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Introduction

With support from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has been tasked with conducting an unclassified 2-year survey of the social and behavioral sciences (SBS) to identify promising research opportunities with implications for national security over a 10-year period. This unprecedented task will require considerable input from academics in a range of SBS disciplines and from the intelligence community (see statement of task in Appendix A).

In order to raise awareness and engage these communities in the survey (known here forward as the SBS Decadal Survey), a Summit on Social and Behavioral Sciences for National Security was held October 4–5, 2016, in Washington, DC. Under the auspices of the Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences, a steering committee was appointed to plan and carry out the summit (see Appendix B).

The summit was designed to highlight cutting-edge research and identify future directions for research in a few areas of the social and behavioral sciences. It was organized around a series of presentations in four different themed sessions. These sessions were representative of the research with possible relevance to the work of intelligence analysts but were not intended to be inclusive of all the research the SBS Decadal Survey will consider.

Presenters described what is known in their areas of work and what could be known, as well as identified any current limitations with data or methodology. In addition, representatives from the intelligence community (IC) discussed their understanding of what could be gained by carrying out the SBS Decadal Survey and highlighted recurring issues and long-term

strategic challenges faced by the IC that can be informed by social and behavioral sciences. Each themed session ended with time for discussion and reflection among the presenters, moderators, and IC representatives.

The summit proceeded as follows. Marcia McNutt, the newly appointed president of the National Academy of Sciences, and David Honey, the science and technology (S&T) director at ODNI, delivered opening remarks. An introductory panel with representatives from the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, and National Intelligence Council set the stage for how the SBS Decadal Survey might best inform the work of intelligence analysts. Four themed panel sessions, each moderated by a member of the steering committee, showcased research presentations in the areas of brain and neuroscience, social interaction, behavioral genetics, and risk and decision making. The summit concluded with a session in which Robert Fein, a member of the Intelligence Community Studies Board at the National Academies, offered remarks, and members of the steering committee and representatives from the intelligence community shared final points and reflections. Questions from the audience were encouraged throughout the summit during discussion periods.

A rapporteur prepared the proceedings as a factual summary of what occurred at the summit. The steering committee’s role was limited to planning and convening the summit. The views contained in this proceedings are those of individual participants and do not necessarily represent the views of all summit participants, the steering committee, or the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The summit was open to the public and webcast live.¹ These proceedings were created from the presenters’ slides, notes, and a full transcript of the proceedings to serve as a public record of the summit presentations and discussions. Presenters were given an opportunity to review and correct the summaries of their remarks.

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¹ The archived webcast of the summit and available presentations can be found at http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BBCSS/DBASSE_173737 [December 2016].