UNITED STATES INFORMATION AGENCY OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00400R000300060020-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 15, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 29, 2004
• Sequence Number: 20
• Publication Date: June 4, 1956
• Content Type: REPORT

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ANNEX to
Brief for U. S. Information Agency
membership in the IAC
United States Information Agency
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND INTELLIGENCE
Reporting to the Director of the United States Information Agency
(USIA), the Office of Research and Intelligence (IRI) is charged with
a threefold mission:
Analysis of communist propaganda in all its aspects;
Analysis of foreign public attitudes on issues which affect
the United States national interest;
Measurement of impact or effectiveness of USIS operations.
Each phase of IRI's mission involves a multitude of require-
ments and corresponding tasks which must be performed by
specialists.
(The analysis of communist propaganda, for example,
must cover the apparatus--its manning, its methods,
its financing, its fronts; the output--press, periodicals,
books, radio, films, television, exhibits, trade fairs;
and its reflection of communist vulnerabilities, tactical
shifts, and intentions;
The analysis of foreign public attitudes on issues af-
fecting the U. S. national interest involves not only
repetitive measurement of those attitudes, but also
estimates of what has and will affect attitudes and
estimates of the part played by public opinion in the
policy decisions of or actions taken by the country
concerned.)
State Dept. review completed
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The processing of information must be such that IRI's output
is fast, brief, and often unclassified in order that two major needs
may be fulfilled:
Facts upon which USIA can base information policy, program
planning, and operational decisions;
Unclassified information to document and otherwise support
and strengthen the U. S. case before world opinion.
At the Washington end, IRI's resources fall into four distinct
categories:
The Office of Research and Intelligence
(staffed by 125 specialists, operating on a budget of
$1, 000, 000, and concentrating on all aspects of
propaganda- -with special emphasis on public attitudes
of foreign peoples and on communist propaganda
activities throughout the world);
The Propaganda Library
(which possesses the only organized collection of
communist propaganda materials... These materials
are utilized for detection of shifts in emphasis of
communist propaganda, detection of channels of
distribution, identification of methods, and as sources
for documenting USIS output. There are currently
more than 10, 000 items in the collection);
The unclassified "Morgue"
(not unlike that of a large city daily newspaper. The
Morgue is vital to our press and radio operations and
is unique in the Government. It contains over 5, 000, 000
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items classified under 80, 000 headings, including
clippings from foreign and domestic newspapers,
unclassified documents issued by all branches of
the U. S. Government, reports of international
organizations, and private studies);
Technical proficiency in Survey Research
(reflected in part by the fact that IRI has the only
office in Government which regularly conducts
surveys abroad. The top American professionals,
including George Gallup, are consultants. Addi-
tionally, access to indigenous research organizations
is exploited. $350, 000 per year is currently being
spent for polls, which have already been taken in
most European, a few Latin American, and one Far
East country. )
Field assets of IRI divide into three groups:
The staffs of USIS at 200 posts in 79 countries, totaling
1, 300 Americans and 7, 000 local employees.
(Members of the USIS staff necessarily travel
more widely and more often than other members
of the Country Team, coming into contact with
more of a cross-section of the population, and
consequently have access to sources available
exclusively to them. Local employees are ex-
perienced, educated specialists. They are all
cleared and, while not having access to classified
material, are often top-drawer sources of intel-
ligence. USIS voluntary reports number 2, 000
per month.)
(Research Officers are now stationed in 14 countries,
and the number will soon be increased to about 20. )
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Indigenous Survey Organizations
(These exist in nearly all countries. USIS has
established confidential commercial relationships
with many and will be making similar arrangements
with more in more countries. )
3. Current Procedures
Security considerations are met by:
Having all American employees of USIA cleared under
Executive Order 10450; considering all positions
sensitive; security checking all local employees; and
using normal IAC declassification procedures.
(There has been no compromise of security
by USIA since its inception. )
Coordination within the intelligence community has been assured
by USIA's adopting accepted practices and procedures.
Input to the IRI intelligence mechanism derives from a variety
of sources:
IRI's sources include, but are not limited to, U. S.
Government agencies, certain foreign government
agencies, foreign newspapers and periodicals, communist
publications, and defectors.
(During April, IRI--which received more than 10, 000
intelligence documents per month--received these
documents as follows: State/6, 000; CIA/2, 200;
USIA/2, 000; G-2/360; Air Force/300; and Navy/100.
During April 200-odd finished intelligence reports
were received from CIA, State, G-2, Air Force, and
Navy. )
- 4-
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The intelligence output of IRI for USIA similarly takes a variety
of forms--in keeping with specific needs--which may be divided into
four principal types:
Program Guidance
(including "Barometer" Studies on foreign public
attitudes on issues affecting U. S. national interest
and on foreign communication habits; and analyses
of communist propaganda activities);
Program Documentation
(in the form of unclassified reports and which
usually are placed--without attribution to the
U. S. Government--in foreign media, e. g. press,
radio, and books. );
World-wide Press Reaction to Significant Events
(such as nuclear tests and racial problems within
U.S.);
Program Effectiveness Studies
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