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Strategic Management in Intelligence

Rose BrownEagle

University of Maryland Global Campus

MGMT 670: Strategic Management Capstone

Professor Nicholas Lebredo

April 11, 2021

Strategic Management in Intelligence

Strategic management in the Intelligence Management specialization is critical. Intelligence activities are wide-ranging and impact both domestic and international spheres. The Intelligence Community’s (IC) vision is “A Nation made more secure by a fully integrated, agile, resilient, and innovative Intelligence Community that exemplifies America’s values” and its mission is to “Provide timely, insightful, objective, and relevant intelligence and support to inform national security decisions and to protect our Nation and its interests” (Office of the Director of National Intelligence, 2019). To achieve this vision and mission, the IC must employ strategic management in many areas. This paper discusses the importance of strategic management in the three main areas of budget, personnel, and equipment.

Budget

The overall budget for intelligence activities for fiscal year 2019 was over $80 billion (DeVine, 2019b). Strategic management of these resources ensures national security is maintained. Additionally, it ensures there are no wasted resources, nor a loss of public trust. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) exists in part to manage the budget of the other 16 intelligence agencies. Centralization of budgetary control is a key step in strategically managing the IC’s budget. Strategic management of the budget within the IC is conducted through the Intelligence Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Evaluation (IPPBE) process. This process ensures that the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), who manages the IC’s budget, can clearly communicate to the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence (USD(I)), who manages the military budget for intelligence needs (DeVine, 2019a). The coordination between ODNI and USD(I) is another critical aspect in ensuring resources are allocated correctly and complementarily. Efficient budget management leads to better management of other key resources like personnel and equipment.

Personnel

In the early 1990s, the IC’s budget and personnel allowances were cut drastically as the perceived need for intelligence products waned in light of the USSR’s dissolution and the end of the Cold War. This led to a loss of not only quantities of employees, but also of institutional knowledge and capabilities. Twenty years later, after the events of September 11, 2001, the IC gained budget allowances and started hiring and training to match its needs (Nemfakos et al., 2013). Nonetheless, the changes in technology, culture, and intelligence trends present a huge challenge for the IC in its efforts to rebuild its workforce. Strategic management is a critical component in managing the personnel issues inherent in this context.

Equipment

The need for strategic management of expensive equipment is important across industries. In the IC, this need is apparent in the management of critical and costly intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) equipment and platforms. A comprehensive strategy to employ these capabilities in priority order, yet efficiently, is paramount to ensuring national security. Recent calls for interoperability of the disparate platforms and capabilities across the Department of Defense and IC demand that a strategic approach be applied to ISR management (Smagh, 2020). While strategic management in this area is challenging due to the dynamic nature of intelligence targets, it is imperative that the various agencies and military departments concerned with ISR coordinate to have complementary programs rather than overlapping or redundant ones.

Conclusion

Strategic management is a key factor in the IC’s ability to achieve its vision and mission. Appropriately managing budget, personnel, and equipment is crucial to ensuring the IC can recognize threats and keep the nation safe. Without strategic management, the IC runs the risk of squandering money, inefficient use of personnel and equipment, and losing the trust of the American public.

References

DeVine, M. (2019a, April 24). Intelligence planning, programming, budgeting, and evaluation (IPPBE) process. Congressional Research Service. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/IF10428.pdf

DeVine, M. (2019b, November 6). Intelligence community spending: Trends and issues. Congressional Research Service. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/R44381.pdf

Nemfakos, C., Rostker, B., Conley, R., Young, S., Williams, W., Engstrom, J., Bicksler, B., Elson, S., Jenkins, J., Kennedy-Boudali, L., & Temple, D. (2013). Workforce planning in the intelligence community: A retrospective. Rand Corporation. https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_reports/RR100/RR114/RAND_RR114.pdf

Office of the Director of National Intelligence. (2019, January). National Intelligence Strategy of the United States of America 2019. https://www.dni.gov/files/ODNI/documents/National_Intelligence_Strategy_2019.pdf

Smagh, N. (2020, June 4). Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance design for great power competition. Congressional Research Center. https://fas.org/sgp/crs/intel/R46389.pdf