OSCOL WORKING GROUP

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP90-00509R000100030028-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: December 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: April 4, 2003
• Sequence Number: 28
• Publication Date: April 11, 1978
• Content Type: NOTES

CONFIDENTIAL
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11 April 1978
NOTE
T0: Deputy to the DCI for Collection Tasking
SUBJECT: OSCOL Working Group
1. This note is to update you on progress in formation of
an ~SC~L zaorking group, the work program of which you approved on
17 March 1978.
2. is working on this project. He has conducted
an initial round of discussions with er.sons involved in o en source
collection activities amon them who did 2 5X1A
the LITINT study and iairman o. the Interagency Maps
and Publications Acquisitions Committee. During those discussions
the various OSCOL problems and issues appeared to separate themselves
into four groups: Mona erial Planning; Collection; Systemic Issues;
and 05COL Exploitation. is convinced that the best way to
proceed in this matter would be to form an action task force for each
of the four sets of issues; the four task force chairmen and 2 5X1A
would comprise the working group.
3. The search is now on for candidates to head up the four task
forces. To that end has discussed the attached paper in
detail with
the NIO for Special Projects;
Chief of the NF C Requirements and Evaluation Staff?
, airman DC Tas Force on Linguistic Problems;
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he will meet with Dr. William Dodge, Library of Congress, Foreign L ~l\~H
Research Division, and on Thursday with selected Department of State
ersonnel. would meet also with
AF/FTD; and others before recommending
our persons to head up the task force.
4. Tentatively, (NFAC/RES) would appear a good
choice to chair the Ex loitation Task Force and is considerin that
possibility. appears 25X1A
widely respecte as an authority on both collection and systemic
issues, should he be available.
5. I will keep you informed of further developments.
Attachment
As stated
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DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE
Human Resources Committee
HRC-c-7s-o32 >
6 pri 78
MEMORANDUM FOR: (Potential Task Force Chairmen or Members)
SUBJECT: OSCOL Working Group
1. (C) As recommended by the Human Resources Committee, the
D/DCI/CT has approved formation of an ad-hoc working group to
examine a number of questions and issues relating to open source
collection. In the process, the working group is to focus on
literature intelligence in particular, and expand on the work
recently done in that field by an independent contractor,
A copy of the study is
Attac ment ereto. he undersigned has been esignated to
coordinate the activities of the working group, under the
supervision of Chairman, Human Resources Committee.
2. (C) The working group's purpose is to improve interaction
between those who collect and process open source information,
and the users of the product, relative to on-going collection,
production and analytical objectives. Most of the problems,
issues and opportunities in open source collection have been
around for awhile, and require less definition than assistance
toward positive action. Where command decisions appear to be
needed the working group will attempt to bring about those
decisions. Where a community effort appears called for, the
working group will staff the matter for consideration by the
Human Resources Committee, or appropriate other elements. Some
matters may require intensive research of a kind best conducted
by an outside contractor.
3. (C) The open source collection arena is large, and the
opportunities for improvement are very diverse. It would be
easy for the working group to become mired in detail very quickly.
To prevent that, it is planned that the working group will remain
small and highly flexible. Each member of the working group will
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chair a task force, the composition of which will evolve as different
issues are examined. The undersigned will provide the necessary
coordination and staff work, and report regularly to Chairman, HRC.
At appropriate intervals the latter will report to HRC members
and to the D/DCI/CT about progress and recommendations. In due
course the Chairman, HRC will propose an appropriate mechanism
or structure within the Human Resources Committee to ensure that
open source collection activities receive a full measure of
representation and attention in the committee.
4. (C) Attachment A hereto shows how the working group will be
structured functionally. Attachment B is a listing of some questions
and issues that may be appropriate for initial working group attention.
I would appreciate your views on the latter and any suggestions you
wish to make concerning other problem areas that should be given
attention. Attachment C is the recently completed 2 5X1A
Study. Please examine these attachments and advise w et er you
would be interested in participating in this activity as a general
consultant, a working group member, or as a member of one of the
task forces. I also invite you to recommend others who could
serve well in one of these three capacities.
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Attachments:
As stated
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TAB
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Coordinator:
Member:
~iRC Staff Representative
Chairman, OSCOL Planning Task Force
? How much OSCOL reporting is enough?
? Should OSCOL be administered
centrally as a distinct intelli-
gence discipline?
? Bring contractual services inside?
? Cost effectiveness issue
Member: Chairman, Collection Issues Task Force
? How much OSCOL reporting is presently
available?
? Are there collection gaps?
? Improve support to S&T production?
? Overseas staffing an3 tasking
for IriPAC activities.
? Mutual--assistance channels to non-
intelligence departments and agencies,
Member: Chairman, Systemic Issues Task Force
? rlachine versus human and machine,
aided translation
? Raw data versus data reduction
? Are there undesirable redundancies in
processing, storing and retrieval
procedures?
riember: .Chairman, OSCOL Exploitation Task Force
? Is OSCOL underexploited?
? Producer--user interface problems
? "Release to the public" proposal
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TAB
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1. Questions concerning the role that OSCOL should play in all-source
collection.
a. How much open source collection/reporting is enough? Like
all collection methods, the ability of open source
collection to generate foreign information is determined
largely by the availability of resources. But in the all-
source mix, how much of the kind of information product that
OSCOL produces, is required for effective and efficient
production of national intelligence products. The answer
to this .question will bear significantly on several other
questions discussed below. The "production community"
perspective on this will be essential.
b. Should the various aspects of open source collection
(literature intelligence; wire service monitoring and
broadcast information publications; media analysis; foreign
press digests; maps and foreign publications procurement;
publications research and library services; translation and
data base support; shared foreign information holdings of
non-intelligence departments and agencies; etc.) be recognized
as a'distinct intelligence discipline, and compete for NFIP
resources as a consolidated decision unit? Certain aspects
of open source collection already are centrally managed (cite:
FBIS and the Central Information Reference and Control ((CIRC))
service of common concern that AF/FTD administers for the DoD),
whereas others such as exploitation of open literature for S&T
intelligence purposes possibly could benefit from more
centralized management.
c. Should translation and other support services inherent in
open source collection/reporting, which now are frequently
contracted out to non-intelligence entities, be "brought
inside" the Intelligence Community and be centrally managed?
Alternatively, could we realize resource efficiencies and
improved overall effectiveness by centralizing only the
planning for - and management of - support services, many of
which could continue to be performed outside the Intelligence
Community ?
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d. At present, no means exist to audit overall NFIP open source
collection costs, as they are not specifically identified
in departmental accounting systems. What changes in the
present arrangement might be feasible to enable manpower and
funds devoted to open source collection to be tallied for
cost effectiveness deliberations? On this we will need
assistance form RMS/OP BD.
The working group will probe these questions with the various
interested parties and then draft options and recommendations
for higheY consideration.
a. In line with the above question about how much open source
collection/reporting is enough, the working group must
establish how much foreign information open source collectors
presently are making available to production analysts,-and
whether it is in a form that is immediately usable to them,
b. Are there topical or geographical gaps in open source collection
tasking and reporting? The working group will critique
present open source collection targets and objectives, in
terms of both intended primary customers and national intelli-
gence requirements, as a basis for passible future recommendations.
c. What would have to be done, and at what decision levels, to
facilitate increased open source collection/reporting support
to S&T intelligence production? On this the working group
will work closely with STIC and departmental elements which
are already addressing this question.
d. Is the Community map and publications acquisition effort
at an appropriate level of overseas staffing and tasking
in terms of its relative contribution to national intelligence
products?
e. To what extent are the unclassified foreign information holdings
of non--intelligence departments and agencies presently available
to, and being utilized by, Community intelligence production
offices? Is Intelligence Community open source information
supporting the foreign information needs of non-intelligence
departments and agencies to its full potential?
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The working group will explore these questions with the parties
concerned, facilitate improvements where that is feasible, and
formulate recommendations for appropriate higher consideration.
3. Systemic problems and issues. It should be feasible to displav
for critical examination the existing open source collection/reporting
processes, both departmental and inter-agency, so that systemic
issues can be clearly understood, addressed and moved toward
decision. Reportedly in "literature intelligence" alone there
are some 57 government activities and-750 contractor/translators,
which are experiencing "producer/user interface problems" and
debates over "machine versus human-plus-machine-aided translation"
and "raw data versus. data reduction" issues. Gathering the
factual. information, especially cost projections, necessary to
move these controversies to decision almost certainly is beyond
the capabilities of the working group at this initial stage. The
working group can, however, establish what decisions must be made
and at what level they probably will have to be made, and what
departmental equities are involved. Depending on the availability
of funds, it may be practical to contract out some of the essential
fact finding. The first question in any event is whether there
are undesirable redundancies in present procedures for processing,
storing and retrieving open source information, and if so what
must be done to correct that situation. The working group will
give those questions a full measure of attention.
4. Exploitation of open source reporting. The
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investigator concluded that the information product of open source
collection, in particular foreign literature, is not being exploited
by intelligence producers to its :Full potential. The working
group will expand the dialogue on this subject and if it appears
to have validity, examine the underlying explanations. For starters,
we would want to determine whether the problem lay primarily in
the "production community" or in the "collection community", Other
questions worth considering: Ts more open source information
being accessioned to intelligence analysts than can be used in
those national intelligence products which meaningfully employ
open source material? Does the problem lie in the accessioned
material not being adequately "gisted" for easy scan-search
by analysts? Is the open source information just not getting
to the production offices in an organized and efficient way,
so that use opportunities are lost? Would centralized screening,
selection, "gisting", storage and retrieval of open source material,
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if that were feasible, measurably improve exploitation of the OSCOL
product? Both NFAC and departmental collector assistance will
be needed to answer these questions, and procedural solutions
should be feasible.
The DCI has evinced an interest in putting into the
public domain material which is not classified but which will
contribute to public understanding of key policy issues. It
has been suggested that this objective could be served in
some ixistances by releasing to the public selected items of
literature intelligence which was produced to support the pro-
duction of all-source intelligence. The working group will
examine the pros and cons of this suggestion and others aimed
at getting more productive milage out of our national open
source reporting product.
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TAB
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Technical Report No. S1
A Survey of Literature Intelligence
(LITINT) Resources and
Operations (U)
by
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15 February 1978
~~Copies of this document are available upon. request.
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^ CONFI' cNTIAL __ ^ SECRET
_...: - -
OUTING AND RECORD SHEET
SUBJECT: (Optional)
OSCOL Working Group
FROM:
EXTENSION
NO.
DATE
11 April 1978 25X1
1~0: (Officer designation, room number, and
building)
DATE
OFFICER'S
COMMENTS (Number each comment to show from whom
RECEIVED
FORWARDED
INITIALS
ro whom. Draw a line across column after each comment.)
1.
Deputy to the DCI for
Collection Tasking
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