices lessons from the experiences of NATO member-states and partner-states with the adoption of the NATO lessons-learned process. It explored the practical steps that military organisations can take to more effectively integrate the NATO lessons-learned process into the daily procedures and work practices of military personnel.

The audience consisted of military officers from a variety of functional areas, including the new Commander of NATO’s Joint Analysis and Lessons-Learned Centre (JALLC), Commodore António Neves Correia, the leaders of the Joint lessons learned function and individual Services lessons learned functions, and other representatives from the Portuguese Armed Forces General Staff. Other public sector organisations participating in the conference included the National Agency for the Management of Rural Fires (AGIF).

Speakers addressed a wide variety of topics at the conference including the evolution of the NATO Lessons Learned Portal, and lessons-learned management in the Portuguese  Army, Air Force, Navy, and Joint environment. The conference also discussed the transferability of good practices for non-military public sector organisations, including the AGIF representative who discussed how they have implemented lessons-learned processes based on the NATO model and with active assistance from the Portuguese Armed Forces - an important development in bridging the civilian-military divide.