NATIONAL  SECURITY  COUNCIL  INTELLIGENCE 
DIRECTIVE  NO.  31 
COORDINATION   Or  INTELLIGENCE  PRODUCTION 
(Effective  17  February  1972) 
For  the  purpose  of  coordinating  the  intelligence  production  activities  of  the 
several  Government  departments  and  agencies  in  the  interest  of  national  security, 
and  pursuant  to  the  provisions  of  Section  102  of  the  National  Security  Act  of 
19-17,  as  amended,  the  National  Security  Council  hereby  authorizes  and  directs 
that  the  following  overall  policies,  objectives,  categories  of  Intelligence  and. 
allocations  of  responsibility  be  established. 
1.  Basic  Intelligence 
a.  Basic  intelligence  is  that  factual  Intelligence  that  results  from  the  colla- 
tion of  encyclopedic  information  of  a  fundamental  and  more  or  less  permanent 
nature  and  that,  as  a  result  of  evaluation  and  interpretation,  is  determined 
to  be  the  best  available.  ... 
•  b.  An  outline  of  all  basic  intelligence  required  by  the  Covemment  shall  be 
maintained  by  the  CcnLral  Intelligence  Agency  in  collaboration  with  the 
appropriate  departments  and  agencies.  This  outline  shall  be  broken  down  into 
chapters,  sections  and  subsections,  which  shall  be  allocated  as  production 
and  maintenance  responsibilities  to  the  Central  Intelligence  Agency  and/or  to 
those  other  departments  or  agencies  of  the  Government  that  are  best  qualified 
by  reason  of  mission,  production  capability,  and  primary  interest  to  assume  the 
production  and  maintenance  responsibilities.  To  ensure  the  production  of  the 
basic  intelligence  required  by  the  Government  and  the  fullest  possible  use 
of  current  departmental  and  agency  capabilities,  changes  in  the  outline  or  allo- 
cations or  production  and  maintenance  responsibilities  shall  be  effected  by 
agreement  between  the  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  and  the  departments 
and  agencies  concerned. 
c.  Basic  intelligence  required  in  the  interest  of  national  security  shall  be 
compiled  and  continuously  maintained  in  National  Intelligence  Surveys  (NIS) 
-  to  cover  foreign  countries,  areas  or  broad  special  subjects,  in  accordance  with 
National  Security  Council-approved  NIS  Standard  Instructions  and  inter- 
departmental-approved amendments  thereto.  The  National  Intelligence  Sur- 
.vcys.will  be  disseminated  in  such  form  as  shall  be  determined  by  the  Director 
of  Central  Intelligence  with  the  advice  of  the  departments  and  agencies  con- 
cerned. 
d.  The  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  shall  be  responsible  for  coordinating 
production  and  maintenance  and  for  accomplishing  the  review,  publication 
and  dissemination  of  these  National  Intelligence  Surveys,  and  shall  make  such 
'Tin's  Di«\tiw  sttpcnrJis  iN'SCID  N'o.  3  claJc.l   IS  Jjm:.iry  I9GI.
rc-qi:t*>ls  of  the  departments  and  agencies  as  arc  necessary  for  proper  develop- 
ment and  maintenance  of  the  Surveys. 
•  c.  Departments  or  agencies  to  be  called  on  for  contributions  to  tin's  under- 
taking may  include  other  than  those  represented  permanently  on  the  United 
States  Intelligence  Hoard. 
2.  Current  hiiclll^cv.cs 
i 
a.  Current  intelligence  is  that  intelligence  of  all  types  and  forms  of  im- 
mediate interest  usually  disseminated  without  the  delays  incident  to  complete 
evaluation  or  interpretation. 
b.  The  Central  Intelligence  Agency  and  the  several  departments  and  agencies 
shall  produce  and  disseminate  such  current  intelligence  as  may  be  necessary 
to  meet  their  own  internal  requirements.  The  current  intelligence  produced 
by  the  Central  Intelligence  Agency  is  produced  primarily  to  meet  the  needs  of 
.  the  President,  National  Security  Council  and  other  high-level  consumers;  in 
addition,  it  serves  the  common  needs  of  the  interested  departments  and  agencies 
of  the  Government  for  current  intelligence  that  they  dicmselves  do  not 
produce.  The  departments  and  agencies  will  contribute  to  the  Central  Intel- 
ligence Agency  current  intelligence  items  and  publications  as  appropriate  and 
on  a  timely  basis. 
3.  Departmental  intelligence  is  that  intelligence  any  department  or  agency 
requires  to  execute  its  own  mission. 
4.  Interdepartmental  intelligence  is  integrated  departmental  intelligence 
required  by  departments  and  agencies  of  the  Government  for  the  execution  of 
their  missions  but  transcending  die  exclusive  competence  of  a  single  deparbnent 
or  agency  to  produce.  Joint  intelligence  is  a  special  category  of  interdepartmental 
intelligence  Jointly  produced  by  defense  intelligence  organizations  in  the  per- 
formance of  the  assigned  missions  of  die  Joint  Chiefs  of  Staff.  Such  subcommittee 
structure  of  the  United  States  Intelligence  Board  as  shall  be  established  by  the 
Director  of  Central  Intelligence  may  be  utilized  for  the  production  and  dis- 
semination of  such  forms  of  intelligence. 
5.  National  intelligence  is  that  intelligence  required  for  the  formulation 
of  national  security  policy,  concerning  more  than  one  department  or  agency 
and  transcending  the  exclusive  competence  of  a  single  department  or  agency.  The 
production  of  national  intelligence  is  covered  in  XSCID  Ko.  1.  Intelligence  re- 
lating to  the  national  security  diat  has  been  produced  as  interdepartmental 
or  departmental  intelligence  may  also,  when  appropriate,  be  submitted  to  the 
Director  of  Central  Intelligence  for  issuance  as  national  intelligence  by  ihu 
Director  of  Central  Intelligence  as  provided  in  NSCID  No.  1. 
6.  Each  department  or  ngency,  taking  full  cognizance  of  the  facilities  of  the 
other  agencies,  sliall  maintain  adequate  research  facilities  to  accomplish  its 
departmental  intelligence  productiun  misbiun  and  to  provide  such  additional 
intelligence  within  its  field  of  primary  responsibilities  as  may  be  necessary  to 
satisfy  other  requirements  relating  to  the  national  security.
7.  To  ensure  that  the  edibilities  cf  the  departments  and  agencies  arc  utilized 
effective!/  fur  t!;c  p!oduct:o:i  of  intelligence  of  common  concern,  the  following 
division  of  interests,  subject  to  refinement  through  a  continuous  program  of 
coordination  and  evaluation  by  Llic  Director  of  Central  Intelligence  to  promote 
an  integration  of  effort  and  to  avoid  undesirable  duplication,  shall  serve  as  a 
general  delineation  cf  primary  re^potuibiliti--S: 
a.  The  Department  of  State  shall  produce  political  and  sociological  intelli- 
gence on  all  countries  and  economic  intelligence  on  countries  of  the   Free 
World.  ; 
b.  The  Deportment  of  Defense  shall  produce  military  intelligence.  This  pro- 
duction shall  include  scientific,  technical  and  economic  intelligence  directiy 
pertincat  to  die  missions  of  the  various  romponcats  of  the  Department  of  ' 
Defense. 
c.  The  Cental  Intelligence  Agency  shall  produce  economic,  scientific  and 
technical  intelligence.  Further,  the  Central  Intelligence  Agency  may  produce 
such  other  intelligence  as  may  be  necessary  to  discharge  the  statutory  re- 
sponsibilities of  die  Director  of  Central  Intelligence. 
<rf.  The  production  of  intelligence  on  atomic  energy  is  a  responsibility  of  all 
departments  and  agencies  represented  on  the  U.S.  Intelligence  Board  with 
responsibilities  for  the  production  of  finished  intelligence,  to  be  coordinated    O^ 
through  the  Joint  Atomic  Energy  Intelligence  Committee  structure. 
S.  Despite  the  above-mentioned  allocations  of  primary  production  responsi- 
bilities, there  will  be  areas  of  common  or  overlapping  interest  that  will  require 
continuing  interagency  liaison  and  cooperation.  In  die  event  that  a  requirement 
for  intelligence  is  established  for  which  there  is  not  existing  production  capa- 
bility, the  Director  of  Central  Intelligence,  in  consultation  with  die  United  States 
Intelligence  Board,  shall  determine  which  of  the  departments  and  agencies  of 
the  intelligence  conununity  can  best  undertake  die  primary  responsibility  as  a 
service  of  common  concern.