HOW WE ARE GOING ABOUT OUR ASSIGNMENT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP86B00985R000100100025-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 13, 2005
• Sequence Number: 25
• Publication Date: April 25, 1978
• Content Type: MF

Approved For tlease 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B0098S00100100025-4
25 April 1978
MEMORANDUM FOR: See Distribution
How We Are Going About Our Assignment
REFERENCE . Memorandum from Dr. Sayre Stevens to NFAC
Personnel, Subj: Quality of Intelligence
Analysis, dtd 21 April 1978
1. I land I realize that there is interest, concern,
and curiosity about what he and I are going to be doing and how we are
going to go about it. So, we are sending this letter to each of you
NFAC office heads and inviting you to share it with all others in your
office who are interested, concerned, and curious.
2. Mr. Bowie's charge to us is to develop and recommend a long-
range program for gaining improved capabilities for analysis and pro-
duction of intelligence. Il and I are not responsible for the
related on-going actions and projects which have been and are being
initiated by Mr. Bowie, Sayre Stevens, and others. But, STAT
and I are interested in those actions and projects in terms of
how they will and should fit into the total program and capability.
In other words, we are expected to propose, not to dispose.
3. We are faced with an immediate task--to prepare a report by
this summer for Mr. Bowie and the DCI on the state of NFAC's intel-
ligence production and analysis capabilities. This report will include
an inventory of the background and skills of NFAC professionals. We
will soon be asking for your assistance in preparing it.
4. The inventory report will serve us as a point of departure.
Next we will develop a plan for and proceed to building the long range
program. We anticipate that our efforts will take a couple of years.
We shall recommend specific ideas for actions and projects as we
progress, and as such ideas merit immediate consideration.
Approved For Release 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B00985R000100100025-4
 Approved Forj,Ejelease 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B00985R000100100025-4
5. From the beginning of and throughout our efforts, and I STAT
will be talking with as many of you as want to participate and contribute.
During May we plan to meet with each NFAC office head and all the
NIOs. From then on, and throughout our efforts we plan to exchange
information, try out our ideas, and seek your ideas through seminars
and other kinds of group and individual meetings with as many NFAC
persons as are interested in doing so. We also plan to seek permis-
sion to visit selected Agency training courses, such as the Midcareer
Executive Development Course, to explain our purposes and to obtain
the ideas and views of those attending such courses.
6. We encourage individuals to seek us out to make their views
known to us. Our Headquarters room number is 7E62; our telephone
number is 0 We particularly encourage persons who may distrust,
fear or disdain our efforts to call us to explain what and how we are
doing and thinking. We want you to speak about us and our deeds from
knowledge, not from ignorance.
7. Please consider this to be but our first communication to all
of you. We shall send you occasional progress reports.
John Hi c s
-2-
Approved For Release 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B00985R000100100025-4
 Approved Fo lease 2005/12/23: CIA-RDP86B009& 000100100025-4
SUBJECT: How We Are Going About Our Assignment
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
-
1
1
1
1
1
1
Director, NFAC
Deputy Director, NFAC
Associate Director-Substantive
Associate Director-Management,
Executive Officer, NFAC
Director of
Director of
Director of
Director of
Director of
Director of
Director of
Director of
Support, NFAC
NFAC
Central Reference
Economic Research
Geographic & Cartographic Research
Imagery Analysis
Regional & Political Analysis
Scientific Intelligence
Strategic Research
Weapons Intelligence
Director, CIA Operations Center
Chief, Current Reporting Group
Chief, Publications & Presentations
NIO/Africa
NIO/China
NIO/Conventional
NIO/East Asia
NIO/Latin America
NIO/Near East & South Asia
NIO/Nuclear Proliferation
NIO/Political--Economy
NIO/Special Studies
NIO/Strategic Programs
NIO/USSR-Eastern Europe
NIO/Western Europe
Chief ,
Academic Relations
Chief, Action Staff
Chief, Coordination Staff
Chief, Congressional Support
Chief, NFAC Admin Staff
Chief, SALT Support Staff
Chief, NFAC Plans & Programs
1 - Chief, Requirements & Evaluation Staff
1 - Chairman, NFAC MAG
1 - Center for the Study of Intelligence, OTR
1 - NFAC Women's Panel
-3-
Approved For Release 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B00985R000100100025-4
 Approved Fo lease 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B0098OR000100100025-4
21 April 1978
FROM Sayre Stevens
Deputy Director, National Foreign
Assessment Center
SUBJECT Quality of Intelligence Analysis
1. The DCI has assigned to Mr. Bowie the responsibility for
taking steps to insure that the quality of intelligence production
and analysis is improved throughout the Community. Whether the
quality of present production is good, fair or bad is not the issue.
There is room for improvement and clearly intelligence production
will be under continuous scrutiny, both from the Executive Department
of the government and from the congressional oversight committees.
To make certain that NFAC is responsive to the DCI's charge to Mr.
Bowie, Mr. John Hicks, formerly Director of NPIC and
formerly Chief, RES, have been assigned to work on this
problem full-time. will be in charge of implementing
Mr. Bowie's Community responsibilities for improving the quality of
analysis and making certain that NFAC's efforts on this matter are
consistent with those of the Community.
2. I view the term "improving the quality of production" in the
broadest possible sense. It goes far beyond more language training
or improved writing skills for NFAC analysts. To me it means a
long-term and continuing effort to create a working environment in
which the analytic career can flourish. As you know, I long have
been concerned with attacking this problem within CIA, both in my
present position and in my former position as DDI. I think that over
the past year or so we have acquired a better understanding of the
dimensions of the problem and even made some concrete progress. High
goals need, however, more than periodic knee-jerk reactions. The
problem needs full-time attention by persons not under day-to-day
analytical or administrative pressures.
3. Both Mr. Hicks and have had long careers in
intelligence production. Neither comes to this assignment with any
feeling that the answers are known. Mr. Bowie and I do not intend
Approved For Release 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B00985R000100100025-4
 Approved For^Iease 2005/12/23: CIA-RDP86B0098O00100100025-4
that their assignment will lead to immediate changes in the way we do
our business. We do expect, however, that their initiatives will
point to the directions we should be going to make certain that
analysis receives its proper priority within CIA, that the major
substantive problems are properly identified and that NFAC analysts
are recruited, trained, motivated and have the necessary support to
carry out their responsibilities within an environment characterized
by professionalism, concern, and appropriate leadership.
Sayre Stevens
Approved For Release 2005/12/23 : CIA-RDP86B00985R000100100025-4