The NAPA report said additional agents, analysts,
linguists, and technologists are in critical need,
and called for an increase in career and succession
planning, necessary “given the rapid turnover of
higher level personnel.”
The panel recommended giving authority to the FBI to
maintain a reserve of retired personnel even though
planning for it is “rudimentary.”
“The FBI should develop intelligence career alternatives
for analysts, agents, and support personnel,” said the
report, adding that there is an increased interest in
establishing a “multi-skilled intelligence career
structure,” but the panel felt that careful planning
would be required to safeguard workforce morale.
The panel called on the FBI to shift its focus from
incremental decision making to strategic management
and a longer-term focus on personnel and resources,
particularly important given the need for the
integration of development, contract management,
deployment and training.
The recommendation follows an audit by the Department
of Justice IG citing “poor
management decisions, inadequate oversight, and a lack
of sound IT investment practices,” as factors that
contributed to FBI’s inability to get its virtual case
file system on its feet after three years and $170
million. The IG report concluded that this third
component of FBI’s Trident IT modernization project
suffered from shifting priorities as the bureau has
taken on more of a counter-terrorism role.
Strategic management is also important planning
personnel increases, said the report, emphasizing that
FBI personnel need to “be trained in goals and
performance-driven system management.”
The panel recommended that the FBI, with congressional
support, move to “a multi-year resource planning
system for critical technical systems and key personnel
skills,” as well as encourage personnel to enroll in
external management and technical training programs and
take on assignments in other agencies.
