Advanced Research and Assessment Group

The Advanced Research and Assessment Group (ARAG) was a department of the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom concerned with long-term planning and threat assessment. On 1 April 2009, ARAG was integrated into the Headquarters of the Defence Academy as the Research & Assessment Branch (R&AB).Research & Assessment Branch (R&AB), Defence Academy of the United Kingdom website, accessed 4 Feb 2010. The Research and Assessments Branch was disbanded as of 1 April 2010.Defence Academy Research and Assessment Branch, accessed 14 December 2010 
ARAG brought together experts from the military, academia and other fields in "research clusters" dedicated to specific areas of concern, in order to provide policy-makers with focussed analysis of international security issues. 
ARAG worked closely with the Conflict Studies Research Centre, which was co-located with ARAG at the Defence Academy's Shrivenham campus. 
ARAG was also responsible for managing the Defence Academy Reserve Cadre, 'a thirty-five strong unit of Reserve force personnel with civilian and linguistic skills relevant to emerging threats and opportunities'.Ucko, D. H., & Egnell, R. (2013). Counterinsurgency in Crisis: Britain and the Challenges of Modern Warfare. Columbia University Press: 126.
==Research clusters==
ARAG was organised into a number of research 'clusters'. In 2008 these were listed as:
*The Islamic World Cluster
*Security and Organisational Reform Cluster
*Asymmetrics Cluster
*Risk, Economics and Resilience to Crises Cluster
*Media and Democratic Participation ClusterARAG Advanced Research and Assessment Group. Retrieved from the Internet Archive of 3 April 2008 on 24 January 2016.
==People==
*Anne Aldis In a book published in November 2006 Aldis was listed as 'Director of the Conflict Studies Research Centre, UK, Defence Academy. Since she joined the centre in the mid-1980s she has participated in many international security, conflict resolutions and defence diplomacy projects, rimareily in souther and eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia. She is adviser to the Security and Organizational /Reform Team for the Academy's Advanced Research and Assessment Group. Under her oversight CSRC has published several hundred research papers and monographs.'Aldis, A., & Herd, G. (Eds.). (2006). The ideological war on terror: worldwide strategies for counter-terrorism. Routledge.
*Chris Donnelly Founder and Head of Advanced Research and Assessment Group, Defence Academy of the UK 2003–07.World Who's Who DONNELLY Christopher Nigel CMG, TD,BA. Accessed 30 December 2015.
*Dan Lafayeedney Senior Associate Fellow at the Advanced Research and Assessment Group at the Defence Academy of the UK (2004- 2010) he specialised in the development and implementation of capacity-building projects for high-level governance of the security sector in European and middle-Eastern countries, and in supporting the development of counter-radicalisation programmes for at-risk ethnic communities in the UK.St Antony's College, Oxford Dan Lafayeedney. Accessed 29 December 2015.
*Dr J. P. Macintosh, Head of ARAG circa 2007 Web archive: www.defac.ac.uk/csrc/, archived 26 September 2007, accessed 1 March 2009.|
*Lesley Simm 2003-9. Around 2003 Simm started working at the Defence Academy: 'As Senior Research Fellow, and Director of the ‘Behaviours’ research group, at the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Lesley spent six years developing teams of experts with understanding of the UK’s current strategic interests. It was during this time that she formed links with leading Muslim Scholars and academics studying the Islamic world, and ‘grass roots’ groups working with vulnerable young people in the UK.' At the Advanced Research and Assessment Group she reportedly specialised in 'interstate relations and the new security agenda in the post-Cold War era' and 'Political ideology and Islam.'PBECIGM Lesley Simm Retrieved from the Zoom Info Cache of pbecigm2005.org/lesley_s.html taken on 23 October 2005. Accessed 24 january 2016. Her 'present work' was reported in 2005 to involve: 'Detailed briefing papers on Iraq, Afghanistan, aspects of religious extremism and patterns of violence.' In 2007 Simm was listed as 'Director Islamic World and PRISM' at ARAG.George C Marshall European Center for Security Studies A Comprehensive Approach to Modern Conflict: Afghanistan & Beyond: Draft agenda. 21 March 2007. Accessed 24 January 2016. In 2009 Simm was listed as 'Director, Ideology, Theology and Philosophy Research Cluster, UK Defence Academy'.Religion and Ethics in War and Peace-Making Members of the BISA IR, Security and Religion Working Group. Retrieved from the Internet Archive of 28 November 2009 on 24 January 2016.
*Steve Tatham Listed as 'current Director of Communication Research' at the UK Defence Academy's Advanced Research and Assessment Group on his own website in February 2010, though the ARAG was subsumed into the Research & Assessment Branch on 1 April 2009Steve Tatham, Strategic Communication accessed 03/01/10 
==Resources, Contact, Notes==
===Resources===
* Defence Academy Advanced Research and Assessment Group, Retrieved from snapshot taken on 28/07/2008, shows web content selected for preservation by The National Archives, accessed 3 November 2011 
===Contact===
These contact details were current until April 2009, when ARAG was integrated into the Headquarters of the Defence Academy as the Research & Assessment Branch (R&AB).Research & Assessment Branch (R&AB), Defence Academy of the United Kingdom website, accessed 4 Feb 2010.
:Advanced Research and Assessment Group
:Ms Emma McCarthy
:Corporate Research Manager
:Defence Academy Headquarters
:Block 4, JSCSC Bldg
:Faringdon Road
:Shrivenham
:Swindon
:Wiltshire
:SN6 8TS
:United Kingdom
:Tel: +44 (0)1793 788861 (96161 8861)
:Fax: +44 (0)1793 788287 (96161 8287)
:Email: emccarthy.arag@da.mod.uk 
:Internet Archive holdings: da.mod.uk/colleges/arag
==Notes==
Category:Terrorism IndustryCategory:Counterinsurgency