AID (acquisition, identification and designation)

AID stands for acquisition, identification and designation. It is an abbreviation in NATO terminology, and the NATO glossary attaches the note "Targets" to the entry, which ties the term to the vocabulary of targets.

The abbreviation is listed in AAP-15, the Glossary of NATO Abbreviations Used in NATO Documents and Publications. This page explains the NATO meaning, shows where the term is sourced, and separates it from the designation process that the Department of National Defence (DND) describes on CanadaBuys.

What the AAP-15 glossary says about AID

The AAP-15 glossary expands AID as acquisition, identification and designation. The entry carries one note, "Targets." That note is the only context the glossary gives for the abbreviation, so the term belongs to target-related terminology in NATO documents.

You can read the glossary in the AAP-15 (2013) PDF. The NATO Archives also keep an overview page, the NATO glossary of abbreviations used in NATO documents and publications.

Who approves NATO terminology such as AID

AAP-15 is an Allied Administrative Publication. The terminology it contains was coordinated with the NATO Terminology Office and formally approved by NATO's Committee for Standardization. That approval path makes the glossary the authoritative reference for what the abbreviation means in NATO usage.

NATO also maintains NATOTerm, its official database for non-classified military and NATO-relevant terminology. Readers who need to check how NATO defines a term can start at NATOTerm. Wider NATO publications are collected on the official texts and resources page at nato.int.

AID and DND's Military and Non-Military designation

The word "designation" also appears in Canadian defence procurement, and the two uses should not be confused. The CanadaBuys page on agreements with the Department of National Defence states that DND and Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) have specific responsibilities for acquiring DND goods and services.

The same page states that DND is solely responsible for designating materiel and services as "Military" or "Non-Military" in technical and procurement documentation. That page does not use the abbreviation AID for this process and does not link it to the NATO term. The NATO meaning (acquisition, identification and designation, with the note "Targets") and the DND Military or Non-Military designation are separate things that share a word.

What AID means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts

For a bid team, the practical point is to read AID by its NATO meaning whenever it appears in NATO-related material. Expand it as acquisition, identification and designation, and treat it as target-related terminology.

• Do not read AID as the DND designation of materiel and services as Military or Non-Military. CanadaBuys describes that designation without using the abbreviation.
• If a solicitation or technical document uses AID, check the definitions section of that document, and use the AAP-15 glossary as the NATO reference.
• Suppliers watching allied opportunities can follow NATO's own procurement opportunities page.