OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS PROGRESS REPORT

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00022R000200070005-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 8, 2004
• Sequence Number: 5
• Content Type: REPORT

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OFFICE OF RESEARCH XID REPORTS
PROGRESS REPORT
MISSION
Under the broad mission of CIA, the Office of Research and
Reports has three main responsibilities:
a. Coordinate the production of intelligence in the
economic field.
b. Produce certain economic intelligence studies required
to supplement those produced by other intelligence
agencies or to fulfill requests of the Intelligence
Advisory Committee.
co Perform certain services of common concern.
2. COORDINATION
ORR has made the following progress in the fulfillment of
its coordination function:
a. NSC Action 282 -- During 1950 ORR undertook, at
die request of the National Security Council, a
survey of the requirements of the US Government
for foreign economic intelligence related to the
national security and of the facilities and arrange-
ments of the Government for fulfilling those require-
ments. This survey was completed in May of this
year. It revealed that:
(1) twenty-four agencies of the Government
collected and analyzed substantial amounts
of i nfor_;iation concerning one or more
aspects of foreign economies.
(2) no single agency was responsible for
assessing the relevance of the data thus
collected to problems of national security
or for mobilizing this data in support of
the national security.
(3) there was no system by which the data
collected could be located quickly for
use by a single agency.
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(4) no agency was responsible for identifying gaps
in the total information available and taking
action to fill the important gaps.
The National Security Council, in its Intelligence Direc-
tive No. 15, has charged the CIA with remedying these
deficiencies. The CIA, in turn, has established an
Economic Intelligence Committee to assist in the fulfill-
ment of these responsibilities. The Committee is chaired
by the Assistant Director for Research and Reports and
is composed of representatives of the Departments of
State, Army, Navy, and Air. It is contemplated that
other agencies such as the Economic Cooperation Administra-
tion, Comnmerce, and Treasury will be invited to participate
as matters concerning them arise.
b. Economic Intelligence Committee -- Vhile the Economic
Intelligence Committee is not yet fully under way, ORR
has been preparing major problems for presentation to
the Committee. Attention is being focussed initially
on the economy of the Soviet Orbit because of the
importance of Soviet economic capabilities at this
juncture and because of the difficulty in obtaining
direct access to facts about the economy. It is planned
that the attention of the Committee will later be ex-
tended to other parts of the world.
(1)
Research Program
ORR has been working on a coordinated program
for the production throughout the US Govern-
ment of urgently needed intelligence on the
economy of the Soviet Orbit. This work has
begun with an analysis of what is already
available and what is needed. This program
is being discussed with the other intelli-
gence agencies through the medium of the
Iconomic Intelligence Committee and the
advice of distinguished experts on Soviet
economic matters is being sought. Later a
similar program will be developed for other
areas.
(2) Source material in Government files
Another problem in the coordination of
intelligence is to insure that the material
in the Government is indexed and accessible
to users. In the absence of a satisfactory
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system for turning up material already in
Washington a great deal of expensive effort
to collect needed data may be wasted, and
important questions that could be answered
with the data remain unanswered. In order
to correct this situation, ORR has been
conducting a preliminary survey of documents
relating to economic matters in Russian and
satellite languages now on file in other
agencies of the Government. It is hoped to
uncover all important collections of material
to acquaint all important users with its
existence, and ultimately to provide machinery
for extracting from all this material quickly
and efficiently all the information relating
to given problem.
(3) Requirements for information from the field
Another problem in the field of coordination
is that of arranging for the collection of
needed data so that:
(a) the needs of all important users of
the data are taken care of by one
collection action
(b) collection action will not be
frustrated by endless prior coordina-
tion in Washington.
These contradictory ends can best be achieved
by continual coordination of research work
among the users of economic data and by
direct contact between the users and the
collectors. The entire problem of data
collection is being discussed with the other
intelligence agencies through the medium of
the Economic Intelligence Comnittee. In the
meantime, the Department of State has asked
CIA to coordinate requests for economic data
directed to the Foreign Service by the intelli-
gence agencies.
(Li) Inventory of Special Skills
A great deal of technical talent in economics
and related fields is scattered throughout the
Government. In order to have access to this
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talent, the analysts of ORB. have begun to
collect data on the location of the other
analysts in the Government who are exoert in
their particular field of responsibility.
The goal is for each ORR. analyst to be able
to call personally his opposite number in
any agQncy in order that he might have the
benefit of the best expertise available.
3. PRODUCTION
The major substantive undertaking of ORR is the performance
of authoritative basic research on the economy of the Soviet
Orbit. In the past, the Government has depended on broad
generalizations and estimates of economic factors that were
prepared on the basis of limited evidence and ad hoc analysis.
The aim of ORR is to find all the facts available and submit
them to exhaustive analysis in order to arrive at the firmest
possible conclusion. This work, in many cases, involves
elaborate fitting together of many small fragments of informa-
tion in order to arrive at a single aggregate figure. Such an
approach consumes both time and personnel, but is essential
at this time because of the importance of the economic capa-
bilities of the Soviet Orbit vis-a-vis the non-Soviet world
and our inability to obtain these data by more conventional
methods.
Inventory -- The first step in the ORR program
of basic research into the economy of the Soviet
Orbit was an industry by industry and co modity
by commodity inventory of the knowledge already
available, with particular attention to identifica-
tion of the important gaps in that knowledge. This
was followed by a similar inventory covering the
European satellites.
Research -- ORR is now entering a period of intensive
research designed to fill the most important gaps
identified in the course of the inventory of our
knowledge of the Soviet economy. Within six months
another inventory will be made in order to find out
how well the gars have been filled and to identify
those parts of our knowledge that are the weakest.
This work is being coordinated with that of the
other agencies through the medium of the Economic
Intelligence Com ittee.
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c. China -- Little research has been done in the
United States Government on the economy of China
since that country passed into the Soviet Orbit.
ORR is preparing to extend its basic research
to cover China as well as the USSR and the European
satellites.
4. SERVICES OF CO1,2JON CONCERN
a. The National Intelligence Survey Program
(1) Purpose - The NIS Program was established
pursuant to NSCID No. 3 of 13 January 191G8.
Essentially, this directive provides that:
(a) An outline of all basic intelli-
gence required by the Government
shall be prepared by the Central
Intelligence Agency in collabora-
tion with other appropriate agencies.
(b) This outline shall be broken doin
into chapters, sections, and sub-
sections which shall be allocated
as production and maintenance
responsibilities to CIA and those
other Government agencies best
qualified by reason of their intelli-
gence requirements, production capa-
bilities, and dominant interest to
assume these responsibilities.
(c) This basic intelligence shall be
compiled and continuously maintained
in National Intelligence Surveys
(NIS) to cover foreign countries,
areas, or broad special subjects, as
appropriate.
(d) The NIS shall be disseminated in such
form as may be determined by the Direc-
tor of Central Intelligence (DCI) and
the agencies concerned.
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(e) The DCI shall be responsible
for coordinating the production
and maintenance and for accomplishing
the editing, publication, and dissemi-
nation of the NIS and shall make such
requests on the agencies as are neces-
sary for the proper development and
maintenance of the NIS.
(f)
Departments or agencies to be called
on for contributions to this under-
taking may include agencies other
than those represented permanently in
the Intelligence Advisory Committee.
(2) Progress
(a) There have been produced altogether
the approximate equivalent of 12
complete NIS. In addition, there
have been prepared base maps for 45
NIS Areas, and Gazetteers for L.2 NIS
Areas, comprising about 425,000
standard geographic names. The pro-
duction schedule for the present fiscal
year calls for the additional produc-
tion of ap proximately the equivalent of
10 complete IBIS, base maps for 23 NIS
Areas, and Gazetteers for 12 NIS Areas.
Provision is also being made for the
initial preparation of the major portion
of the NIS on Japan by US activities in
Tokyo.
(b) The progress of the NIS Program, how-
ever, cannot be gauged solely by a
statistical compilation. For the first
time, the field of basic intelligence
has been organized into a single program
in which each intelligence agency has
a definite area of responsibility con-
cerned with basic intelligence collection,
file maintenance, and production. This
ensures a minimum of duplication and
deficiency and assigns to each agency
tasks for which it is most suited.
Likewise, the review- and editing of the
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NIS contributions by the CIA provides
definite intelligence standards
against which the contributing agencies
can determine the adequacy of their
on capabilities. Moreover, the use
of the uniform set of NIS outline
requirements permits a logical and
firm basis for the proper development
of basic intelligence by all the
intelligence agencies.
b. Geographic Intelligence -- ORR's work in the geographic
intelligence field is a service of long standing and
poses few problems out of the ordinary. The coordination
of geographic intelligence production has been improved
through successful cooperation with producing components
in other agencies. There has been a marked increase in
the research support given to CIA operations and the
cartographic program has continued to supply newly con-
structed maps for inclusion in National '.Estimates and
for other intelligence purposes.- The coordination of
requirements for the procurement of current maps and
related materials from foreign and domestic sources has
been successful and has resulted in the acquisition of
valuable material for both intelligence and operational
purposes.
25X1A
~. INTELLIGENCE SUPPORT
In addition to formal production, ORR makes intelligence
available to certain agencies on an informal continuous day-to-
day basis and through membership on inter-agency committees, as
follows :
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a. Special Co mittee on East-West Trade of the National
Security Council -- This Committee isreviewi.ng the
trade of all countries with the Soviet bloc, especially
in making recommendations to the NSC as to determinations
under the Kern amendment.
b. Interdepartmental Working Group on Economic Problems
of the UN Collective Measures Committee -- ORR has
participated from the inte licence viewpoint in the
preparation of a number of papers for the use of the
US representative to the UN Collective Measures Committee.
c. Advisory Committee on Export Policy, Operating Committee,
and R-Procedure Si coin ittee - These committees advise
the Secretary of Commerce in the determination of our
export control policies and programs. ORR support
comprises formal intelligence production, submitted
directly to the Committees or through member agencies,
and informal review in Committees of intelli~~ence
aspects of export control policies and operations.
d. Inter-agency support to US delegations to international
conferences on export control -- ORR, in cooperation
with OIR, Department of State, prepares memoranda on
the strategic importance of items presented at Tripartite
Conferences, and reviews the Tripartite documents prior
to their submission to the Coordinating Committee (COC011M)
in Paris.
Ad Hoc Working Groups -- In additi on to the foregoing,
ORR participa es in the work of various ad hoc inter-
agency working groups requiring economic intelligence
support.
6. ORGANIZATION
25X1A
25X1A
The following organization has been established to carry
out ORRIS mission. The coordinating and producing functions
are handled by the same people. The chief limitation on the
effectiveness of the organization is the inadequate number of
In addition to the Office of the Assistant Director and
the Administrative Staff, ORR is divided into eight main divisions
reporting to the Assistant Director for Research and Reports.
These may be grouped as follows:
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a. Economic Divisions
(1) Materials Division -- covers ferrous and non-
-ferrousmetals, solid fuels and petroleum, food
25X1A and agriculture, chemicals, and special commodities
such as gold and uranium.
25X1A
(2) Industrial Division -- covers production of
ammunition, weapons, ships, aircraft, production
equipment, electrical, and electronic devices,
d
capital goods.
25X1 A an
25X1A
(3)
25X1A
25X1A
25X1A
Economic Services Division -- covers transportation,
communications trade and finance, labor and man-
power, electric power, construction. nnc3 PCnnnm-i n
(4) Economic Analysis Division -- conducts studies
b. Services of Common Concern
25X1A
in economic capabilities, economic warfare and
export control problems, US foreign economic
programs, and economic strategy; develops new
techniques and methods for ascertaining economic
facts. (Example: determining production rates
by analysis of serial numbers and other markin s.)
Basic Intelligence Division -- coordinates the
production of the National Intelligence Surveys.
Edits the NIS and arranges for renroduc-Hon
25X1A
(1)
and dissemination.
awaiting clearance -
(2) Geographic Division -- produces all special (non-
terrai_n maps needed for intelligence purposes
throughout the Government; does special geographic
studies for the Department of State, studies
foreign mapping agencies, geographical aspects of
all foreign areas; maintains a library of special
maps; makes graphic presentations for the use of
the NSC and CIA; and procures foreign :naps for
25X1A the use of all
r_n_anpi_np aeenc-iP.q in +.>-,a
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c. Support Divisions
('l)
25X1A
25X1A
(2) Requirements and Control Division -- receives,
sorts, and screens incoming intelligence material;
25X1 A arranges for the collection of information needed
7. CONSULTANTS
During its formative stages ORR. has received the benefit
of advice and assistance from a number of consultants from
both industry and the academic world.
a. Industrial Consultants
Consultants from industry include:
25X1A
Reports Division -- schedules and coordinates
the production of approved projects within ORR,
edits finished reoorts, and arranges for their
reproduction and dissemination-
These men have given a considerable amount of their
limited time to a study of ORR's problem of analyzing
the Soviet economy. prom their personal experience
they have been able to make a number of reconuuendations
concerning methods of estimating Soviet production.
They have also been helpful in finding qualified
technical experts for recruitment by ORR,
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b. University Consultants
Consultants from the universities include:
25X1A
These consultants have been helpful in devising new
techniques and methods for ascertaining economic facts
and in analyzing the nature of the Soviet economy.
They have also been helpful in finding trained economists
for recruitment by ORR.
8. StTg: URY OF PROGRESS
ORR has established the mechanics for accomplishing its
coordinating function and has a firm start on its substantive
program of intelligence research. Much work remains, however,
to be done in both fields. In the meantime considerable
effort has gone into recruiting a competent staff. Work in
our substa._itive field should accelerate as more competent
people report for duty. The chief obstacle to be overcome
continues to be that of working space. It is understood that
solution of this problem is under study by the responsible
members of the agency.
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