CIA'S LONG RANGE PLANNING PROCESS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85-00988R000500110008-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 24, 2009
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: October 22, 1981
• Content Type: MEMO

Approved For Release 2009/03/24: CIA-RDP85-00988R000500110008-1
MEMORANDUM FOR: Executive Committee Members
FROM : Director, Office of Policy and Planning
SUBJECT : CIA's Long Range Planning Process
1. The long-range planning process that the Executive Committee adopted
last year brought needed attention to specific, important management problems
and resulted in guidance for the development of the 1983 budget request.
There was general agreement that this process should continue to identify
and study Agency-wide planning issues. The on-going 1985 Intelligence
Capabilities Study, being prepared on an Intelligence Community basis for
NSC review, and the Intelligence Community's new target-oriented Capabilities
P~o_g.r_am_~r7d_Budget Sys:tem_p ace primary management focus on changes in
capabilities against intellig.e?rtce targets As this approach will require a
major shift in the manner in which the Agency develops and presents its
budget, so it will require a major change in our approach to long-range
planning if such planning is to be relevant to a multi-year budget process.
This paper presents a concept for long-range planning that is intended to
provide guidance to the new budgetary system. The DDCI has reviewed the
proposal and generally approves the new approach. Before proceeding, how-
ever, he wishes to have the views of the Executive Committee.
2. At the Community level, a Capabilities Program Budget System has
been recently established. This system is intended to focus attention on
changes in intelligence capabilities against the comprehensive set of
intelligence targets and subjects (attached) in a manner that will provide
cross-program visibility of current and proposed capabilities and will permit
multi-year budgetary commitments. Within the Agency, this system could
materially assist in bringing a greater degree of substantive attention to
budgeting issues.
3. The Agency needs to adopt a planning process that will lead the
seven-year budgeting process by providing a long-range (i.e., ten-year) view
of the objectives, priorities, and capabilities for each of these target/subject
categories. As an example, the Agency should establish a CIA Africa Program
which will define the Agency's objectives and priorities against African
intelligence targets ten years ahead; describe the collection, analytical, 25X1
and support capabilities required to meet these objectives; and develop
the resource and programmatic steps that would be necessary to attain these
capabilities by 1992. Similar ten-year programs would be established for each.
of the Target/Subject categories in the Capabilities Program and Budget
System. Thus, the planning process would be concerned with identifying long-
term goals, priorities,and capabilities, and the budgetary process would be
concerned with developing and executing a program to meet these goals; both
processes to be cast in compatible language so that the planning process can
be brought to bear directly on the budgetary process.
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4. Implicit in this approach is the concept that CIA's long-range
planning is a major component of the DCI's responsibilities for Intelligence
Community planning. The particular responsibilities assigned to the Agency
and the special capabilities that it has or could achieve could well result
in somewhat different emphases being placed on certain intelligence activities
by CIA, but in a manner consistent with overall Community goals.
5. The end result of the planning process is guidance to budgetary
formulation and program execution. To ensure that this strategic planning
is kept current, an annual planning cycle would be established. This cycle
might logically proceed by the following stages:
a. Determination of CIA's long-range objectives and
priorities for each subject/target program, including
counterintelligence and covert action. The D/NFAC would
be expected to establish the intelligence objectives and
priorities for the subject/target programs based on Intel-
ligence Community-level guidance. The DDO would be expected to
establish the objectives and priorities for the counterintel-
ligence and covert action programs.
b. Determination of the collection, processing and analytic
capabilities that would be required to meet the objectives and
priorities of each of these programs. The D/NFAC, DDO and
DDS&T would be expected to make this determination.
Determination of the administrative and research and
development capabilities that would be required to support
these program goals. The DDA and the?DDS&T_would be expected
to make these determinations, in consultation with the other
Deputy Directors.
d. Determination by the Executive Committee as a whole on
overall direction and priorities for all of these Agency
programs. This would. result in annual guidance to the Comptroller,
for budgetary formulation.
e. Development of a long-range program budget by the
Comptroller in consultation with the Directorates.
6. The approach outlined above should result in a management process
a. Provides Agency managers with long-range guidance to
their activities--guidance which would be cast in terms of
capabilities to be achieved and priorities for their achievment.
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b. Keeps long-range planning sensitive to changing needs
and relevant to management decision-making by requiring an
annual review of long-range objectives and priorities and
explicitly keying long-range planning to budgetary formulation
and execution.
c. Will be monitored and coordinated by OPP/Planning
Staff.
7. The Executive Committee will meet on this proposal on October
30, at 10:00 AM. You should be prepared to give the DDCI your views at
that time.
R .bert M. Gat s
(1)
Attachment:
as stated
cc: Director of Personnel
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CONFIDENTIAL
ATTACHMENT (continued)
SUPPORT
MANAGEMENT HEADQUARTERS (incl. Continuity of Government)
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TRAINING
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
CENERAL LOGISTIC AND ADMIN SUPPORT
A[)[' SUPPORT
OTHER
CONTINGENCY
COVERT ACTION
CIA RESERVE
COUNTERINTELLIGENCE (provide target coverage as appropriate)
PAY RAISES
CIARDS
Approved For Release 2009/03/24: CIA-RDP85-00988R000500110008-1