Many contemporary challenges that span multiple policy domains require interagency collaboration. Common basic services can be shared to minimize inappropriate redundancies, and standard interfaces may interconnect specialized applications to maximize interdependent synergies. But heterogeneity among users or network nodes as well as technical and organizational uncertainties makes investment in standard services difficult. The author compares several strategies for delivering common services and finds that complementary modular services improve social welfare by eliminating redundancies and expanding the customer base. Modest investment in standard services jointly with mission-centric operation not only enhances mission capabilities but also mitigates their variance. Using as a case study a proposed investment in nationwide consolidated public safety wireless networks by the Korean National Emergency Management Agency, the author demonstrates that well-designed adaptive strategies mitigate risks and enhance long-term investment values.
