USIP's coordination of the NDP will be directed by Paul Hughes, a retired US Army colonel currently serving ac the Acting Vice President of USIP's Center for Conflict Management. Hughes also directed the 2010 QDR Independent Review Panel.
Here is what USIP says about the QDR:
Required by Congress, the QDR is a review of Department of Defense (DoD) strategy and priorities and sets a long-term course for DoD as it assesses the threats and challenges faced by the U.S. In turn, Congress directed that members of the National Defense Panel review the QDR, assess the assumptions, strategy, findings, and risks in the report, conduct an independent assessment of a variety of possible force structures, review the resource requirements, and provide recommendations to Congress and the secretary of Defense.USIP President and CEO Jim Marshall, a former Member of Congress, and board member Eric Edelman were appointed earlier to serve as members of the NDP. Edelman is currently a Distinguished Fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment (CSBA), and a Senior Associate of the International Security Program at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University.
Stephen Hadley, a Senior Advisor for International Affairs and a Member of the Board of Directors at USIP, was a co-chair of the 2010 QDR Independent Review Panel.
USIP was recently ranked as the 18th best think tank in the US by the University of Pennsylvania annual think tank rankings.
