"Task force" is a phrase that originated in the United States Navy during World War II. At the time, naval operations were performed by formal groupings such as fleets or squadrons, but the war created new challenges for the U.S. Navy that demanded flexibility in how resources were used. Formation of a task force allowed officers and equipment that formally belonged to different groups to come together for a single specific purpose, without reassigning responsibility for those assets or requiring the reorganization or repurposing of the fleet. Task forces were temporary and easily disbanded after their work was complete.
Today, in government, business, and other arenas, task forces are special ad-hoc committees created especially to deal with single problems or issues. For example, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) comprises independent national experts in prevention that use evidence-based and clinical preventative techniques to improve health outcomes for Americans. Examples of this kind of care would be routine screenings for disease, such as mammograms. As in the USPSTF, members of a task force are typically experts, and the group operates with a specific charge and within a specific time frame. The task force usually begins by assessing the factors that relate to its work. Next, the team typically identifies and analyzes possible solutions and develops recommendations and plans for implementing them.
Generally, a task force will not have responsibility for implementing its recommendations once they are made, although individual team members may have a role in doing so. Task forces do not have the power to compel others to accept their recommendations. Indeed, the results of their work may be accepted in part, rejected in part, or even ignored altogether.
A team created by political parties to deal with campaign finance reform is an example of a task force. The task force is expected to study the issue, assess possible actions to be taken, and then make its recommendations in the form of a report. The results of the task force's efforts then might be used by legislators to draft laws that would redefine acceptable practices for funding political campaigns.