To Repair Or to Rebuild? Analyzing Personnel Security Research Agendas

"This report presents an evaluation of the initial research agenda of the Defense Personnel Security Research and Education Center (PERSEREC), with a proposal for new research on the personnel security problem and objectives and strategy for the Department of Defense (DOD) Personnel Security Program. The new research is proposed because the policy foundations of the current DOD program appear deficient and the current PERSEREC research agenda, which focuses primarily on detailed procedures, is unlikely to provide the basis for significant program improvements. The analysis of the current agendas reached conclusions about their completeness and priorities by inferences drawn from the agendas themselves. The proposed agenda of new research was derived from a systems-analytic or "top-down" approach. Data sources included both Executive Branch and Congressional documents; histories, descriptions, and analyses of various aspects of personnel security and espionage; and discussions with persons responsible for or experienced in personnel security matters."--Rand Abstracts.