Editing Intelligence assessment (section)

{{about|evaluating sensitive state, military, commercial,  or scientific information||Intelligence (disambiguation)}}
{{short description|Evaluation of sensitive state, military, commercial, or scientific information}}
{{Intelligence}} 

'''Intelligence assessment''', is a specific phase of the [[intelligence cycle]] which oversees the development of behavior forecasts or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on wide ranges of available overt and covert [[Intelligence (information)|intelligence]] (also known as "intel"). 

There are two types of assessment;

* In the beginning of the intelligence cycle, during the '''direction''' phase (also known as tasking or planning), intelligence officers assess past intelligence, identify gaps in information, and determine what new intelligence is needed.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Warner |first=Michael |date=2014 |title=The Rise and Fall of Intelligence |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt6wpkvt |website=JSTOR}}</ref>
* Intelligence assessment also occurs toward the end of the intelligence cycle, during the '''analysis & production''' phase.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Lowenthal |first=Mark M. |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Intelligence_From_Secrets_to_Policy/xNBbYNt3JJ0C?hl=en |title=Intelligence: From Secrets to Policy |date=2012 |publisher=CQ Press |isbn=978-1-60871-675-3 |language=en}}</ref> This phase comes after collection and processing but before dissemination to policymakers.<ref name=":0" />

Assessments develop in response to leadership declaration requirements to inform [[decision-making]]. Assessment may be executed on behalf of a [[government|state]], [[military]] or [[company|commercial organisation]] with ranges of information sources available to each.

An intelligence assessment reviews available information and previous assessments for relevance and currency. Where there requires additional information, the [[Intelligence analysis|analyst]] may direct some collection.