SMPC 2012 will be conducted on 18–20 June 2012 in Zagreb, Croatia. As in the past, this annual event provides an excellent opportunity for Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) of NATO and Partner nations to share their perspectives on important strategic issues of common interest.

This year's SMPC will be influenced greatly by the topics discussed at the Chicago Summit. Our sincere hope is that its timing will provide an ideal opportunity to reflect on the Summit outcomes, and to continue the discussions on how best to innovate and transform the Alliance with the help of member and partner nations. With this in mind, the agenda is currently being developed and will be refined as we move towards the Summit.

Purpose
SMPC, as a core event within SACT's Strategic Engagement Campaign,is a strategic level conference dedicated to inform CHODs of NATO, Partnership for Peace (PfP), Mediterranean Dialogue (MD), Istanbul Cooperation Initiative (ICI), Partners across the Globe (PaG) and further countries about the approaches to bring forward NATO's transformational efforts in order to discuss these ideas and to gather national perspectives.

The findings from this event will be used by SACT to help craft his best military advice in NATO’s transformational efforts.

Methodology
The conference consists of two major parts: The CHODs Plenary Session and the Workshops:

The CHODs Plenary Session:
The first day of the conference is dedicated to promote strategic level discussion, stimulated by high level presentations. The following Q&A sessions will provide ample time to ask questions and to provide national perspectives. The representatives' willingness to actively engage in this discussion will be the key to the success of this event. Since the Subject Matter Experts (SME) will be present during this session, this will create a common understanding and lay a foundation for the follow-up workshops at the SME level.

The Workshops:
The CHOD’s plenary is followed by a syndicate session. These breakouts will allow remaining CHODs, national and ACT Subject Matter Experts to continue the discussion and to examine specific questions in more depth.

Outcome
ACT expects nations to provide their specific insight, national perspectives and recommendations. These details will be captured in the SMPC Analysis Report which will feed the transformational development process. Furthermore it will be forwarded to all NATO authorities engaged in this process, including the Secretary General, the IS, the IMS and, of course, all conference participants. Additionally, it will be published as a downloadable "pdf" file on this webpage.

Feedback
ACT is always open for your advice on how to improve SMPC in the future. Your comments and recommendations are appreciated and very important to us. Therefore, please feel free to email or call the conference OPR at any time to provide your feedback.

LTC Stefan Keip
Tel: +1 (757) 747-3473
Fax: +1 (757) 747-3710
email: stefan.keip@act.nato.int