HISTORY OF OCR 1953 - 1967 CUSTOMER SUPPORT AND RELATIONS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP84-00951R000100080003-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 7
• Document Creation Date: November 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 10, 2000
• Sequence Number: 3
• Publication Date: June 1, 1969
• Content Type: REPORT

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Introduction
I. Factors Affecting Support Activities, 1953-1967
2. OCR Support Activities/Programs in 1953 . . . . .
3. CIA Customer Support and Relations . . . . . . .
4. Community Support and Relations . . . . . . . .
5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6. Summary Assessment . . . . . . . . . . . .
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Customer support and relations is the single most important
measure of effectiveness of an OCR-type support service oriented
complex, the "pay-off" of its dedication and effort. The story of OCR
during the period of this History concerns essentially how it supported
Agency and Community needs within resources available at any given
time.
A perspective for assessment should be based on an appreciation
of the factors prevailing during the specific time period involved, i.e.,
a time of building an intelligence agency and community as distinct from
the post-19G3 environment of pre-emptive emphasis on systems design
to meet the pressing challenges of information handling confronting an
established community.
A unique characteristic of OCR was the scope and diversity of
activities combined in one operating component (office level) under
single management. This centralized organization, performing such
a wide variety of services in support of so many needs made a notable
contribution to the over-all intelligence process.
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Several factors comprised OCR's contribution:
1) During the Agency's growth period, OCR's "centralization"
feature provided more economical means of using existing
resources to meet new and rapidly expanding requirements than
would have been the case if the varied functions and special files
had been decentralized among customer offices.
2) Single office management facilitated intra and inter-Agency
coordination of support services, and turning the corner from the
prescribed basic tasks of the "getting started" years to the broader
horizons of coping with the challenges and problems of a "come of
age" organization.
3) OCR was well equipped to provide leadership in the
community of information handlers and to cope with the kinds of
problems facing a new agency and a developing community, an
efficient means to achieve objectives and a more cohesive and
flexible instrument of accomplishment.
4) The intangibles, such as imagination, definition of
concepts and objectives and personnel dedication, were given
the opportunity to play an important part in performance
effectiveness.
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OCR's customer support and relations were marked by a high
degree of accomplishment. These accomplishments, so varied in
nature, tend to be taken for granted. Their intrinsic value does,
however, require placing them in proper perspective in the over-all
history of the Agency.
1. FACTORS AFFECTING SUPPORT ACTIVITIES
The nature and scope of CCR support were dictated by the changing
times and conditions falling within the purview of this History:
1) The changing aspects of the Cold War, the new problems
of emerging New Nations, the proliferation of new crises in new
areas.
2) Shifting and expanding priorities, the increasing emphasis
on more specific current intelligence requirements as basic
needs were filled.
3) The impact of new technical collection systems, techniques
and facilities, the faster response time for requirements and
requests, the increasing need for an all-source reference system
for support services.
4) The increasing volume of material and information to
be processed and retrieved in shorter time.
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5) The resultant pressures on OCR facilities and services
to meet the challenge and demands of the information explosion,
the need for automated and computerized systems.
6) The continuing problem of absorbing within existing
personnel strengths the additional activities of system
designing and planning to meet these demands without
jeopardizing the on-going basic and continuing activities
of office responsibilities.
7) The move to the new Headquarters building, locating
most Office resources under one roof for the first time,
with resultant increase in customer request volume.
8) The establishment of the Defense Intelligence Agency,
an additional major intelligence agency in the Community, and
the resultant adjustments and changes in relationships and
procedures between OCR and former independent military
components and commands of the Services involving inter-Agency
collection, coordination and support services.
9) The effects of budget and manpower reductions on OCR's
resources and capabilities to support customer needs and
requirements.
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10) Organizational changes and reorganizations.
11) On duty strengths and overtime.
12) New functions and workloads absorbed.
13) Effect on operations and morale of the unusual number
of surveys and studies of OCR.
14) Lack of knowledge of OCR capabilities and services.
15) Difficulty in determining and maintaining customer
feed-back on OCR support.
16) The less than adequate customer office level response
for evaluations of support services rendered and the resultant
pinch on OCR at budget time.
17) OCR's continuing problem to know what customers
want and to know what to process in material received daily
on non-priority areas.
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