Appendix B

Summary of the Committee’s Information Gathering

The purpose of a decadal survey is to gather ideas from researchers and the community interested in the subject of the study that can be used to support future research initiatives. Following on the successful approach used in previous decadal surveys of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, this committee used a number of mechanisms to solicit input from relevant communities. Its efforts included public meetings, calls for white papers, public workshops, and other forums for gathering research ideas.

PUBLIC MEETINGS

Prior to the nomination of the decadal survey committee, a separate steering committee was appointed to plan and carry out a Summit on Social and Behavioral Sciences for National Security. The purposes of this summit, held October 4–5, 2016, in Washington, D.C., were to explore issues likely to be relevant and encourage members of the social and behavioral sciences (SBS) community to participate in the survey process.¹ The summit brought together academics, members of the Intelligence Community (IC), and representatives from the government to explore cutting-edge SBS research, the relevance of such work to intelligence analysis, and future directions for research. Presenters described relevant trends in their disciplines (e.g., brain research and neuroscience; the study of social interaction, behavioral

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¹ Proceedings of the Summit can be found at http://www.nap.edu/catalog/24710/social-and-behavioral-sciences-for-national-security-proceedings-of-a [June 2019].

genetics, and risk and decision making). Representatives from the IC discussed objectives for the decadal survey and highlighted recurring issues and long-term strategic challenges (see Box B-1 for a list of presentations/speakers). In addition to the steering committee and staff, there were 130 in-person attendees and 226 webcast viewers from across the United States and Canada. The product of this summit provided valuable background as the committee was formed and began its work.

The decadal survey committee also invited researchers and members of the IC to make public presentations at two of its six meetings.² One panel included scholars in linguistics, political psychology, and political science. The second panel included representatives of federal research programs supporting SBS research for national security purposes who discussed accomplishments and objectives of such programs. Both sessions were accessible to in-person attendees (33, including speakers) and via webcast (98 individuals from across the United States and Argentina). See Box B-2 for a list of presenters.

WHITE PAPERS

The committee issued two separate calls for white papers. The first, open from November 2016 to February 2017, sought information on the needs and challenges facing the IC that might relate to SBS research. This call sought input from SBS academics and researchers with IC experience and/or knowledge to provide insights into the IC’s needs and challenges. Authors were asked to address the following questions: (1) What are some of the key challenges, questions, and needs facing the IC regarding social and behavioral developments (see below)? (2) What makes these challenges and questions important at this time and in the foreseeable future? and (3) What are the anticipated national security benefits from addressing these challenges and questions? The committee received 36 papers in response to this first call. Table B-1 lists the papers; all white papers received are available on the study website at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BBCSS/DBASSE_175673 [June 2019].

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² See the study website for meeting agendas, speaker biographies, and select presentations at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BBCSS/DBASSE_177475 [June 2019].

The second call for white papers, open May to June 2017, focused on possibilities in SBS research (concepts, methods, tools, techniques, and new ideas that could advance knowledge) for addressing analytic challenges and needs. This call sought input from researchers across a broad range of SBS fields, beyond those normally associated with national security and international relations. Authors were asked to identify recent advances and accomplishments in SBS research or consider new lines of investigation and to highlight possibilities for advancing fundamental knowledge in an SBS research domain. The committee received 62 papers in response to this second call; see Table B-2.

TABLE B-1 First Call White Papers

TABLE B-2 Second Call White Papers

PUBLIC WORKSHOPS

Building on the insights gained through the public discussions and white papers, the committee identified a range of issues and questions for further exploration. Separate steering committees, which each included members of the parent committee and outside experts, were appointed to plan six 1-day public workshops to explore some of these issues. Experts were invited to make presentations, answer questions, and engage in discussion with members of the committee and external participants (academics, members of the IC, and government representatives). The topics for these workshops were

1. Changing sociocultural dynamics and implications for national security
2. Emerging trends and methods in international security
3. Leveraging advances in social network thinking for national security
4. Learning from the science of cognition and perception for decision making
5. Workforce development and intelligence analysis
6. Understanding narratives for national security purposes

The first three workshops were held concurrently on October 11, 2017; 78 in-person registrants and 251 webcast viewers from the United States, Canada, Sweden, and the United Kingdom participated. Box B-3 provides an overview of these three workshops. The second three workshops were held concurrently on January 24, 2017; 111 in-person attendees and 230 webcast viewers from the United States, the United Kingdom, Brazil, The Netherlands, Mexico, and Canada participated. Box B-4 provides an overview of these three workshops. Documents describing the proceedings of all six workshops can be found at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BBCSS/SBS_for_National_Security-Decadal_Survey/index.htm [June 2019].

TOWN HALLS

Another mechanism used in past decadal studies to engage scientists and gather input is participation in town halls, forums usually held in conjunction with meetings of professional societies. Because of the exceptionally broad range of academic disciplines with potential relevance to this study, the committee had to balance the possible benefits of such meetings against the risk of hearing more from some disciplines than others because resources were limited. The committee held a roundtable December 11, 2017, at the Society for Risk Analysis in Arlington, Virginia, but also elected to host a 6-month virtual town hall through which ideas could be sought from across disciplines.

The committee used the online platform IdeaBuzz to host its virtual town hall. IdeaBuzz allowed users to submit information via short summaries of their ideas in response to the committee’s questions and criteria. Contributors could enter a few sentences or attach a white paper describing their ideas in greater detail. Alternatively, contributors could vote for ideas and/or comment on other ideas.

The SBS Decadal Survey IdeaBuzz Challenge website was open for public input from October 2017 to March 2018. The IdeaBuzz Challenge announcement was distributed to 95 academic associations and universities, publicized via Twitter, and shared through six National Academy of Sciences (NAS) member section liaisons and various Boards within NAS (see list below). At the beginning of the Challenge, seven white papers from our first and second calls for white papers were uploaded to the platform

to encourage comments. In addition to comments and votes, the committee received seven original submissions (see Table B-3).³

To elicit input from the scientific community, the study staff and committee reached out to a number of professional organizations, university departments, NAS section liaisons, and other electronic databases. Although it is difficult to know the exact number of individuals reached, we estimate roughly that our requests were sent to more than 10,000 researchers across our outreach groups. We asked the following groups to help distribute notices for our second call for white papers and IdeaBuzz Challenge:

• professional organizations in the SBSSBS: 41;
• NAS section liaisons: 6;
• deans of schools of SBSSBS (Consortium of Social Science Association’s members, contacted by Bill Maurer, dean of the School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine): 54;
• Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education listserv: 3,130 individuals;
• National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine social media feed: 53,000 individuals; and
• SBS Decadal Survey listserv.

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³ An archive of the committee’s challenge is available at https://ideabuzz.com/a/buzz/nasembbcss/sbsdecadalsurvey [February 2019].

TABLE B-3 Ideas Received from IdeaBuzz Challenge