The Importance of Organizational Innovation and Adaptation in Building Academic–Industry–Intelligence Collaboration: Observations from the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences

ABSTRACT

This article discusses the establishment and development of the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (LAS), a unique site of academic–industry–intelligence collaboration, established in 2013 by the National Security Agency (NSA) and located on the campus of North Carolina State University. Since 2014, the authors have been participant-observers of LAS research teams. This article describes how inter-institutional, interdisciplinary collaboration has developed at LAS, drawing on multi-year data involving observations, surveys, and interviews that the authors have collected. LAS provides an opportunity to study the operationalization of an academic–intelligence collaboration and gather lessons learned in order to inform future collaborative efforts by the U.S. intelligence community. What this article reveals is the importance of organizational innovation and adaptation in light of various challenges that emerge in inter-institutional and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Resumen

Este artículo discute el establecimiento y desarrollo del Laboratorio de Ciencias Analíticas (LAS), un sitio único de colaboración entre la inteligencia la academia y la industria, establecido en 2013 por la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA) y ubicado en el campus de la Universidad Estatal de Carolina del Norte. Desde el 2014, los autores han sido observadores participantes de los equipos de investigación de LAS. Este artículo describe cómo la colaboración interinstitucional e interdisciplinaria se ha desarrollado en LAS, basándose en datos plurianuales que incluyen observaciones, encuestas y entrevistas que los autores han reunido. LAS ofrece una oportunidad para estudiar la operacionalización de una colaboración entre la inteligencia y el mundo académico y obtener lecciones aprendidas para informar los futuros esfuerzos de colaboración de la comunidad de inteligencia de los Estados Unidos. Lo que revela este trabajo es la importancia de la innovación y adaptación organizacional a la luz de los diversos desafíos que surgen en la colaboración interinstitucional e interdisciplinar.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic–industry–intelligence collaboration
• National Security Agency
• intelligence analysis
• big data
• organizational innovation
• analytic outreach

Palabras clave:

• colaboración inteligencia-academia-industria
• Agencia Nacional de Seguridad
• análisis de inteligencia
• big data
• innovación organizacional

Acknowledgments

We wish to acknowledge the research assistance of Melissa Adams, Joy Davis, Percy Hooper, Deborah Littlejohn, and Kevin McConnaghy on early portions of this research.

Funding

This material is based upon work supported in whole or in part with funding from the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (LAS). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the LAS and/or any agency or entity of the United States Government.

Notes

1. This directive was a formalization of outreach policy and practices that have been in existence within the IC for many years.

2. Although the National Research Council report calls for the need to increase academics within the IC, it is important to note that there are a significant number of Ph.D.s in the behavioral and physical sciences, as well as political science, who have worked within the IC for many years.

3. See “Social and Behavioral Sciences for National Security: A Decadal Survey,” at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BBCSS/SBS_for_National_Security-Decadal_Survey/index.htm.

4. We recognize that there are other models for studying collaboration in intelligence—for example, J. Richard Hackman’s work—and we are incorporating them into our future work. For the purposes of this article, we focus on Pherson and McIntyre’s work.

5. These statistics were reported by Alyson Wilson, the Principal Investigator for NC State, at the LAS 2016 Winter Symposium, Raleigh, North Carolina, December 5, 2017.

6. An LAS team composed of government researchers and analysts from the NSA and other Intelligence Community organizations, North Carolina State University professors and students, and industry collaborators was awarded the prestigious National Intelligence Meritorious Unit Citation (NIMUC) for one research project.

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported in whole or in part with funding from the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences (LAS).

Notes on contributors

Kathleen M. Vogel

Kathleen M. Vogel is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland, College Park. She was a 2016–2017 Jefferson Science Fellow at the U.S. Department of State. She was previously an associate professor in the Department of Political Science/Science, Technology, and Society Program at North Carolina State University (NC State). Vogel holds a Ph.D. in biological chemistry from Princeton University. Her research focuses on studying the social and technical dimensions of bioweapons and emerging life science threats and the production of knowledge and big data in intelligence assessments.

Jessica Katz Jameson

Jessica Katz Jameson is Professor of Communication at North Carolina State University. Her research and teaching are focused on organizational communication and conflict management, with special attention to inter-organizational and interdisciplinary collaboration and third party intervention. Professor Jameson is affiliated faculty with NC State’s Institute for Nonprofit Research, Education, and Engagement, and she is a Community Engaged Faculty Fellow. Her work appears in outlets such as Conflict Resolution Quarterly, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Negotiation Journal, and Western Journal of Communication. Jessica received a Ph.D. in Communication from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Beverly B. Tyler

Beverly B. Tyler (Ph.D., Texas A&M University) is a Professor in the Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship department in the Poole College of Management, North Carolina State University. She applies behavioral theory using cognitive, organizational, and relational lenses to study executive and organizational decision making and cooperation in the context of new product development, supplier–buyer relationships, international investments, and partnerships between industry, academia, and government. Her research has appeared in the Strategic Management Journal, Organization Science, Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Journal of Operations Management, and Journal of Supply Chain Management, among others.

Sharon Joines

Sharon Joines received a bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from NC State University. She is a researcher, ergonomist and design educator, teaching courses in human-centered design and ergonomics. Professor Joines is an NC State University faculty scholar and director of graduate programs in Industrial Design and of the Research in Ergonomics and Design (RED) Lab. Her interests reside in universal design, applied product and process research, innovation, and the effect of aging on fatigue development and work. Her research focuses on transdisciplinary collaboration and quantifying the interaction between individuals, products, and their environment.

Brian M. Evans

Brian M. Evans is a survey director and program manager with RTI International. He has more than 18 years of professional experience in project management for government and commercial clients. With a background in industrial and organizational psychology, Mr. Evans manages research projects across multiple disciplines utilizing various innovative data collection methods. He specializes in collecting data from special populations, group facilitation, conducting program evaluation, and assisting organizations in technology acceptance and technology implementation. He is a member of the American Association of Public Opinion Research, the American Statistical Association, and the International Association of Survey Statisticians.

Hector Rendon

Hector Rendon is a Research Scholar in the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences at North Carolina State University. His research focuses on the intersection of communication and data analytics. He mostly studies issues related to international communication, ethnic and inter-cultural communication, media reliability, and politics. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media from NC State and has been distinguished with grants from the U.S. Department of State and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). He was a Fulbright scholar and before joining academia he had worked during seven years as a journalist.