Course

1. Intelligence Fundamentals

Self-paced
Online
Accredited
Intelligence Fundamentals course by Grey Dynamics Intelligence School.
Intelligence Fundamentals course by Grey Dynamics Intelligence School.

Welcome to the world of intelligence! This course serves as the cornerstone, introducing you to the core concepts and processes, the “Intelligence Fundamentals”, that will guide your journey through the intelligence field. Here’s a breakdown of what you’ll encounter:

Demystifying Intelligence:

  • Defining Intelligence: We’ll delve into the essence of intelligence, exploring its purpose and how it differs from raw information.
  • The Intelligence Advantage: You’ll discover how processed and analyzed information, transformed into intelligence, empowers decision-makers with a strategic advantage.

The Intelligence Landscape:

  • Exploring Different Disciplines: This section will unveil the diverse types of intelligence, each with its unique collection and analysis methods. From human intelligence (HUMINT) gathered through human sources to signals intelligence (SIGINT) obtained through electronic intercepts, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the intelligence toolkit.
  • The Power of Collaboration: The course will emphasize the importance of collaboration between different intelligence disciplines. You’ll learn how seemingly disparate pieces of information, when combined and analyzed, can paint a clearer picture and provide a more holistic understanding of a situation.

Intelligence Consumers:

  • Who Needs Intelligence? This section will introduce the various individuals and entities that rely on intelligence. Government officials, military leaders, businesses, and even the general public all have intelligence needs that can be addressed through different channels and at varying levels of detail.
  • Tailored Intelligence: You’ll explore how the needs of intelligence consumers differ. A military commander on the battlefield requires real-time tactical information, while a policymaker might need long-term strategic insights. Understanding these differences is crucial for delivering the right intelligence to the right people at the right time.

The Intelligence Cycle:

  • The Core Process: This course will introduce the intelligence cycle, the framework that guides how intelligence is produced and disseminated. You’ll learn about the key stages involved, from identifying needs and collecting information to analyzing, reporting, and ultimately feeding intelligence back to decision-makers.
  • Variants and Limitations: No single approach fits all situations. The course might delve into different variations of the intelligence cycle and explore its limitations, highlighting the importance of adaptability and critical thinking in the real world of intelligence.

Course Outline:

01. Video Introduction

Expected Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Precisely define intelligence and differentiate it from information.
  • Identify and explain the various types of intelligence disciplines.
  • Comprehend the role of different intelligence consumers and their diverse needs.
  • Articulate the importance of collaboration between intelligence disciplines.
  • Describe the stages of the intelligence cycle and its different variants.
  • Recognize the limitations of the intelligence cycle and the need for critical thinking.

This Intelligence Fundamentals course equips you with the foundational knowledge and understanding necessary to navigate the complex and dynamic world of intelligence.

Who this course is for:

The courses of the Intelligence Cycle Fundamentals program, are designed as an introductory window into the world of Intelligence, thus no previous training or education on Intelligence is required.

The courses of this program are for anybody who wants to engage with intelligence in their career right now, or in the future. These could be researchers, journalists, analysts, policymakers, security professionals and much more.

Content Warning: 

This course deals with the common types of work in the intelligence industry and therefore features broad discussions of issues such as conflict, terrorism, and natural disasters. We also provide links to historical documents that deal with these topics throughout the course. We include this context because they are common topics in intelligence and are the subject of most historic and declassified documents. For specific concerns about the nature of any content please contact school@greydynamics.com.

Instructors

Marcel Plichta

I’m Marcel Plichta, the Lead Instructor & Grey Dynamics Intelligence School Manager. I am a former analyst for the U.S. Department of Defense and PhD candidate at the University of St Andrews. I have taught and briefed on a variety of international relations and intelligence topics, including foreign policy analysis, African security, and emerging technologies. Currently, I hold a fellowship at the Centre for Global Law and Governance and wrote for Foreign Policy, the Irregular Warfare Initiative, and, the Counterterrorism Sentinel at West Point.

Contact

Have further questions? Feel free to email us at school@greydynamics.com.

Course information
Available Only as Part of: Intelligence Cycle Fundamentals Program
Course Starts: 14 June 2024

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5. Intelligence Analysis Fundamentals
Now that information has been collected and processed, it’s time to use it to answer the intelligence customer’s requirements and the critical thinking stage: Intelligence Analysis. This course focuses on the basics of intelligence analysis and serves as an introduction for the more in-depth courses on analysis.
6. Intelligence Dissemination Fundamentals
Once intelligence analysts finalize their product, they must ensure it reaches the right customers. Intelligence Dissemination can be challenging, especially with a large customer base. For a smaller audience, comprehension often requires briefing. This course tackles the complexities of getting intelligence into the hands of those who need it most.
4. Intelligence Processing Fundamentals
Having grasped how intelligence is collected, let’s shift gears to Intelligence Processing. This crucial stage bridges the gap between raw data and actionable intelligence. Imagine a farmer sifting through a harvest – processing separates the valuable wheat from the chaff of irrelevant information.

Frequently asked questions

For general inquiries, you can email school@greydynamics.com.

For privacy and accessibility issues please email privacy@greydynamics.com or accessibility@greydynamics.com as appropriate.

Intelligence work is extremely broad and each case is different. Intelligence work ranges from normal office work to physically and mentally demanding activity.

Some roles, particularly those in the military or law enforcement, have physical requirements that are required by the institution rather than the role itself.

Additionally, some workplaces are better able to meet accessibility requirements than others. We recommend potential learners search for the specific roles or organisations that interest them and check those organisations’ requirements and accessibility policies before committing to our course.

Be aware that many organisations accommodate audio or visual impairment in some roles, but not all organisations or governments globally are required by law to make reasonable accommodations. 

Our regular course content functions with accessibility tools like subtitles and altering the speed and quality of the videos to ensure learners have a consistent experience regardless of their circumstances.

However, some written course material (i.e. historical documents), may not function with accessibility tools like read-aloud as they are scanned pdfs of varying quality.

We designed our course to comply with all laws and are not aware of any legal or administrative restrictions that would prohibit access to the course. If you have specific concerns about your privacy while taking this course reach out at privacy@greydynamics.com.

We encourage feedback about the course. We integrated a feedback form into the course at the end in which learners can rate their experience and provide comments and recommendations.

If there are any technical issues with accessing the feedback form, please contact accessibility@greydynamics.com.

The prices per course are $250 per course, for the Fundamental courses and for the program with all 6 courses together is $1200.

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