Intelligence Community Management

The U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) consists of 18 organizations, such as the intelligence components of the five military services within the Department of Defense (DOD) as well as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). These organizations independently and collaboratively gather, analyze, and produce the intelligence necessary to conduct foreign relations and national security activities. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which heads the IC, works to ensure that things like standards, processes, and tools across the community are consistent and efficient.

The U.S. Intelligence Community

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However, the IC could improve how it manages its workforce, supports military operations, and manages its intelligence infrastructure.   

For example: 

• Personnel vetting:  DOD’s Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) is developing a new IT system—the National Background Investigation Services—to conduct background investigations for most federal agencies and over 13,000 organizations that work with the government. However, DCSA has repeatedly missed targeted milestones for fully deploying NBIS over the past several years. It also hasn’t taken important risk management steps that would enable it to ensure that appropriate privacy controls are in place when the system is operational.
• Diverse workforce. Federal employees use secure facilities—known as "SCIFs"—to work with classified information. But some SCIFs aren't accessible for employees with disabilities—e.g., some doors are too heavy to open, or doorways are too narrow for wheelchairs. While the Office of the Director of National Intelligence has taken some steps to address access issues, it can do more. For example, it should improve its guidance on SCIFs to identify accessibility requirements and indicate how agencies should evaluate medical devices or assistive technologies—like screen readers—for use in these facilities.
• Military support. The IC’s intelligence is a critical element in planning U.S. military operations. DOD uses certifications to determine that its employees have the necessary education, training, and experience to carry out their duties. However, DOD does not have such certificationsfor some personnel that provide intelligence support to its weapons acquisition programs. Additionally, DOD’s Missile Defense Agency (MDA) uses information from the IC to develop systems to address the threat of ballistic missiles. The MDA has recently increased its interaction with the IC, but further collaboration could help the MDA keep pace with evolving threats.

MDA Flight Test Against a Long-Range Threat (March 25, 2019)

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• Use of satellites. Commercial satellite companies can play a key role in providing imagery and data critical to national security issues. For example, the war in Ukraine has drawn attention to how governments are using commercial satellites to track troop movement and the impact of attacks. The IC and DOD, however, have a slow and cumbersome approach to incorporating emerging commercial capabilities. Until they address this, the U.S. risks losing a technological advantage over emerging competitors, like China.