On November 22, 2024, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines delivered a speech at the National Security Data and Policy Institute Inauguration Ceremony. Her remarks as delivered are below.

Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines

Remarks As Delivered

National Security Data and Policy Institute Inauguration Ceremony

University of Virginia - Charlottesville, Virginia

November 22, 2024

Good morning. It really is an incredible pleasure to be here!

And Dr. Potter, thank you for that extraordinarily kind and unusual introduction. I have to say I thought it was – I was missing—was it lack of athletic prowess on my part. But anyway, but also really President Ryan, thank you for the support that you’ve shown. And Senator Warner, a really special thanks to you for your just extraordinary, unwavering support for the Intelligence Community: for our people, for our work over the years has been exceptional. And this Institute, which really would not have been possible without your efforts is really only one example among many, so thank you very, very much.

President Ryan, Provost Baucom, Rector Hardie: thank you so much for inviting me to this event, and hosting this celebration in such an absolutely extraordinary setting which really makes me feel as if we have to rise to the occasion, essentially, to really understand the importance of the institute.

And the inauguration of the institute, the National Security Data and Policy Institute – we will come up with an acronym I’m sure - is just a very big deal for the Intelligence Community, one that we know will make us better in the years to come.

And you’ve already heard from President Ryan, from Dr. Potter, from Chairman Warner about the importance of the Institute from their perspective, and mine is complementary and frankly overlapping to some extent, but I think it’s distinct.

First, we all recognize the growing importance of data in our world and it is nowhere more important than in the Intelligence Community. Data, and our ability to manage it properly, is fundamental to our work and to maintaining an advantage in an increasingly complex and interconnected global security environment, and increasingly important to our competitive edge in that environment.

In the next decade, we will be pushed even further and faster by expected and unexpected technological changes, and we have to be in a position in the Intelligence Community to leverage what we collect and acquire, to operate, to increase our understanding, to collaborate, and to communicate at speed, while also ensuring that we do so lawfully and in ways that are consistent with our values.

And our main job in the Intelligence Community, really as you heard from our Chairman is to provide senior policymakers, warfighters, operators, with the insights that they need to make better, informed decisions about the challenges that we face and our ability to do that starts with data. But, to develop strategic approaches to our work, we absolutely need your help.

This partnership is crucial to increasing our understanding, and to allowing us to innovate in ways we might not otherwise be able to do.

UVA brings so much to the partnership. You are at the edge of innovation in fields that are crucial to our national security. And your expertise, your knowledge and innovations in these fields will make us better. Not only in deriving insights, but also with respect to our approaches to data governance, to data policy, to security, across the board. And UVA is uniquely positioned to understand our challenges, and to help us seize opportunities, not only because of the community that was described by Dr. Potter and others, but also that approximately 70 percent of the world’s data flows through the very narrow corridor that we in the DC share with Charlottesville.

But of course, the University brings so much more than that to our partnership:

• UVA continues to be a respected hub of ideas where students and professors push intellectual boundaries to address big problems.
• UVA’s commitment to building a diverse world-class faculty and culture of innovation aligns with our own core belief that the approaches to solving problems brought by different backgrounds, languages, cultural understanding only make us smarter, more innovative and successful at executing on our mission.
• And we have long admired UVA’s commitment to developing ethical leaders and promoting public service.
• In fact, I am certain we have more than a few impressive Hoos throughout the ranks of the Intelligence Community as indicated, including our Deputy DNI for Policy and Capabilities Charles Luftig who is with us today – a proud graduate of the UVA School of Law.

Essentially, UVA has all of the attributes of a great mission partner for us: a world-renowned institution that combines academic excellence and rigor, scientific research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and ethical leadership development with a strong public service ethos.

Moreover, through this partnership we will be able to tap the UVA’s robust research infrastructure and vast expertise across disciplines -- I am especially excited about that -- to address our most pressing data-related challenges to national security, and to leverage open source data, a value which in turn will enhance our capacity to transparently share our insights with a range of partners, including others in academia, industry and across the board for facilitating collaboration on critical national security matters with critical external partners. And as our primary competitors and adversaries continue to make massive investments in technology and people, this Institute will help inform how we prepare the IC workforce to develop the most productive human-machine partnerships.

Incidentally, we have been so impressed to learn about UVA’s Launchpad and your efforts to widen the aperture beyond STEM to train more liberal arts majors to be tech-savvy critical thinkers. The nation truly needs more of those programs to address our human talent shortage in AI and technology broadly. And it’s imperative that we work across all sectors to inspire and equip the next generation to rise to these challenges.

Clearly, the urgency of this mission cannot be overstated, and so we’re placing this critical partnership in the hands of just an incredibly dedicated and experienced team.

I am thrilled that Dr. Potter has agreed to serve as the institute’s first executive director. I cannot imagine a better person for this job. With his impressive leadership experience and expertise across a range of relevant areas, from national and global security to tech policy and governance, I just have no doubt that this institute will be a success with him at the helm.

And leading the effort on behalf of the IC is our Chief Data Officer, who is here today, Lori Wade and her team will closely work with Dr. Potter as the Institute pioneers new research, refines analytic frameworks, develops effective strategies, and advances next generation technologies to keep us ahead of emerging threats.

And the Institute also has our commitment that, as it moves through specific challenge areas, it will be able to rely on additional analytic and research support from the National Intelligence University: our president is here today to demonstrate this, which is overseen by ODNI, as well as from our other IC offices and mission centers, as have been noted, when needed.

And we certainly have our work cut out for us, but I’m confident that the National Security Data and Policy Institute will quickly become a testament to the extraordinary things that we can achieve when we bring the most advanced tools and resources together with the most advanced thinking, and our partners who share our vision for a stronger and more resilient nation.

And I am profoundly grateful to President Ryan and the University of Virginia for embracing this vision with us and for stepping up to the challenge with such dedication and enthusiasm; and again to Senator Warner for being such a strong advocate for the IC and the institutions and the initiatives that will enhance our ability to keep the nation safe.

And today, we cement a critical new partnership in national security and look forward with great anticipation to what lies ahead.

With that, it is my profound honor to officially inaugurate the National Security Data and Policy Institute at UVA! Thank you so much.

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