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Personnel Vetting and Secrecy Research

RAND projects have examined how to improve the process of vetting personnel for trusted positions from a variety of perspectives, including addressing popular conceptions (and misconceptions) about the security clearance process, factoring in generational differences, improving the applicant experience, and updating the national security secrecy paradigm itself.

Jun 17, 2026

Personnel Vetting 101 Applicant Toolkit: Frequently Asked Questions and Common Misperceptions

This annex answers FAQs about the federal personnel vetting process and addresses common misconceptions about foreign contacts, travel, and dual citizenship; drug use; mental health; police records and criminal history; finances; and relationships.
Jun 17, 2026

Insights and Tools to Improve the Applicant Experience with the Personnel Vetting and Security Clearance Process

The authors examine how applicants experience the U.S. government’s personnel vetting process, identify practical strategies for improving the vetting process experience, and develop tools to help applicants navigate the vetting process.
Oct 7, 2025

Vetting of Dual Citizens and Naturalized Citizens for Service in the National Security Workforce: Addressing Complexities, Challenges, and Opportunities Related to the Personnel Vetting Process

The authors of this report examine the challenges and complexities that surround the personnel vetting process for dual or naturalized citizens who are seeking roles in the national security workforce.
Oct 7, 2025

Addressing Common Questions and Concerns from Dual or Naturalized Citizens Regarding the Security Clearance Process

The authors of this document present a reference sheet of key questions and answers about the personnel vetting process for dual or naturalized citizens who are seeking roles in the national security workforce.
Jul 26, 2023

National Security Employment: Improving the Candidate Experience Journey Through the Personnel Vetting Process

This report explores how existing U.S. government security, suitability, and credentialing mechanisms might benefit from a formalized candidate experience strategy and framework to create a more positive vetting experience.
Jul 20, 2023

Assessing Misperceptions Online About the Security Clearance Process

The authors of this report describe and analyze online information and potential misinformation about the security clearance process. Reviewing the content on internet forums reveals potential misperceptions about the process.
Apr 26, 2023

Assessing Security Risk in a New Normal: Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Personal and Work Behaviors

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on a variety of behaviors considered during personnel investigations. The authors suggest ways to adjust the baseline of risk considerations for better identification of risky behavior.
May 3, 2023

Decision Aid Framework Development to Inform the Application of Federal Assistance: Improving Sharing of Criminal History Record Information for Personnel Vetting

Researchers identified factors inhibiting the provision of information to the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency from law enforcement agencies and developed a framework to help assess which areas might benefit from federal assistance.
Apr 4, 2023

Could Dementia in the National Security Workforce Create a Security Threat?

Individuals who handle classified material could become a security threat if they develop dementia and unwittingly share government secrets. This Perspective proposes a framework to assess this risk and guides further study of this potential threat.
Mar 27, 2023

Neurodiversity and National Security: How to Tackle National Security Challenges with a Wider Range of Cognitive Talents

This report provides research and analysis for national security managers and employees who seek to better understand neurodivergence and neurodiversity and desire simple steps to achieve neurodiverse inclusivity for national security workplaces.
Feb 15, 2023

Harnessing Mobile Technology to Enable U.S. Personnel Vetting

The authors examined how U.S. government vetting could be enhanced with mobile technologies and platforms for the Security, Suitability, and Credentialing Performance Accountability Council Program Management Office.
Sep 7, 2022

Criminal History Record Information Sharing with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency: Education and Training Materials for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Partners

This report presents materials to facilitate more effective and efficient criminal history record information sharing with the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, which performs federal background investigations.
Jul 1, 2022

Managing Adverse and Reportable Information Regarding U.S. Military Officers: 2019 Update

The authors analyze the policies and processes for reporting unfavorable information about U.S. military officers being considered for appointments, promotions, or retirements and make recommendations for improvement.
Mar 11, 2021

Updating Personnel Vetting and Security Clearance Guidelines for Future Generations

The authors identified select trends, including age-based factors, among younger adults to understand broader social changes that may affect current security clearance adjudication guidelines for positions in the U.S. government.
Aug 3, 2020

Corporate Knowledge for Government Decisionmakers: Insights on Screening, Vetting, and Monitoring Processes

The authors of this report interviewed human resources and security personnel in several corporate sectors to derive insights for the U.S. government into ways to screen, vet, and monitor personnel over time.
Oct 14, 2019

Literature on Personnel Vetting Processes and Procedures: Annotated Selected Bibliography

To help inform the U.S. government in its efforts to improve the vetting processes for public trust and national security positions and protect its assets and information, the authors assembled a selected bibliography of relevant literature.
Aug 5, 2019

Assessing Continuous Evaluation Approaches for Insider Threats: How Can the Security Posture of the U.S. Departments and Agencies Be Improved?

This exploratory project examines various continuous evaluation approaches to detecting insider threats that are available to the U.S. government and assesses the relevance of these approaches to the challenges posed by such insider threats.
Nov 1, 2018

Secrecy in U.S. National Security: Why a Paradigm Shift Is Needed

This Perspective summarizes an examination of the adequacy of the system for governing national security information secrecy. It finds the present secrecy paradigm failing and proposes major reforms in making, protecting, and releasing secrets.
Sep 24, 2013

Fixing Leaks: Assessing the Department of Defense's Approach to Preventing and Deterring Unauthorized Disclosures

RAND assessed the early implementation of the Unauthorized Disclosures Strategic Plan to prevent and deter the unauthorized disclosures of classified information in the Department of Defense.