Search results

This paper aims to present a categorization scheme and use it to classify Canadian Government (federal and provincial) competitive intelligence (CI) programs and to also look at the impact of these programs on sectoral and regional economic development.

Based on the author’s 25 years of experience designing, running, and studying Canadian Government CI programs, a classification scheme to classify these programs has been developed and used. Also, by using program review information, this paper looks at evidence for program impact on regional and sectoral economic development.

This paper identifies a broad range of federal and provincially sponsored CI programs aimed at helping both government officers and those outside the department make better decisions. The review identified several roles that the government can play in using CI: creator of CI (both for their own purposes and also for helping Canadian companies), CI environment skills builder (helping Canadian companies develop skills in developing their own CI) and CI partner (working jointly with Canadian companies in developing CI). While there have not been many formal program reviews of the CI programs sponsored by Canadian Government departments and agencies, anecdotal evidence (from training program participant evaluations) and a comprehensive review of a small community CI-based economic development program support positive sectoral and regional economic development results arising from these programs.

CI programs can be used as part of a government’s regional and sectoral economic development approach. CI can be used to assist with decision-making both within and outside the government. This paper identifies several different kinds of programs that can be used to further a government’s economic development agenda.

There are very few articles that examine how governments have helped companies to develop CI and how they have used CI, and none has looked at the impact of these on regional and sectoral economic development. This paper, based on the author’s experiences, provides a view of the Canadian programs and their impact on regional/sectoral economic development.

The purpose of this paper is to address the perceptions senior public leaders in local government have regarding the need for business intelligence and their perceptions of the extent to which their organizations are capable of effectively assimilating business intelligence.

The data are from a survey on local governments’ need for and capability to use business intelligence, with a response rate of 50.5 percent, and semi-structured interviews. The survey method originates from private sector research but is adapted to local government conditions in Sweden.

The leaders’ perceptions about the need for business intelligence were fragmented. Their perceptions regarding its use were even more fragmented, both between different municipalities and within municipalities.

The survey is adapted to local government conditions in Sweden and may need further changes to fit other settings. The adaptation and renewal of questions can lead to summation errors in relation to the original survey.

The paper highlights some of the strategic areas where senior public leaders need to advance their business intelligence and prioritize specific organizational capabilities. The dominant logic, enhancing an inward-looking approach, seems to prevent a more thoroughgoing business analysis.

The adaptation of a method that is mainly used in the private sector can give new perspectives to senior public leaders regarding the need for and use of business intelligence and can help them identify the factors that can affect the complexity and volatility in local government settings.

The Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting Initiative (NSI) is the focal point of the Information Sharing Environment (ISE), a radical reformulation of policies governing government intelligence activities within US borders. In the wake of the September 11th attacks, long-standing informational norms for the production, use, and circulation of domestic intelligence records containing personal information are being replaced with far less restrictive norms, altering a status quo that had been in effect since mid-1970s. Although the NSI represents an unprecedented expansion of human resources dedicated to the collection and production of domestic intelligence, it is not well known in privacy advocacy community. This chapter considers these and other terms in the context of relevant US law and policy, including the Privacy Act of 1974, the E-Government Act of 2002, Executive Order 12333, and 28 CFR Part 23. In addition to describing the federal (ISE-SAR) standard, the chapter examines the critical role of guidance in the logic of suspicious activity report (SAR) production, and the problematic role finished ISE-SARs seem to play in the matrix of federal and state-level watch lists. The program, if not properly regulated, could pose a considerable threat to personal privacy and the life chances and self-determination of all US persons. The chapter considers this threat in terms of Nissenbaum's (2010) “contextual integrity,” a theory of context-relative informational norms.

This study aims to assess the effectiveness of a scale measuring artificial intelligence capabilities by using the resource-based theory. It seeks to examine the impact of these capabilities on the organizational-level resources of dynamic capabilities and organizational creativity, ultimately influencing the overall performance of government organizations.

The calibration of artificial intelligence capabilities scale was conducted using a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis tools. A set of 26 initial items was formed in the qualitative study. In the quantitative study, self-reported data obtained from 344 public managers was used for the purposes of refining and validating the scale. Hypothesis testing is carried out to examine the relationship between theoretical constructs for the purpose of nomological testing.

Results provide empirical evidence that the presence of artificial intelligence capabilities positively and significantly impacts dynamic capabilities, organizational creativity and performance. Dynamic capabilities also found to partially mediate artificial intelligence capabilities relationship with organizational creativity and performance, and organizational creativity partially mediates dynamic capabilities – organizational creativity link.

The application of artificial intelligence holds promise for improving decision-making and problem-solving processes, thereby increasing the perceived value of public service. This can be achieved through the implementation of regulatory frameworks that serve as a blueprint for enhancing value and performance.

There are a limited number of studies on artificial intelligence capabilities conducted in the government sector, and these studies often present conflicting and inconclusive findings. Moreover, these studies indicate literature has not adequately explored the significance of organizational-level complementarity resources in facilitating the development of unique capabilities within government organizations. This paper presents a framework that can be used by government organizations to assess their artificial intelligence capabilities-organizational performance relation, drawing on the resource-based theory.

This paper aims to examine the history of data leaks and investigative journalism, the techniques and technology that enable them and their influence in Australia and abroad. It explores the ethical and professional considerations of investigative journalists, how they approach privacy and information-sharing and how this differs from intelligence practice in government and industry. The paper assesses the strengths and limitations of Collaborative Investigative Reporting based on Information Leaks (CIRIL) as a kind of public-facing intelligence practice.

This study draws on academic literature, source material from investigations by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and a survey of financial crime compliance professionals conducted in 2022.

The paper identifies three key causal factors that have enabled the rise of CIRIL even as traditional journalism has declined: the digital storage of information; increasing public interest in offshore finance and tax evasion; and “virtual newsrooms” enabled by internet communications. It concludes that the primary strength of CIRIL is its creation of complex global narratives to inform the public about corruption and tax evasion, while its key weakness is that the scale and breadth of the data released makes it difficult to focus on likely criminal activity. Results of a survey of industry and government professionals indicate that CIRIL is generally more effective as public information than as an investigative resource, owing to the volume, age and quality of information released. However, the trends enabling CIRIL are likely to continue, and this means that governments and financial institutions need to become more effective at using leaked information.

Over the past decade, large-scale, data-driven investigative journalism projects such as the Pandora Papers and the Russian Laundromat have had a significant public impact by exposing money laundering, financial crime and corruption. These projects share certain hallmarks: the use of human intelligence, often sourced from anonymous leaks; inventive fusion of this intelligence with data from open sources; and collaboration among a global collective of investigative journalists to build a narrative. These projects prioritise informing the public. They are also an important information source for government and private sector organisations working to investigate and disrupt financial crime.

The intelligence and security services are working closely with law enforcement agencies to counteract the activities of organized criminal syndicates and international terrorist organizations. Intelligence work is expected to become more broad based in the future and experts from the private sector will work more closely with personnel from the public sector. A number of long‐term workable partnership arrangements will be formed based on trustworthy behaviour. A greater commitment to disaster management and recovery should witness a greater emphasis on business continuity planning, and this should result in more robust corporate security systems being developed and installed.

This paper aims to summarize the major theoretical elements in the definition of a global ruling class. It then examines how neoconservatives in the USA took power and used regime change to install US-friendly governments in other regions. A strategy of tension is used to press the American population into conformity. But the real revolution is to what extent factual politics escape any attempt to democratic control.

The research relies on case studies of material already published and provides a synthesis.

Three case studies show how far the Deep State already goes. Democracy is on the brink of survival.

This paper is an original hypothesis of the potential end of democracy as we know it, supported by empirical data.

For competitive intelligence (CI) to evolve into a successful business discipline in a company, a culture of competitiveness should prevail. The extent to which CI is practiced in South Africa and the CI culture that exists in South Africa have remained a mystery until the late 1990s. It is the aim of this paper to assess the development of the CI culture since the late 1990s in South Africa and to make recommendations to enhance this culture.

For the empirical evidence, the results of two previous research projects were used. Questionnaires were used in these projects. The questions covered all areas of the intelligence cycle: planning and focus, collection, analysis, communication, process and structure, awareness and culture and attitudes towards CI. Data of the sample population to perform a sample selection was gathered from three sources, namely Reed Inc., the Kompass Southern African and the membership lists of the respective Export Councils. In both the projects, the respondents had to answer the questions on a five‐point Likert scale, where 1 equals either never or disagree and 5 equals always or strongly agree.

The results of observations and research projects show a sustained level of awareness of CI and a CI culture within South African companies since 1999. However, research into the CI practices of South African companies (both descriptive and empirical) and specifically into the CI practices of South African exporters has shown certain areas in which local companies lag behind other countries. In particular, in terms of the extent and depth of education, training and consulting services, South Africa is far behind most developed countries. With better training and education opportunities available, in particular in terms of strategic and competitive analysis and the management of CI, these weak areas of the discipline are sure to improve with time.

The research was built around the six key areas that, collectively, from the intelligence model as identified by Calof and Breakspear in 1999, i.e. planning and focus, collection, analysis, communication, process and structure, and organisational awareness and culture. Some of the key findings were that South African companies showed a general lack of appropriate processes and structures for CI; that there was little evidence that systems in companies assist the CI activities; that few companies could claim that CI was embedded in the whole company; little information sharing took place and people in the company in general did not know the focus of the intelligence activity.

The paper provides recommendations on ways to enhance and foster a competitive or CI culture in South Africa. Various ways to enhance a competitive or CI culture in countries and companies are proposed including CI awareness and training sessions for industry, company managers recognising the value of CI as a tool to enhance competitiveness and appropriate CI related training programmes.