INDEPENDENT STUDY OF PROBLEMS OF INTELLIGENCE MANAGEMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP78-04493A000100020042-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 13, 2001
• Sequence Number: 42
• Publication Date: January 6, 1972
• Content Type: REPORT

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Ir 6 January 1972
Independent Std of Problems of Intel.l.i 2nce Man a emcnt
I have r+c~en number of innovative approaches to managetrncut
problems founder because, in my opinion, they were prematurely
launched. Often, under different circumstances, months and years
later, they have been adopted subsequently, Some, not yet adopted.,'
may be worthwhile. Can we stimulate such innovative thinking and'
increase the likelihooed that meritorious proposals will be adopted.?
Statement of the Problem:
Agency.
proposal:
One proposal, ,,,,hich deals only with aspect of the problem--
that of improving the initial formulation of an innovative approach,
is to merge the concepts of sabbatical leave and an Intelligence .
Institute. A qualified intelligence officer who has gained experience
and wishes to explore ,some aspect of intelligence management or .
practice can.. request time tc research the issue. His application
would be screened. by the Institute, which would recommend granting
or disapproving the leave on the merits of the proposal and the quali-
fications of the officer. If approved, the officer would establish a"
program of action which would consider the data requirements ands
access, possible training requirements, access to specialists
where re..qui.red, and the time phasing of the program. This would....-.
be done with the participation of the Institute which would assist in'
providing resources and access where required, The Institute
would probably require a schedule of status reports, a means for
termination should the study end in a blind alley, and a vehicle
for publishing any results of consequence. In some cases, the
Institute might wish to recommend that additlonai study be continucd?,
by the officer, a contracting organization, or a component of the
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Such an approach would be more productive if broad-based,..
assuming a Community-aspect where appropriate, and permitting...
a mixture of outside study and internal research where appropriate,
This would depend largely on the ability of the Institute to open
academic and governmental doors.
This proposal is a supplement to, but not a substitute for,
a program of external training. The Agency continually needs to
upgrade its skills. But there arc also many areas where an experienced
officer, looking at a problem with his own insights in a situation free
of immediate office pressures, may come up with a valuable solution
or a contribution toward a solution. The opportunity to take such, a
look at a problem may be valuable both to the Agency and to the
individual officer. Consider, for example, the officer who is in a
dead-end job, but has an innovative view on some other aspects of,"
Agency operations. Consider the officer who is rising fast but
would like more time to come to grips with a significant Agency
problem.
With only brief thought, many potential topics come to mind:`-
Modelling Modelling the Agency in the perspective of the most recent
advances in information theory- -how would this change our.,~iew
of production, collection, and processing?
Evaluating personal performance;
Evaluating the performance of particular activities;
Establishing a feedback mechanism so that we may
better support high level customers;
What rncasures can be taken to improve public access
to unclassified, aspects of Agency production?
These are only samples. Of course, they are also topics of
concern to Agency management and presumably would be studied'-by.'
the appropriate line and staff officers. Even so, it is unlikely tha'4:. .
we have yet found the final answers.
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A note about the Institute:
encountered by the officer pursuing independent study within
classified activitie3.
Community role and resolve the problems of access that might be
The Institute, which could be staffed and administered by OTR
should probably be placed under the O/DCI so that it could play itt~
it might contract for studies of the interrelationship between
decision-making, uncertainty, and the role of intelligence. It
could also publish a revamped. Studies in Intelligence.
administer the Senior Seminar on a Community basis. It might
also arrange mixed programs of academic study and independent:
study. It also could, assume some role in R&D with respect to
management practices and intelligence processes. For example,
Though I have dwelt only with one aspect of its activities, it could probably assume a variety of roles. For example, it might.;
Notes on administration:
Y .~ 6
Officers pursuing independent study should be funded centrally,
through the Institute. The amount of such study would then be con'rolled
by the total budget available. Parent organizations should be permitted
to express their views on applications for such study by their own,
officers, but their vi+ ws should not necessarily assume a veto poviier
In many cases, the undertaking of a program of independent study' may
be the assumption of a calculated risk that the officer will not rcti).rn
to his parent organization, a risk both on the part of the officer arid
of the office. The total program of independent study need not asume
any large cost; I expect.that its benefits--tangible and intangible-"
may be significant,.
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