ODNI FACTSHEET

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 

established the Office of the Director of National Intelligence 

(ODNI), which began operating in 2005. By statute, the DNI is the 

principal intelligence adviser to the President, and determines and 

manages the National Intelligence Program (NIP) budget of more 

than $50 billion, the U.S. government’s total intelligence spending 

aside from military intelligence. The DNI is also tasked with 

integrating the efforts of the 17 elements of the Intelligence 

Community (IC).

FORMATION

With the evolution from a Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) to 

the DNI, ODNI’s core staff came from the DCI’s Community 

Management Staff (CMS), bringing their responsibility for the IC’s 

management of information technology, human capital planning, 

technology research, Major Systems Acquisitions (MSA), facilities 

planning, and financial management. ODNI’s duties expanded well 

beyond CMS, particularly with the DNI’s authority and 

responsibility to determine the consolidated NIP. Within its first two 

years, ODNI also established an ability to conduct its own internal 

process, such as security and human resources.

COORDINATING KEY ACTIVITIES

In its first year, the ODNI became responsible for the President’s 

Daily Briefing staff and the National Intelligence Council (NIC), 

previously housed within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), to 

fulfill the DNI’s role as principal intelligence advisor. 

ODNI also gained three IC mission-focused centers. The National 

Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), previously the Terrorist Threat 

Integration Center; the Office of the National Counterintelligence 

Executive, changed to the National Counterintelligence and Security 

Center in 2014; and the National Counterproliferation Center, 

formed from IC elements; as well as the Office of the Program 

Manager for the Information Sharing Environment were all 

established in 2005. In 2007, the establishment of the Intelligence 

Advanced Research Projects Activity integrated the previously 

disparate technology-research offices within the CIA, the National 

Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency.

Each of these community functions moved or coalesced into offices 

within the ODNI, which provided a central home outside of the 

agencies tasked with conducting specific intelligence and national 

security missions.

ODNI began 

operations in 

April 2005.

The DNI is the 

principal 

intelligence 

adviser to the 

President.

The DNI 

determines and 

manages the 

National 

Intelligence 

Program budget 

of more than $50 

billion.

ODNI’s mission 

centers produce 

coordinated intel 

on crucial threats 

to our national 

security: CT, CI, 

Cyber & WMDs.
EMERGING MISSIONS

Statutes and Presidential directives have assigned new missions to 

the ODNI, in addition to its initial responsibilities, including the 

establishment of the IC Inspector General in 2010 and the Cyber 

Threat Intelligence Integration Center in 2016. These new 

components did not add to the ODNI’s staff size. 

STAFFING & SUPPORT

Since late 2007, the number of military and government civilian 

employees at the ODNI has remained relatively constant, with the 

exception of a small surge of NCTC staff after the failed Christmas 

Day bombing attempt in 2009. Of the ODNI’s fewer-than-2000 

people, more than half work in the mission-focused centers; 

moreover, 40 percent of ODNI employees are on rotation from the 

other 16 IC elements. Unlike some other headquarters elements, the 

ODNI employs fewer contractors than government and military 

staff, and while the military and government employee population 

has remained steady at the ODNI, the number of core contractors 

has dropped by about a quarter since 2009.

MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY

While the overall size of the ODNI staff has remained relatively 

constant and core contractor support has decreased, the ODNI’s 

mission has grown. ODNI has taken on new roles to meet the DNI’s 

obligations to lead the IC and manage the NIP under the existing 

2004 law. In 2009, the DNI formed the Systems and Resource 

Analyses (SRA) component to conduct community-focused studies 

and evaluations. 

In collaboration with the Acquisition, Technology & Facilities 

component, SRA helped bring IC MSAs back on track. In 2007, 

almost all MSAs were off schedule and off budget. Today all MSAs 

are “in the green,” meeting the IC’s obligations of responsible 

stewardship of NIP funding and effective integration of technology 

and technical research. This is just one tangible example of how 

ODNI’s leadership in IC integration has paid big dividends for the 

Community and the American taxpayer.

INTELLIGENCE INTEGRATION

In 2010, the DNI established the largest of the ODNI’s management 

and integration components by merging the ODNI’s collection and 

analysis elements under a single Deputy Director of National 

Intelligence for Intelligence Integration.

ODNI’s staff and 

capabilities are

drawn from 

existing IC 

elements.

40% of ODNI 

employees are 

on rotation from 

one of the other 

16 IC elements.

ODNI’s centers 

account for more 

than half of its 

workforce, 

which is fewer 

than 2,000 

people.

ODNI evaluates 

the effectiveness 

of programs and 

spending across 

the IC to keep 

them on track.
The ODNI’s National Intelligence Managers, each responsible for 

evaluating a global region (such as Near East or Africa) or 

intelligence function (such as Counterintelligence or Cyber), 

promote better-integrated and more-focused planning for all 

collection, CI, budget, and analytic efforts across IC elements. The 

NIC’s production of the strategic analysis ensures that senior US 

Government decision-makers benefit from insights of the entire IC 

when making critical national security decisions.

COLLABORATION & INNOVATION

To meet the funding level set by the Budget Control Act of 2011, 

the Chief Financial Officer established an IC-wide effort, convening 

senior IC leaders to collaboratively develop a strategic approach to 

fund key new investments and balance competing demands on 

limited resources. The ODNI negotiated the necessary NIP 

reduction over 10 years to meet legislated debt reduction, managing 

the IC’s resources as an integrated and corporate asset and 

developing a strategy focused on cutting lower priority missions, 

seeking efficiencies, and accepting prudent risk, keeping in 

perspective investments needed to address future IC requirements.

Today, the ODNI is focused on doing things that no one agency 

could do on its own, for instance, integrating the archipelago of IT 

infrastructures into a single IC IT Enterprise and addressing wholeof-government strategic operational planning and information 

sharing to counter terrorism. 

NEXT GENERATION CAPABILITIES

As a result of the IC’s integration efforts, led by the ODNI, the 

Community is executing missions that were simply not possible in 

2004. As President Obama noted to the ODNI workforce in its 

“Decade of Integration” ceremony in 2015, 

“Because of you, we’ve had the intelligence to take out al Qaeda 

leaders, including Osama bin Laden. Because of you, we’ve had 

the intelligence, quickly, that showed Syria had used chemical 

weapons, and then had the ability to monitor its removal. 

Because of you, we had the intelligence, despite Russia’s 

obfuscations, to tell the world the truth about the downing of 

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine.”

Looking ahead, the ODNI will continue to integrate and unify the 

IC, advancing intelligence reform for a stronger, safer nation.

ODNI has 

absorbed new 

missions and 

developed new 

capabilities 

without adding 

to staff size.

ODNI prioritizes 

IC-wide mission 

requirements 

and manages 

strategic 

investments to 

foster innovation 

and efficiency.

ODNI takes on 

challenges no 

one agency 

could handle

on its own, 

integrating the 

IC to ensure a 

stronger, safer 

nation.

Updated: 2-24-17