I. PAPER ON READING PANEL

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP75-00662R000200210010-9
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 27, 1999
• Sequence Number: 10
• Publication Date: March 8, 1951
• Content Type: PAPER

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I. Raper an laOO'ding Panel
1) Prelianina . no purpose of the reading panel is to d .ccharge a
shadow r ?-sp~o b1 ~ within U/ t for the routines, paper work, aryl all the,
is involved with curr mt intelligence aupport. O/ yR has been diet: ?,tJy
relieved of any '~ e t: r?cs nxiorYi 1tsf current i n-l-e ll i "Once IM order is
free it for work on i-Vr Go ."e re ponsibility--unass :~tilable, factaal? ?author?i.
tative rasoarc: in aao o i intellif;cnce---prim rilyr on the Soviet problem.
Therefore, arj circulation of incoming papery must be' eor;atinisIatt r gainst
this responsibility, su rf justifications for increased facilities or 11saite.--
tious on output should not be confused by a current mission which .s not
0/RR's responsibility's teas proaent time.
Certain routines and certsia pressures derive from the handling of
incoming docurants and t'mricl3 on ea ourre+nt basing. Since the processing
of incoming current dct(iin is constitutes yen immediate and urrp: adic.S:sab:t.s
demand on his time, the Enaalyt t'1s ability to plan his wore; icaad, or to
extend himself in urid .vtc'rbed r aseau'oh Is extremely limited.
It must be olear ?~ h t tlro prowont personnel of U/RR is limited and the
basic research mission io an a x.lraozdinaarily big job for which the office
is greatly understaffed.
2) Problem. The pseciaae resoo nsibility for voluntary cuppor~; for
currant i ' gonce a3hould be def inad s
A. CCI has the direct responsibility for reporting, daily,
on current intesiligenen. The latter office is not sts-ff etl
v.ith an econorio support staff. O/R_R furnishes icr cuarrort
support thrctiuCh its Strateg:Ic Division. Eavvever, UC1 has
need of a brorAar econ~amic reporting base a o scr eze Tc r
oust~~ i ocZ=era c e~era ~b coution on spot it eras.
xa GM supporB" T a7 ? c"r
the paper routine and the amount of time to be taken or. eon-
sultat:ion, and ncilled comments on documents of outetending
current ecoruvdc '4hapor Lance.
B. Current c vaiuations. This is a current support proble;ra.
~ahie$`-voivaei "'o collecting offices (00 cnd SO)~
These cell-:ct'ng offices have a need for rapid evaluation
which will sor?een out their most egrogiou3 mistakes in
collection. These offices also require frcni the eupparting
office some agreed-upon standard of evaluation. Such an
evaluation procedure does not at all involve the process of
"requirements." in the past the bulk of the research amaiysVa
requirements have boon derived from current intelligence
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T4W L 'U".w, i,
evaluation (:'ohm l or ini'brma!). This is not a s:3ientific nor
practical approach to oconoiic intelligence requirements.
Due to the past emphasis on current intelligence, invol-
ving all that it does in the nay of processes and deadlines,
economic intelligence requirements have not been thoroughly
collated and thought out in a form which would provide the
collecting offices with a working basis. Therefore, the snot
requirements have been conflicting and a burden upon the col-
lecting facilities. (There is also the problem of precise
definition of requirerncnts, and the means of communications in
conveying What is nerd?,d by the researcher.)
Since O/RR has a primary research responsibility and
accountability, the evaluation support of 30/b0 must take a
secondary role and be regarded only as preliminary evaluation.
There is need, however, for a mechanism Eo ar`rangod bet een
the crollecting-offices and the research offices for arriving
at firm evaluations.
C. Another problem of current support (somewhat nebulous in
the definition of being current) is that support to be given or
solicited by other IAC agencies in the Porn of intelligence or
information which they requiro against deadlines for departmental
intelligence. This is a problem tith rhich to strug;;le, and
depends on O/RR leadership within the IAC.
D. The final problem facing research analysts is, avowedly, the
intellectual inconsistency of separating basic from current Intel
ligenoa; the matter of being an courant in a specialized field.
This purported inconsistency provdes the analyst with a comfor-
table psychological reason for failing to arrive at a specific
definition of his job and to prepare the specific requirements
needed to carry out his responsibility for authoritative research.
If central files and library facilities can provide current service
on arty given tecaarch task, then the analyst's insistence On
currency is merely reflecting a pasaLve attitude towards intelligence
research, and certain possessive instincts about the intelligence
information; The real problem then, is defining mission and function,
and procuring supporting library (central files) facilities.
E. The final problem is one of whether the office wishes to under-
take current intelligence responsibility on its omn initiative and
risk, - i c mus be variance with its. l imited facilities and
mission provided for it by the Director.
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CONFIDENTIAL
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II.. Organization and Mission of Reading Panel
The reading panel is the s}?,,ring',oard for making; the most effective immediate
use of any incoming document,
1) Personnel qualifications. Essentially every person operating on the
reading panel st to ana yst, It is desired that the p crson ha-ine a backk ound
in economics, preferably .ith some working experience. Vhile no spc=cializat!an is
required, familiarity with all fields, is needed. Personal qualifications of
alertness, imagination, and common sense are natural requisites, Since it it
impossible to lancw specific details of all fields, It is essential that ache
analyst be basically honest in understanding his own limitations and secure
answers as to the significance of a specific piece of information from those
who are competent.
The analyst must be familiar witq current events and essentially those
movements which ti:ould reflect on the sirni.ricance of incoming economic infor--
oration. The personality qualifications denaad a consistent approach, the drive
and ability to work undor -pressure, a ,-A efficiency in rationing the time to be
spent on consultation, reading, screening, etc.
He must be required to know what the prevailing demands are in OC:I, what
limitations there are in the fields of current economic intelligence reporting,
the individual competency within (l/RR, and the specific ronearch project
responsibility of the individual .analysts within 0/118.
2) Functions. The functions of the current intelligcnce readin panel
are tho rcodi-n and placing of incoming documents, recognition of
significant items and c.-rnn.:enting thereon or securing comments thereon;
evaluating SO, 00 and A .-? i c ce documents or soeuririg evaluations thereon;
overseeing or guiding t. con-ttral filing of documen-%s.
A. Reading and placin. of documents. The analyst must keep abreast
of an allocated r .um er o nlcom ng ocumenta, He rest assess the
significance of items covered and their relationship to all intel-
ligence factors. Each incoming document demands some kind of
immediate use. The analyst has responsibility for placing this
document with, not all the people concerned but, the person most
concerned who can make an immediate current use of the inforniLtione
Sometimes this will necessarily Involve pointing out to the porsm
concerned the value and significance of the document. The analyst
must distinguish between that item which is of immediate concern
and requires action, and that which will be of use later on.
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B. !lead J.~ a ~ a p.f .'?s t I : a ec: c,o ~ifi 1oLt'In - h c IY ,~' u:; ? i .
ru~,pa of eccxiti6ar.'r:s "o`-t?~:y rw%s~r A"Fro
an alyct to selcrct .toms of outstanding importance and to write
quick, short, p'viicilled notos calling them to the enttentio, of
the proper autln.oritr in. CCI. In some cases it may be neceF;sar:f
for the analyst -',:.o consult other 0/RR. perscnnel before tri= ing such
a oom3 giant. Th:.s ouli be true where the analyst v,cs unsure as to
who:.thcr the itcwa was or was not of current significance. yn s, sport
of OC:: the ara:=.y::.tt must be thoroughly familiar with OCI "indications"
iist;s< Such f cm.ients newt Ja of the most cursory rrature s:xrce an"(
t? !rat:ncx siesta a iCd follow up will be initiateid by G(rl v,-ith other O/RH
or OC";. pers .3-.3?.
Co E'aluati.n SO, 00 and Air Force documaaate. The reading panel
roust : sa rt ... d ors "pi?e"I' n raffia a vul: ai.ions t-0 t oso
doours nts requ .ring sue revs. cin pr st.as- `u i But by the
chief,,, Eval::c -' Toro raast be consistent, although r.-coos nizably not
providing for - "r:re;ea.rch' grading or comm.rnta. / ..a.1n vhe the
analy:ut doaa ~i c t honz,stly know how to evalnet`;e tens docu ent, ccna ult
tion fi-j.th an ca Proprf.atc ;3erson should be held.
D. Guidance to OC]. To sum-Inarise; alloca-;ion by the analyst c-f air
do--i av.it vau17 " into the following throe cle~s ,t: z (1) to certr l
files for lat,:t? use, (2) to current intelligence .3ncrr. iranled:iato use,
(3) to research per?sonrol working on a specific pr^ .1eat In which tho
d.ocurr3vat is a. r:mt:tar of vital importance. This la: t roqui?Beat; of this
eur?re-rzt readin,; r ialyat a thorougha familiarity with . projects
carried by the office tnd a nl.ce sense of judgnent (possibly after
consultation) as to they importance and re rtinency of the c; .ihJoct
document.
Ccncerrnin; the .first clasai.fication above, the reading panelists
must ce,rry a some of responsibility for the proper ;;uidun' v to OCD
in it.o functioa of filing, coding, etc. The eancrlr==ai: should inquire
and ad'surre himself that the many possible relevaric::Leas of a docuront
can by cxplorez through the OCD system %hen the need arises. Between
the re,.h;oarch units and the reading panel, C3IRR ought to be assured of
a proper chock and balance on the servicinj; facilities within CCD.
Haire.,, r this function of the reading panel implies tie need to "ride
herd" on the efficiency and porfonnanco of OCD's sur?,rice.s.
3) Corol Tory probie s.
A. Extraction or" infornmtion. If the roac ing pex.el an oul;lined above
is pu , nto u ~~ i rat~taM Sri Vie question aa'ises at to the raged of ar.
extracting beir:.g clone by the research analysts for use as reference s.t
a latcar date. Pr"rsurnably the analyst will be working only on papers
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for the i5:::Y die to projs.:ct fir:. o ~le~. ?a.nd M AI have all the necssrary
papers rioted, Mod, or carded for the organisation of his pepor.
Therefore, the analyst is not involved in extracting from current
incoming materials. Perhaps the reading panel should talae on thtc
job. However, if OCD's facilities are adequate (coding of ^iatorsals,
etc.), it is questionable who her an additional extracting should be
done. Or, If still required, whether in the proco:3s of OCD coding,
extracting should not be :Wade. This involves a lot of paper work
regardless of ti?.he':her it is done in OCD or elsowhefe.
B. Abstraction. Abs-:eaa :tie? can out across several problems. E&.
use s ~oua a ;precisely defined. It would seem that in most cases
reprot uc-t:'.on of a docuront ''ould mcro fully serve the purposes.
Daily inccmin docunetnts
Average no* pages per document
Incoming ca')les
Rerouting and. rereading
Present panel strength
Reading time per page per analyst
4W - plus
3
200 ? plus
unknown
B
minute - minus
The above does not include a great decal of material directly
coming; to OCD and put on microfilm or handled other1.ise (project
Wringer, etc.).
The above number of documents can be considered a minitrt n. since
activation of other O/RR units and increased requirements grill
multiply the wumxber of incozr, mr, documents.
4) Library facilities. The e#foctiveness of the reading panel and basically
the recoare act v 0RR will be entirely do_end.ent on the efficiency and.
rapid service of OCD facilities. There are two outstanding requirements on the
use.of these facilitiesz (a) The library must pro--ide a code system %.hich will
be capable of servicing -;ho analyst on specifics and also on a comprc3hcnsivo
cross-reference basis. (b) The analyst must know hoes to use research facilities
and be able to define his needs in te'ms of the facilities.
5) 'Miscellaneous. From s:oc~-? analysis it would seem that a ratio of four
supporting ergpp 6yees n OCD to orae employee in 0/RR are needed to peV-rnit O/RR
to function properly. If such sup _,ort were not furnished to C/I'R, a7a increase,
of approximately 20 employees in O/RR to each e?apluyue nog. on the O/:-AR T/0
would be necessary.
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