Research Brief
Improving Intelligence Support for Operations in the Information Environment
Dec 9, 2020
Dividing Roles and Responsibilities Between Intelligence and Information Professionals
Format | File Size | Notes |
---|---|---|
PDF file | 0.6 MB | Use Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher for the best experience. |
Format | List Price | Price | |
---|---|---|---|
Add to Cart | Paperback100 pages | $25.50 | $20.40 20% Web Discount |
Both information operations (IO) and intelligence have long been core components of U.S. military operations, and information is the essence of both communities. What distinguishes them is how each community compiles, sorts, analyzes, and uses information. Gaps in understanding of each community's roles, responsibilities, and processes have important implications for operations in the information environment (OIE), which require a significant degree of coordination between the personnel who provide intelligence support to these operations and the personnel who are responsible for planning and conducting them. To support information operations practitioners, intelligence personnel must be familiar with the types of information that are relevant to OIE. Conversely, information operations practitioners must be familiar with intelligence products and processes for how that information is collected, analyzed, and disseminated.
Despite the recent surge in interest in OIE, there is still not sufficient appreciation across the joint force for what these operations can contribute. As a result, intelligence organizations do not understand intelligence needs for OIE or routinely provide OIE-specific intelligence products, and related requests for intelligence support are not prioritized. This situation is compounded by a lack of awareness of intelligence organizations' processes and requirements among information operations staffs.
A review of guidance, doctrine, and documentation on the information requirements for OIE, along with interviews with subject-matter experts, highlighted 40 challenges to effective intelligence support to OIE, along with 67 potential solutions to address them.
Chapter One
Introduction
Chapter Two
The Evolution of Operations in the Information Environment
Chapter Three
Categorizing Challenges to Intelligence Support for Operations in the Information Environment
Chapter Four
Solutions to Improve Intelligence Support for Operations in the Information Environment
Chapter Five
Conclusions and Recommendations
Appendix A
Information-Related Capabilities, Operations, and Activities
Appendix B
Intelligence Product Categories
This research was sponsored by U.S. European Command and conducted within the International Security and Defense Policy Center of the RAND National Security Research Division (NSRD), which operates the National Defense Research Institute (NDRI).
This report is part of the RAND Corporation research report series. RAND reports present research findings and objective analysis that address the challenges facing the public and private sectors. All RAND reports undergo rigorous peer review to ensure high standards for research quality and objectivity.
Permission is given to duplicate this electronic document for personal use only, as long as it is unaltered and complete. Copies may not be duplicated for commercial purposes. Unauthorized posting of RAND PDFs to a non-RAND Web site is prohibited. RAND PDFs are protected under copyright law. For information on reprint and linking permissions, please visit the RAND Permissions page.
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. RAND's publications do not necessarily reflect the opinions of its research clients and sponsors.