NITS OF CURRENT INTEREST -- 1983

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85M00158R000500100017-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 11, 2010
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: May 23, 1983
• Content Type: MEMO

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Jtl.Kt I
The Director of Central Intelligence
Intelligence Community Staff
MEMORANDUM FOR: SIG(I) Committee on Priorities
FROM:
Executive Secretary, SIG(I)
SUBJECT: NITs of Current Interest -- 1983
DCI/ICS 83-3390
23 May 1983
The attached is for your use in developing NITs of Current Interest for
1983. Please note that your response is requested no later than 1 July 1983.
(U)
Attachment:
National Intelligence Topics dtd 19 May 83
THIS MEMORANDUM IS UNCLASSIFIED
WHEN REMOVED FROM ATTACHMENT
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 SF('RFT
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The Deputy Director of Central Intelligence
Kashinpon. D. C. 20505
19 MAY 1983
MEMORANDUM FOR: SIG(I) Committee on Priorities
SUBJECT: National Intelligence Topics (U)
REFERENCE: "Report for the SIG(l) Committee on Intelligence Production
and on Intelligence Priorities," dated 26 April 1983
1. The 1982 NITs of Current Interest served as a reference point for the production
of a substantial amount of finished intelligence on subjects of policy concern. This
intelligence product, insofar as it addressed the 1982 NITs, has been reported to you in
the quarterly reports to the SIG(I) Committee on Priorities. The last of these reports is
referenced above and was provided to you under separate cover by the SIG(I) Executive
Secretary for review prior to the I I May SIG(I) Committee meeting. (S)
2. In preparation for publishing the 1983 NITs of Current Interest, I ask that each
of the policy elements represented on the Committee provide me a list of the five most
important questions that should be of priority concern to the Intelligence Community
during the period July 1983 to July 1984. The number of questions from each of you has
been reduced this year in order to reduce the resulting total number of topics, and to
focus the list more precisely on those critical areas anticipated during the coming year.
As agreed at the I I May meeting, each policy element will also indicate the time frame
in which a response is needed by assigning each question either a Category A or B
designator (see Attachment I for definitions of these categories). The questions should
be structured in a format (see Attachment 2) that will focilitiate their integration into a
consolidated list of new NITs and will provide intelligence producers a more specific
focus for production planning and scheduling. (S)
3. I would like to have your response by I July, with a SIG(I) Committee meeting on
15 July for review and final approval of the consolidated list of NITs, which will be issued
in late July or early August. (See Attachment 3, "NIT Schedule and Actions," for follow-
on actions.) Changes, particularly additions, may be made to the new NITs at any time
during the forthcoming year if you believe there is an urgent need to do so. Requests for
modifications should include the rationale and be forwarded to the IPC Staff for my
review and action. (S)
CL BY Signer
DECL OADR
DERIV FM Multiple
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4. I will greatly appreciate your cooperation and also welcome any ideas you may
have on other ways for enhancing producer-consumer interaction. Your inputs for the
1983 NITs of Current Intere t and any comments concerning the NIT process should be
forwarded t Room 2F21 CIA HO) my nrtinn nffirPr fnr thic Pffnrt_ If
you have any questions, Dan can be contacted on
ig/ John N.: bSc1Aahon
John N. McMahon
Attachments:
as stated
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Distribution:
Office of the Vice President (attn: P. Hughes)
Office of the Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs
(attn: K. deGraffenreid)
Office of the Under Secretary of State (attn: T. Thorne)
Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (attn: J. Thomas)
Office of the Under Secretary of Treasury (attn: D. Mulholland)
Office of the Under Secretary of Commerce (attn: D. Peterson)
Office of the Under Secretary of Energy (attn: J. Hatfield)
Office of the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (attn: P. Oleson)
Office of the Director, Intelligence Community Staff (attn
R. Kerr. Chairman, Intelligence Producers Council
Executive Secretary, S1G(l) Committee
Deputy erector of Central Intelligence
Executive Director
Executive Registry
IPC Staff Files
DDI/IPCStaf 13 May 83)
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ATTACHMENT I
Categorization of the NITs
The categorization process is not an effort to prioritize the NIT questions, rather it
is an attempt to reflect the policy relevance and time sensitivity of specific NIT issues.
With that objective in mind, SIG(I) principals agreed on I I May that each question
submitted for the new NITs be assigned a Category A or B designator. These categories
are defined below:
-Category A topics are those that are of immediate concern to
the consumer given current policy developments and the need
for information and analysis within the next six months. They
would include questions that are specific in nature and require
a Community response (e.g., response could be a typescript
memorandum, SNIE, "Fast-Track" lIM) within a six month
period. Such topics, if not responded to by the Community,
will be retained in the existing NITs until a new set of NITs is
approved by the SIG(I) Committee in June of each year unless
the sponsors of the topics recommend their deletion. If
Community products relevant to specific topics have been
published, consumers who sponsored those topics will indicate,
at the semiannual meeting (i.e., January of each year) of the
SIG(I) Committee, whether such products have satisfied the
question and should be deleted from the NITs or',whether the
question remains substantially unanswered and, consequently,
should be retained as a valid information requirement. (C)
-Category B topics are those that warrant special concern
because of their relevance to US policy strategy and interests
in the near term (six to 12 months) end require additional
analysis and reporting to support policy decisions during that
time frame. Such topics equate to those concerns that would
be addressed by the Intelligence Community in products such
as IIMs, SNIEs, NIEs, or departmental assessments. If the
topics have not been satisfactorily answered during the time
frame of the existing NITs but are of continuing interest to the
consumer, they may be submitted as information requirements
for the next annual issuance of the NITs.
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ATTACHMENT 3
Date
May 1983
I July
15 July
NIT Schedule and Actions
Action
Chairman, SIG(I) Committee on Intelligence Priorities
requests each principal to provide a list of the five most
important questions that should be of priority concern
to the Intelligence Community over the next year (e.g.,
July 83-July 1984) and an indication as to when a
response to each is required.
SIG(I) Committee principals provide inputs requested by
Chairman, SIG(l),Committee to IPC Staff for
consolidation into "a new list of NITs.
SIG(l) Committee on Intelligence Priorities meets to
approve new list of NITs.
Late July or early August DDCI issues new NITs with a restatement of their
purpose and an explanation of the categorization of the
NITs in accordance with the time urgency. of the
consumer's need for intelligence support.
October IPC Staff, based on inputs from producers, identifies for
SIG(l) Committee principals those NIT questions on
which available data is insufficient to enable the
Community to prepare a responsive product in the
coming year.
January SIG(l) Committee on Intelligence Priorities meets to
discuss report on Intelligence Community's
responsiveness to the NITs (focus of report will be on
Community production responses to Category A topics-
questions requiring a Community response within six
months).
May
June
Chairman, SIG(l) Committee on Intelligence Priorities
disseminates to Committee principals a final progress
report (Focus on Category B topics-questions requiring
a Community response within six to 12 months-and a
summary of NIT questions fully addressed in Community
production) on the Community's responsiveness to the
existing NITs and a request for new inputs for the next
issuance of NITs.
(SIG(I) Committee principals provide inputs requested
by Chairman, SIG(l) Committee to IPC Staff for
consolidation with a new list of NITs.
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June-July SIG(I) Committee on Intelligence Priorities meets to
approve new list of NITs
July DDCI issuance of new NITS
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