THE INTRODUCTION AND PROPOSED KIQS-X-FY77, MOD 1

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP91M00696R000500050006-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 19, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 18, 2006
• Sequence Number: 6
• Publication Date: September 15, 1976
• Content Type: MF

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1110V -*Wr
15 September 1976
MEMORANDUM FOR: All NIOs
SUBJECT : The Introduction and Proposed KIQs-X-FY77, Mod 1
Attached, please find the introduction for the FY 77 KIQs
that we agreed on with the IC Staff. Thereafter, please find the
19 KIQs selected by the NIOs, after extensive informal consultations
with intelligence consumers and producers, for inclusion in the
FY 77 list. We propose to meet at 2:00 p.m. in our conference
room on Tuesday, September 21st, to narrow the list down to 12.
Executive Officer
National Intelligence
Attachment
A/S
Distribution:
rOiginal - File: KIQs
1 - Each Addressee
1 - D/DCI/NI
1 - EO/DCI/NI
1 - A/EO/DCI/NI
1 - EO/DCI/NI Chrono
1 - RI
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INTRODUCTION
The Key Intelligence Questions for Fiscal Year 1977, issued
by the Director of Central Intelligence pursuant to his responsibilities
in Executive Order 11905, represent a departure from past practice
dictated by experience. The new list is short and highly selective,
the questions having been chosen not only because they are important
to national consumers, but also because a real need for action by
the Intelligence Community exists and because action seems likely
to produce results. The KIQs represent the DCI's guidance to all
Intelligence Community collection and production managers on these
selected subjects.
The Key Intelligence Questions continue to be formulated by
the National Intelligence Officers in consultation with intelligence
producers and consumers. The primary purpose of the KIQs is to
improve intelligence production and'collection by providing a highly
selective list of current, critical questions for a period of special
operational attention. The purposeful limitation on the number of
questions and their high degree of focus required that difficult
choices had to be made from the many current high priority areas
and questions. This meant that certain issues or problems, although
very important, have been excluded. The estimated duration of an
issue was also used as a factor in the question selection process.
For example, if a problem were considered likely to pass before a
strategy for solving it could be devised, it was excluded. Moreover,
key problems of a critical nature which currently receive substantial
and ongoing attention, such as SAL and verification, were not
included in the questions.
The National Intelligence Officers will produce brief and
succinct KIQ Strategy Reports aimed at developing special collection
and analytical strategies. The performance of the Intelligence
Community on the KIQs will be evaluated as part of a regular Intelligence
Community Staff program which assesses the timeliness and quality
of intelligence products in terms of the requirements of major
users.
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The KIQs and their performance evaluations cannot provide
systematic inputs for resource allocation decisions by program
managers due to their limited number, specificity, and emphasis
on current operations. However, they can provide valuable insights
for programming and planning. It is important to note that the
KIQs do not derive their priorities from those appearing in the
attachment to DCID 1/2, "U.S. Foreign Intelligence Priorities for
Fiscal Years 1979-83." Broad national intelligence planning
priorities are based on a perspective of the foreign environment
for the planning period and not on current operational needs.
Additions, deletions, or modifications to the Key Intelligence
Questions may be issued from time to time during FY 77, depending
on major changes in the international situation or if the foreign
intelligence environment should dictate. The order in which the
FY 77 questions are listed should not be regarded as implying an
internal priority: by definition all the Key Intelligence Questions
are of major importance, and are singled out for special operational
attention.
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