EVALUATION

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80M00636A000100010004-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: May 10, 2004
• Sequence Number: 4
• Publication Date: January 21, 1976
• Content Type: MF

SUBJECT Evaluation
21.January 1976
KtL IIC+p-'`P ic,
1. I thought it would be useful to provide some thoughts
which occurred to me during our meeting yesterday on the subject
of evaluation. To begin with, I didn't believe that there
was a great deal of difference in the functions you identified
which evaluation serves, and the purpose cited by
If you recall, you listed four things:
totally integrated into that structure. In line with the DCI's
observations, it was 10 to 15 years before evaluation became
a way of life within DoD.
.and budgets-were formulated,.reviewed, approved, justified and
changed). Finally, they had to ensure that evaluation was
--substantive assessments;
--evaluating how resources are allocated;
--justifying budgets; and,
--as a basis for planning.
Wally, on the other hand, stated that the purpose of evaluation
was to provide information to the DCI to assist him in decision
making in the areas of policy, plans and current operations. I
believe that your list tends to be a slightly finer grained
elaboration of his list and suggest they be combined.
2. What it really comes down to in the DCI's terms is
evaluation should either focus on specific problems
,7hat any termed it "problem isolation"), or it should be
tie basis tor feedback to the DCI on the question of: "Am I
making the right decisions?"
3. As I stated yesterday, I believe we can usefully learn
something from the DoD experience with evaluation. Under
McNamara, whose demand for quantitative evaluation was
insatiable, the DoD found it necessary to create an organization
(system analysis) whose sole reason for being was to evaluate.
They also discovered that they had to control the decision making
.mechanism (the process and structure by.which Doll programs
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For example, State Department is of little interest in terms
of resource allocation but looms very
4. Before we proceed to address the question of evaluation
for the Intelligence Community, I suggest that we need to answer
the following essential questions:
a. What are the driving needs for evaluation;
what is to be done with it? This needs to be answered
for both substantive intelligence and resources management.
b. How do we obtain Community agreement with whatever
method of evaluation is chosen? A corollary to this question
is: How do we obtain Community support and agreement,
particularly as we move from concept to implementation?
c. Is the IC Staff properly structured to perform
the evaluation function and to exploit it?
d. What special. cases exist; can they be accommodated?
substantive rontribution
e. Are the management information needs of the DCI
the same as those of the Program Managers who have the
ultimate responsibility for resource allocation; if not,
can we realistically design a system or set of procedures
which meets all needs?
f. Are we on the IC Staff willing to invest both
the time and the resources to do an effective job of
evaluation? In. this regard, please recall my comment
that each element of the IC Staff does a. form of evaluation
in its day-to-day business under the current structure.
The question is: Is it the proper sort of evaluation
needed?
5. I do not believe that the answer to these questions
is to simply "fix" the current KEP. There is an admitted
imbalance in the KEP. We were successful. in obtaining a fair
.amount of resource data. We were largely unsuccessful in
obtaining.an equivalent amount of data.on"substance. While
I.believe the current PRD effort to produce a substantive
evaluation is both worthwhile and necessary, I also believe
the DCI asked PRD to do it because he had been largely
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unsuccessful in getting the NIO's to do it. I also anticipate
that the NIO's will take a fair amount of umbrage at whatever
PRD produces.
6. The idea of touching base with each of the managers
involved throughout the Community is going to be useful, but
it will also surface many of the same differences of opinion
and frustrations already encountered as a result of the KEP
exercise. I am not at all confident that these diverse points
of view will be able to be reconciled. Should that prove to
be true, the IC Staff must be more than a mediator--it has to
take the lead.
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