Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL)

The Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative was created as a result of Presidential Order 13111, and signed on January 12, 1999 by President William Clinton. The initiative is part of the Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Readiness). The objective of the initiative is to provide flexible training opportunities to employees and to explore how federal training programs, initiatives and policies can better support lifelong learning through the use of learning technology.

The initiative’s goals are to: (1) Identify and recommend standards for training software and associated services purchased by federal agencies and contractors. (2) Facilitate and accelerate the development of key technical training standards in industry and in standards-development organizations. (3) Establish guidelines on the use of standards and provide a mechanism to assist DoD and other federal agencies in the large-scale development, implementation and assessment of interoperable and reusable learning systems.