DATA COLLECTION PLANS FOR STRATEGIC PROJECTS
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detailed, written listing of what is wanted, from whom, when, and in what format. In addition, the plan will need to identify priorities and allow for fallback or reserve sources of information in the event of failure of some sources to deliver what is expected or requested of them. Flexible Planning and Design of the ICP
In the move to develop collection plan forms to suitable organizational needs, it has become increasingly notable that some of the key features are often lost; their rationale has been forgotten as the technique has evolved. There are basically two reasons for this. One is that it is largely attributable to changes in corporate memory about the reason for the design in the first place. In addition, as technology becomes more available and supportive of the intelligence process, changes are often made to make formatting more suitable for presentation. This is a case of making change “simply because we can.” As training in and the practice of intelligence develop, the doctrine undergoes change, ostensibly in the name of improvement but not always with that result. One serious flaw in much of intelligence practice remains, as it has been for many years, that the driving force is not the question-directed ICP, but one that is source driven. While this is often the most acceptable approach in terms of the analyst’s comfort zone and the unit’s routines and culture, it hampers the search for all the relevant data from all the relevant, potential sources. The wider the range of sources analysts consider as providers of the data essential to the strategic intelligence project, the greater the flexibility provided to meet changing circumstances. True, there are many arguments that can be mounted against the analyst’s desire to widen the scan for data. Some of these reasons will focus on resource and time constraints, and they may well be not only relevant but difficult to counter. Another issue frequently raised concerns security and sensitivity, citing the need to gather data only from “trusted sources.” If changes need to be made for whatever reason, then the intelligence unit/agency should try to stick as closely as possible to the terms and fields of data spelled out earlier in this paper. There may well be room for improvement upon old ideas, but it is important to remember that in providing better presentation, one should not lose any of the essential components from the original recipe.