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Opening Remarks

Steering committee chair Sallie Keller (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University) opened the summit and welcomed participants and attendees. She emphasized that the day-and-a-half gathering would be a participatory event and encouraged both attendees and virtual participants to contribute to the discussion. She described the summit as a launch event and acknowledged that the presentations at the summit represented a small collection of the cutting-edge research that would be considered in the forthcoming decadal survey of social and behavioral sciences (SBS).

OPENING REMARKS BY MARCIA MCNUTT

Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), greeted attendees, thanked them for being part of this endeavor, and provided an overview of the National Academies and the importance of the SBS decadal survey. She noted that the NAS has existed for over 150 years, chartered as an independent organization during the presidency of Abraham Lincoln, and today is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine with a long history of providing advice to institutions, primarily the government, that wish to use science to make good decisions. When the National Academies conduct studies, they engage their elected members and other experts to find scientific solutions to policy, management, and other decisions.¹

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¹ The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine are private, nonprofit institutions that provide expert advice on some of the most pressing challenges facing the nation and the world. For more information, see http://nationalacademies.org/about/whoweare/index.html [December 2016].

McNutt recognized that the summit is the first step in a major initiative to identify and prioritize SBS research areas with relevance to national security over the coming decade. She noted that although the National Academies have successfully conducted decadal surveys in areas such as astrophysics and ocean science, this is the first decadal survey in the social and behavioral sciences. McNutt explained that decadal surveys are a way to convene research communities in order to understand what they think are important, cutting-edge, or of high priority.

The SBS Decadal Survey will be entirely unclassified, and she called for broad participation. “We really need to hear both from the science community and from the intelligence community to make this study as strong as it can be and to encourage very wide participation,” she stressed. She applauded David Honey and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) for making the visionary project possible.

OPENING REMARKS BY DAVID HONEY

David Honey (ODNI) reported on the importance of the effort to ODNI. He acknowledged three unique aspects of the project: (1) the first decadal survey sponsored by ODNI; (2) the first decadal survey undertaken in the social and behavioral sciences; and (3) the single biggest project sponsored by ODNI. As such, according to Honey, it represents “a very strong commitment and belief in the need for the study and its value.”

Honey reported that staff at the National Academies asked him what he expected to derive from the survey. He said he recognized the value in bringing together a diverse group of subject matter experts to survey the current state of SBS research, and then to develop a consensus view of worthy R&D objectives to pursue in the future. He pointed to the presenters who followed him on the agenda as his customers, including representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and National Intelligence Council. He said he is supporting the project for these and other IC agencies, noting that “ensuring that the intelligence community has an R&D strategy that will deliver the capabilities that our analysts need is a key responsibility of my office.”

Honey explained that the intelligence community is composed of 17 different executive branch agencies and organizations. Some of them, like the Central Intelligence Agency, are their own entities; others, like the Defense Intelligence Agency, are units within larger departments. Each organization has different responsibilities, and some have different legal authorities in what they can do. Legislation passed after 9/11 created the ODNI to provide a formal mechanism for the various parts of the intelligence community to collaborate and, as Honey remarked, to lead inte-

gration of the various strengths across the intelligence community and to deliver information and insight to senior leaders.

Honey noted that IC activities are roughly divided into two categories: collection and analysis. Most people tend to be familiar with collection, since it is often portrayed in movies or in the news. The task of analysis tends be more of a mystery. Intelligence analysts work on very difficult problems, and the information and insights they provide to government leaders have tremendous ramifications for the country and national security decisions. In carrying out their jobs, according to Honey, analysts use a variety of data sources, tools, and techniques. It is important they make use of the best resources.

ODNI views its role as helping to set priorities for advancing intelligence resources and capabilities. The SBS Decadal Survey is a step toward understanding and articulating future research objectives necessary for improving capabilities, Honey said. He expressed faith in the National Academies’ track record in executing this type of project. Honey encouraged attendees to continue to stay involved with the project after the summit, because the SBS decadal survey will benefit from wide-ranging insight and expertise.

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