Reforming Personnel Vetting and the Security Clearance Process
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The personnel vetting process is the way the U.S. government decides who can be trusted to have access to US government facilities and systems and – if the position requires a security clearance - to protect the nation’s secrets. This process asks applicants for detailed personal information, checks that the details are correct, and looks for any signs that the person could pose an unacceptable risk. The goal is to prevent anyone who might leak information, commit espionage, or engage in violence from gaining access.
For some people, the vetting process can seem complicated and slow. For others, it may feel so intimidating that they choose not to apply at all. As part of its Trusted Workforce 2.0 initiative, the U.S. government is working to modernize how it collects information from applicants and to make the experience clearer, faster, and more user-friendly.
RAND researchers have examined a host of issues related reforming and improving the personnel vetting and security clearance process, and the national security secrecy paradigm more broadly. Sponsors for this work include the Security, Suitability and Credentialing (SSC) Performance Accountability Council Program Management Office (PAC PMO) and the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA).
