PROPOSED APPROACH TO OER SURVEY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP76-00593R000100130015-0
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: January 4, 2017
• Document Release Date: July 19, 2005
• Sequence Number: 15
• Publication Date: August 30, 1972
• Content Type: MF

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30 August 1972
MEMORANDUM FOR: Inspector General
SUBJECT Proposed Approach to OER Survey
1. It is still some time before we will get at the OER sur-
vey, but it is worth while to record some preliminary views on how
to proceed. This memorandum is for that purpose.
2. There are lI people in OER. Two inspectors should
be able to handle it fairly expeditiously, depending on the approach
that they take. I and I have discussed this in
general terms and there are certain things that we think we can try.
3. It is unlikely that we will find any serious personnel
problems in OER. There may be some complaints that present manage-
ment is impersonal, with the promotion to the top of professional
economists who may be more in the mold of the analyst than the
manager. If this is the case it is doubtful that it will pose a
serious problem. The office has a high professional standard and
should be fairly stable. With this thought in mind we believe that
we can devise more of a program of sampling interviews, than one of
interviewing everyone in depth. We could announce our plan in ad-
vance and circulate a notice on our readiness to interview personnel
who might otherwise be missed, and who want to talk to us. We can
probably handle the survey by talking to no more than half the offi-
cer personnel.
4+. Areas on which we can concentrate suggest a further possi-
ble method of limiting the scope of the survey. These are listed
below:
a. Requirements. How are requirements developed
and handled.
(1) How are they validated.
(2) How does the office plan the balance of
its program between current reporting
and policy support and the more tedious
and long-range research on basic economic
problems.
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(3) What steps has OER taken in formulating
collection requirements on economic re-
porting.
b. Validation of findings. What procedures are
established for reviewing conclusions, deter-
mining the accuracy of reports, and benefiting
from this review.
c. Validation of usefulness.
(1)
What steps are taken to verify that re-
ports are in fact "on target" and useful
to the components for whom they are in-
tended.
(2) What relation is there between dissemina-
tion of final reports and their intended
use.
d. Controversial issues. What steps are taken
to review the findings on subjects relating
to controversial public issues.
e. Professional standards. What program is there
in the office for acquiring new blood and for
advancing the professional qualifications of
personnel already on board.
5. It may be that in our first interview with the DDI he will
add to our list of subjects. The inspection may produce some addi-
tional ones. We obviously will want to be able to speak on the or-
ganization of OER to accomplish its mission, but we will develop an
appreciation of that through our general interviews. By and large
this should insure that we cover the essential issues without bogging
down in a number of collateral questions. It is an approach that
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strikes me as being particularly suitable for this o
S. D. Breckinridge
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