As required by Executive Order 13571, Streamlining Service Delivery and Improving Customer Service, ODNI has developed the following Customer Service Plan, which identifies specific actions that further advance ODNI customer service, including initiatives establish new service infrastructure and  standards – as well as to track performance against those standards.

Emerging communication technologies, including social media and computer and mobile applications, provide ODNI with new opportunities to interact with customers, stakeholders and the general public as well as new avenues to disseminate information broadly that increases public understanding our intelligence integration mission.

ABOUT THE ODNI

Post 9/11 investigations proposed sweeping changes in the Intelligence Community, which resulted in Congressional passage of the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA). The IRTPA created the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to improve information sharing, promote a strategic, unified direction, and ensure integration across the U.S. Intelligence Community.

The ODNI was launched on April 21, 2005. It is led by a Director of National Intelligence, who serves as the head of the Intelligence Community, overseeing and directing the implementation of the National Intelligence Program and acting as the principal advisor to the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to

THE ODNI MISSION

The Office of the DNI’s goal is to effectively integrate foreign, military and domestic intelligence in defense of the homeland and of United States interests abroad.  With this goal in mind, Congress provided the DNI with a number of authorities and duties, as outlined in the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 including to:
 

• Ensure that timely and objective national intelligence is provided to the President, the heads of departments and agencies of the executive branch; the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and senior military commanders; and the Congress.
• Establish objectives and priorities for collection, analysis, production, and dissemination of national intelligence.
• Ensure maximum availability of and access to intelligence information within the Intelligence Community.
• Develop and ensure the execution of an annual budget for the National Intelligence program based on budget proposals provided by IC component organizations.
• Oversee coordination of relationships with the intelligence or security services of foreign governments and international organizations.
• Ensure the most accurate analysis of intelligence is derived from all sources to support national security needs.
• Develop personnel policies and programs to enhance the capacity for joint operations and to facilitate staffing of community management functions.
• Oversee the development and implementation of a program management plan for acquisition of major systems, doing so jointly with the Secretary of Defense for DOD programs, that includes cost, schedule, and performance goals and program milestone criteria.
  
  

U.S. INTELLIGENCE AND ITS CUSTOMERS

The IC serves a wide range of consumers, both within and outside the U.S. Government, with the level of intelligence services varying according to the customers’ responsibilities and the specific circumstances. The IC’s customers include the following:

• The White House, particularly the President, Vice President, and National Security Staff.
• Executive Branch Departments and Agencies, including the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, State, Transportation, Treasury, Energy, and others.
• Military united commands, services, and deployed forces.
• The Intelligence Community itself, for IC internal operations, special activities, acquisition, and policy support.
• The Legislative and Judicial branches for oversight and to inform and protect.
• State, local, tribal and territorial officials, especially law enforcement and emergency planning and response personnel.
• The U.S. public, including commercial entities and academia.
• Allied Governments.
• International organizations, especially for such activities as treaty monitoring.
  
  

ETHICAL STANDARDS

As members of the intelligence profession, we conduct ourselves in accordance with certain basic principles. These principles are stated below, and reflect the standard of ethical conduct expected of all Intelligence Community personnel, regardless of individual role or agency affiliation.

Many of these principles are also reflected in other documents that we look to for guidance, such as statements of core values, and the Code of Conduct: Principles of Ethical Conduct for Government Officers and Employees; it is nonetheless important for the Intelligence Community to set forth in a single statement the fundamental ethical principles that unite us – and distinguish us – as intelligence professionals.

CIVIL LIBERTIES

In addition to the personal commitment of every intelligence officer, an expansive network of oversight and compliance mechanisms ensures that IC offers are able to fully perform their duties: to protect our country and to protect the fundamental freedoms upon which our country stands. 

Protecting civil liberties and privacy in the conduct of intelligence activities is a critical part of the IC’s mission. As a community of professionals, we understand that security and liberty go hand in hand. Indeed, in taking the oath of office—to support and defend the Constitution of the United States—we all acknowledge that our duties require that as we safeguard the national security of the United States, we also protect civil liberties and privacy.

ODNI leadership, along with senior officials for civil liberties and privacy in IC elements, Offices of General Counsel, Offices of Inspectors General, and all branches of government work together to ensure that the policies and programs of the IC, comply with the rule of law, and protect civil liberties and privacy.

OPEN GOVERNMENT

The DNI supports the President's commitment to increase transparency, participation and collaboration within the Government and with the American people, as stated in the President's January 21, 2009 "Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government." Therefore the ODNI will continue to make every effort to increase transparency and openness, while also protecting classified and sensitive national security information and intelligence sources and methods from unauthorized disclosures.  ODNI's Open Government Plan describes in detail how the ODNI currently promotes openness. identifies active public disclosure initiatives, and presents new initiatives planned for FY 2014 and beyond, including:

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS

ODNI’s Official Website

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence website (DNI.GOV or ODNI.GOV ) is provided as a public service by the ODNI on behalf of the Director of National Intelligence.

As President Obama noted in his April 27, 2011 Executive Order, “with advances in technology and service delivery systems in other sectors, the public’s expectations of government have continued to rise.”

In keeping with the President’s directive that the federal government should meet or exceed the continually rising expectations, ODNI has taken several steps to ensure the access, openness, reach and reliability of our electronic communications. 

In August 2012, ODNI re-launched its website enhancing the U.S. Intelligence Community’s web presence, enhancing transparency and our ability to provide accurate, up-to-date information to the public.

With content reorganized to better reflect ODNI’s mission to lead intelligence integration and role as the leader of the Intelligence Community, the revamped DNI.gov site includes a number of new features including links to all IC members, intelligence-related news stories, video, photographs, podcasts and subscription content from throughout the IC.

The new DNI.gov was built using an open source content management system. The back-end changes provide a scalable and flexible architecture to empower innovative, efficient distribution of key information while reducing the costs of future investments.


ODNI’s Social Media Initiatives

The President’s Transparency and Open Government Memorandum of January 21, 2009 and the resulting OMB Open Government Directive of December 8, 2009 direct Federal departments and agencies to harness new technologies to engage the public, focusing on the values of transparency, participation and collaboration.

The Digital Government Strategy, released by the White House on May 23, 2012, requires that Federal agencies adopt an “information driven,” customer-centric approach to electronic communications – one that allows the American public to “shape, share and consume information, whenever and however they want it.”

More recently, the Privacy Best Practice for Social Media, released by the CIO Council in July 2013, noted that social media have an important role to play in the Federal Government’s communications strategy and explained that the Federal Government can use social media to share information as well as to enable Federal agencies to learn about issues being discussed by different audiences.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) maintains an active presence on third-party social media sites and networks, and uses a growing number of new media tools to augment or expand the reach of our official communications originating at www.dni.gov and increase public understanding of the ODNI and the Intelligence Community. Third parties design and operate these sites and the ODNI is only one of many users.

By January 2013 ODNI had expanded its online reach to multiple additional social media channels, in support of the release of the Global Trends 2035 report.  This expansion included the production of the report in multiple electronic formats and its placement in the most popular online ebookstores.  The report was a best-seller and the ODNI’s efforts at greater awareness and electronic accessibility produced the most widely read and reported on Global Trends report in its history.


Signature Initiative: Transparency

In June 2013 President Obama directed the Intelligence Community (IC) to declassify and make public as much information as possible about certain sensitive U.S. Government surveillance programs while being mindful of the need to protect sensitive classified intelligence and national security. 

In August 2013 ODNI launched “IC on the Record” on the Tumblr social media platform.  The new www.icontherecord.tumblr.com and its accompanying Twitter account are designed to provide immediate, ongoing and direct access to factual information related to the lawful foreign activities carried out by the U.S. Intelligence Community. 

The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) has declassified and authorized the public release, via IC on the Record, of thousands of pages of documents relating to the use of critical national security authorities

Consistent with the President’s directive and in the interest of increased transparency, in August 2013 the DNI determined, with the concurrence of the IC, that going forward the IC will publicly release, on an annual basis, aggregate information concerning compulsory legal process under certain national security authorities. 

In June 2014 the ODNI released its first annual Statistical Transparency Report Regarding Use of National Security Authorities for calendar year 2013.

 

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The Director of National Intelligence serves as the head of the Intelligence Community, overseeing and directing the implementation of the National Intelligence Program budget and serving as the principal advisor to the President, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council for intelligence matters related to national security.

Working together with the Principal Deputy DNI and with the assistance of Mission Managers and Deputy Directors, the Office of the DNI's goal is to effectively integrate foreign, military and domestic intelligence in defense of the homeland and of United States interests abroad.

LEADING THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY

The U.S. Intelligence Community is a coalition of 18 agencies and organizations, including the ODNI. The IC agencies fall within the Executive Branch, and work both independently and collaboratively to gather and analyze the intelligence necessary to conduct foreign relations and national security activities.

The IC’s mission is to provide timely, insightful, objective, and relevant intelligence to inform decisions on national security issues and events. The DNI executes the IC’s mission through decision making bodies, IC strategies, IC budget and resource management, development of IC capabilities, information sharing and safeguarding, and partnering with domestic and international partners.

The ODNI seal incorporates the DNI's charge to oversee and coordinate the foreign and domestic activities of the United States Intelligence Community. The elements depicted in the ODNI seal symbolize:

• American Bald Eagle: derived from the Great Seal of the United States, the eagle represents the sovereignty of the U.S.;
• Escutcheon or shield: composed of 13 stripes, white signifying purity and innocence, and red signifying hardiness and valor;
• "E Pluribus Unum": Latin for "out of many, one," signifies this new organization uniting the many organizations in the Intelligence Community;
• Olive branch: represents the power of peace;
• 13 arrows: represents the power of war;
• Field of blue (background of the seal): signifying vigilance, perseverance and justice;
• 50 white stars: represent the 50 states of the United States; and
• Gold lettering: spelling out "Office of the Director of National Intelligence" and "United States of America" symbolize integrity and the highest ideals and goals.
  
  

Usage of the ODNI seal, as well as the name and initials, is governed by the ODNI Instruction Number 2005-08; Official Use of the Name, Initials, or Seal of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The instruction indicates that usage of the seal, name, or initials is authorized for individuals within the ODNI for official business and is governed by the deputy directors or heads of ODNI components. No person may knowingly use the official name, initials, or seal in connection with any commercial activity without authorization from the ODNI in writing.

Download the ODNI Seal

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