Social Science Research and Intelligence in Australia

Abstract

The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia has been commissioned by the Australian Office of National Intelligence (ONI), on behalf of the National Intelligence Community (NIC), to prepare an analysis of the United States National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Decadal Survey of the Social and Behavioral Sciences: A Research Agenda for Advancing Intelligence Analysis (the Survey). This analysis aims to provide an Australian academic perspective on the Survey, with a particular focus on its 10-year vision and to examine the capacity for the Australian social science research community to offer insights in relation to this agenda for its own national intelligence sector. The Academy project was overseen by a six-person Expert Working Group who engaged over 30 leading Australian practitioners and researchers in intelligence studies, cyber security, and broader social science disciplines. The activities of the project included client consultations, briefing papers, research reports, and a two-day Expert Workshop in Canberra. Contained herein is the Social Science Research & Intelligence in Australia: Final Report (this Report). It provides an assessment of the US Survey with a focus on its strengths and gaps, as well as the important areas of difference in the Australian and US intelligence and research landscapes. This Report outlines relevant research areas of Australia’s comparative advantage and the ways in which these could be utilised to help to provide insight on the US Survey’s vision. It also provides a number of recommendations for addressing the gap between the research and intelligence communities in Australia and ways the research community can contribute to ensure that intelligence analysts are prepared for the future security environment. Show more