Guidance

The Professional Development Framework for all-source intelligence assessment

Updated 7 January 2025

The Skills Competencies 

The Professional Development Framework describes five technical skills required by those undertaking intelligence assessment: 

Informing Decision-Making 

You understand the customer’s requirements, the decisions that customer needs to make, and why the assessment is required in order to ensure the end product can assist and inform the decision-making process. 

Gathering, Organising and Evaluating Intelligence and Information 

You plan and gather sufficient intelligence and information required to answer the customer’s question. You organise and evaluate your sources, recording them clearly, to facilitate effective audit. 

Analysis, Tradecraft and Assessment 

You use creative and critical thinking skills to ensure assessments are robust, applying appropriate structured methods, techniques and approaches that are relevant to the intelligence requirement. 

Communication of Intelligence Assessment 

You articulate complex matters clearly and concisely in a manner appropriate to the audience. You present information and articulate uncertainty in a way that aids comprehension and maximises impact, including making effective use of visualisation.

Co-operation, Co-ordination and Challenge 

You build a range of effective working relationships with the most relevant individuals and organisations, both inside and outside of government. You enable and encourage effective challenge from across the community, to ensure the production of the best assessments Each skill has four proficiency levels. The Government Skills Campus defines the four levels as follows:

Category	Level 0: AWARENESS	Level 1: WORKING	Level 2: PRACTITIONER	Level 3: EXPERT
Knowledge and Experience	Has a limited knowledge and experience, has a narrow understanding of the importance, would need help to describe it to others.	Has competent knowledge and experience, has a widened understanding, able to articulate the benefits to others.	Has detailed knowledge and experience, has a developed understanding and takes the opportunity to share it with others. Has broad lived experience inside and outside of their work area.	Has extensive knowledge and experience, has a deep understanding, can articulate it in detail and can see its use from many different perspectives. Has significant lived experience inside and outside of their work area.
Application	Not demonstrating consistently, needs further support.	Demonstrates skill confidently and consistently, requiring minimal support, understands when/how to adapt to different scenarios.	Demonstrates skill independently, including when completing complex tasks, can mentor/coach others, can provide guidance, instruction and advice.	Demonstrating how skill can be applied beyond its current use including creating opportunities, widely recognised as an authority both by others in the work area and beyond.
Learning required/undertaken	Requires either formal/informal learning to consistently demonstrate.	Undertaken informal or formal learning that may include working towards accreditation with a relevant professional body (where appropriate). Willing to complete further learning to increase competence and capability for the role.	Undertaken informal or formal learning that may include accreditation with a relevant professional body (where appropriate). Willing to undertake more advanced learning to increase overall capability.	Undertaken informal and formal learning that may include a formal qualification in a relevant subject or fully accredited with the relevant professional body (where appropriate). Willing to undertake specialised learning and actively seeks out stretch opportunities beyond area of responsibility. Uses expertise from learning to increase capability of others.

Informing Decision Making

You understand the customer requirement, producing assessments that aim to help reduce any level of uncertainty, and make explicit what uncertainty remains, for the customer. 

You work with your customer to refine their requirements to ensure your assessment will deliver against them within the customer’s timeframe. 

You maintain your analytical integrity in the face of challenge from your customer. 

At Awareness, you are aware of the need for assessment to meet customer requirements and understand that there is an ethical component to producing intelligence assessment. 

At Working, you produce assessments that respond directly to a customer requirement. You work with your manager to communicate findings that emerged through your work, but that go beyond the specific requirement. You maintain the analytical integrity of your assessment. 

At Practitioner, you identify when customer requests require an intelligence assessment, compared with other products (e.g. a media/open source review). You work with the customer to refine the requirement, including what questions require answering and in what timescales. You identify and challenge any customer attempts to exert inappropriate influence on assessments.

At Expert, you provide an early-warning function on developments in your area that are emerging and that may be challenging or unwelcome for decision-makers, ensuring the messages you deliver have been received and understood. You adapt and prioritise in line with multiple changing customer requirements. You provide leadership to others in understanding and anticipating requirements and champion analytical integrity.

Category	Level 0: AWARENESS	Level 1: WORKING	Level 2: PRACTITIONER	Level 3: EXPERT
Understanding Customer Requirements	You are aware of the need to produce assessment that meets the requirements of a customer.	You liaise with established customers at technical or working level (i.e. not senior level) to fully understand their requirements and check understanding before starting an analytical task.	You refine customer requirements and manage expectations by identifying where and how intelligence assessment can and cannot add value. You have in mind requirements of potential consumers of your assessment beyond the immediate customer.	When addressing intelligence assessment questions, you provide warnings on aspects that are not immediately captured by existing customer requirements and anticipate future requirements, liaising with key decision-makers to ensure they are addressed.
Refining Customer Requirements	You are aware of the need to refine analytical questions to best meet your customer’s requirements.	You understand the process to refine and classify a question and can carry it out with support and guidance.	You effectively structure discussions with the customer to refine and classify questions to ensure you have fully captured their requirement.	You provide leadership to others in understanding customer requirements. You lead and support others with their customer conversations. You prioritise requirements within the team.
Delivering Timely Assessment	You understand the importance of delivering assessment to meet a customer’s timeframe or deadline.	You raise possible delays to delivery of assessments in time for negotiation with the customer and allow for mitigations to be put into place.	You proactively negotiate with customers throughout the assessment process to keep them informed of, and manage, any issues that affect meeting the deadline.	You provide leadership to others to anticipate and understand customer decision timeframes and deadlines. You guide others to prioritise workload accordingly.
Delivering Relevant Assessment	You understand the need for assessments to include judgements that are relevant to the customer’s requirement.	Your assessments present judgements or information that are useful or relevant to customers, including those that go beyond the specific or stated requirement. You ensure key messages are received and understood, in a timely fashion.	You provide early warning of developments that are not captured by existing customer requirements but could threaten UK interests (from unit level to national) or, where relevant, the interests of partner organisations or foreign allies.	Your assessments explore opportunities, costs and risks associated with relevant options or decisions, without straying into policy or plans formulation or decision-making. You understand the delivery requirements of senior customers, assimilating analysis and assessment from multiple products to deliver a holistic overview for your customer.
Delivering Impactful Assessment	You understand the need to engage in a range of ways with customers in order to ensure assessment products land with impact.	With support, you sustain customer engagement throughout the lifecycle of an assessment, even after a paper or briefing is delivered, and seek advice on how to ensure your products have the desired impact on customers through adapting your delivery and engagement techniques.	You sustain customer engagement throughout the lifecycle of an assessment, even after a paper or briefing is delivered, and ensure your products have the desired impact on customers through adapting your delivery and engagement techniques.	You champion the need to sustain customer engagement throughout the lifecycle of an assessment, even after a paper or briefing is delivered, and advise others on how to ensure their products have the desired impact on customers through adapting their delivery and engagement techniques.
Ethics and Analytical Independence	You understand the rationale for maintaining analytical independence and can identify scenarios in which you may escalate an ethical concern or issue. You understand the issues around intellectual property rights and plagiarism.	You maintain analytical integrity, ensuring your assessments reflect the findings of your analysis and evidence and adhere to the ”independent” PHIA common analytical standard. You confidently present assessments that are challenging or unwelcome for decision-makers. You escalate all issues and concerns to your line management or when appropriate to an ethics or staff counsellor or PHIA.	You resist pressure (conscious or otherwise) from others to exert influence or to portray the world as decision-makers or senior customers might wish it to be, judging when it is necessary to escalate ethical issues and concerns. You attempt to account in your analysis and assessment for your own, and others’, biases and assumptions.	You champion analytical integrity and robust assessment, maintaining awareness of the political and strategic environment. You identify where customers may attempt to exert influence and analysts may consciously or not alter their judgements. You advise staff and leaders in advance on the best way forward.

Gathering, Organising & Evaluating Intelligence & Information 

You systematically identify and plan the collation of intelligence and collection and collation of other information required to answer the customer’s questions. You review and apply lessons learnt. 

You use the technology available to you in the most appropriate way, selecting the best tools based on the intelligence sources available. You select and organise qualitative and quantitative information to facilitate analysis. 

You record clearly all sources of intelligence reporting (both secret and non-secret) in a manner that facilitates easy access and retrieval. 

You are proactive in identifying gaps in the intelligence and you follow the relevant guidance and legislation to work with collection assets/agencies to fill those gaps. 

You evaluate sources, both of intelligence and other information. You evaluate information sources for bias, and seek to mitigate it. 

You manage storage or recording of your source information and analysis for all your assessments, so that they can be audited, applying the appropriate PHIA Common Analytical Standards. 

At Awareness, you understand the basic principles relating to gathering, organising and evaluating information. 

At Working, you may have demonstrated these skills in another profession or role, but are still developing your understanding of how your intelligence assessment workplace arranges and records information and intelligence. You adhere to managing information guidelines, in accordance with classification and handling procedures. 

At Practitioner, you identify the information and intelligence required to answer the questions posed by the customer, where to find it, identify gaps, and task collectors to fill them. You are adept at extracting key, relevant information from large sources of intelligence and information. You use your available tools to maintain a coherent, logical record of information which can be easily understood and accessed by others. You are aware of biases in information and intelligence sources, and seek to mitigate them. 

At Expert, you champion novel sources and methods to fill intelligence gaps. You are a community expert and liaise at a senior level with intelligence and information providers. You influence strategic collection priorities to support intelligence assessment requirements. You promote the use of novel tools and methods to exploit intelligence and information sources.

Category	Level 0: AWARENESS	Level 1: WORKING	Level 2: PRACTITIONER	Level 3: EXPERT
Planning	You understand the need to plan out assessment projects and can identify when to insert checkpoints and reviews.	You plan assessment projects including information requirements, relevant milestones, checkpoints and reviews.	You plan and prioritise multiple, competing assessment projects, applying lessons learned from previous projects.	You lead and mentor others in the planning, co-ordination and delivery of complex, joint or cross-community assessment projects.
Organising	You are aware of the relevant considerations relating to the organisation of information, including how to share information and keeping appropriate records for audit.	You organise intelligence and information in a format that can be shared with and understood by others, in line with workplace guidance and audit requirements.	You organise intelligence and information, ensuring you avoid duplication of effort, recognising where various sources can be used across a range of assessment products and in accordance with audit requirements.	You lead the design and delivery of intelligence collation within your workplace, ensuring that it is easily accessible and auditable and that there is parity of approach with other organisations.
Handling and Releasing	You understand that intelligence and information must be handled sensitively, and know where to look for appropriate guidance.	You handle sensitive intelligence and information in accordance with the relevant workplace policy and legal handling requirements.	You anticipate releasability requirements and engage with information originators/owners early to ensure timely production. You know who your organisation’s key partners are and seek additional information from them.	You provide advice and support to others on requirements and policy for handling and releasing sensitive information and intelligence.
Identify Gaps	You understand that the available information is not always comprehensive, and can identify what types of gaps have an impact on meeting customer requirements.	You identify intelligence and information gaps that have a significant impact on your ability to meet a customer requirement and feed these into the collection process. You inform customers where information gaps have a significant impact on the analytical confidence you have in your judgements.	You prioritise the most important intelligence and information gaps in the collection process, highlight them to customers and carefully and consciously use assumptions to help you to bridge these gaps.	You inform intelligence collection planning at a national level by shaping cross-workplace requirements through the relevant processes. You lead and advise others in best to address information gaps.
Source Evaluation	You understand the main strengths and weaknesses of information that may be used in assessments.	You assess and articulate the strengths and weaknesses of the sources of information used in your assessments, and caveat your probabilistic judgements and analytical confidence ratings and statements to take account of them.	You have a deep understanding of the strengths, weakness and biases in your sources of information and ensure these are fully understood across your workplace.	You lead on the application of methods to evaluate sources across your work area, ensuring that there is parity of approach across the community.
Audit	You understand the rationale for retaining a comprehensive analytical audit trail for each assessment product.	You create and retain, for each assessment product, a robust audit trail to evidence your analytical argument, in line with community standards. You maintain an appropriate, coherent, logical, up-to date log of information and intelligence which can be easily understood and accessed by others.	You employ existing and emerging technology to improve the way you organise information and intelligence to aid analysis and assessment audit.	You take responsibility for ensuring that your assessments, and those of others across your work area, adhere to audit requirements, and that each assessment can be replicated if necessary.
Gathering and Selecting Information	You have a basic understanding of the types of information that are available.	You research available, and select appropriate, sources of information for your assessments. These data can be closed/sensitive/secret and open, qualitative and quantitative, structured or unstructured. You can use basic search, visualisation and/or analysis tools to support information gathering.	You seek out and incorporate new sources of information, both closed/sensitive/secret and open, and draw on experts from inside and outside the public sector to support your analytical requirements. You are able to use combinations of search, visualisation and/or analysis tools to support the information gathering and selection process.	You advise on ways of incorporating new or innovative data sets and tools, and share them appropriately.

Analysis, Tradecraft & Assessment

You apply a wide range of critical and creative approaches and techniques to help answer the question for the customer, abiding by the PHIA Common Analytical Standards at all times. 

You are imaginative and innovative in the implementation of processes, methods, tools and techniques in order to provide a comprehensive assessment. 

You make probability-based objective judgements and appropriately articulate analytical confidence in sources and judgements in your assessments, setting out the ‘so what?’ from your analysis for the customer within agreed timescales. At Awareness, you understand the need for tools and methods to aid critical thinking in order to produce rigorous analysis and assessment. 

At Working, you are trained in the use of structured analytical techniques and use creative and critical thinking to apply them on a routine basis. 

At Practitioner, you effectively apply probabilistic reasoning and logic to your assessments and use structured analytical techniques and, where appropriate, quantitative methods to produce your assessments. 

At Expert, you proactively and constructively challenge conventional thinking and assessment. You are comfortable working with complex data. You are a thought-leader for the community, scanning for new methods of conducting analysis, tradecraft and assessment. You liaise with experts on intelligence analysis techniques and promote the use of novel approaches in the community.

Category	Level 0: AWARENESS	Level 1: WORKING	Level 2: PRACTITIONER	Level 3: EXPERT
Analytical Objectivity	You can articulate why analytical objectivity is important.	You maintain analytical integrity, ensuring your assessments reflect the findings of your analysis and evidence and adhere to the ”Objective” PHIA standard. You present the outcomes of your analysis honestly, even if your assessment could be contentious.	You support and champion analytical objectivity within your team.	You support and champion analytical objectivity within your organisation and/or community.
Hypothesis & Scenario Generation	You understand the concept of generating a hypothesis or scenario in support of analytical work.	You identify one or two hypotheses or scenarios which are consistent with your existing subject matter knowledge and the available intelligence and information.	You generate multiple, distinct, plausible and falsifiable hypotheses or scenarios to address the intelligence question.	You generate a comprehensive selection of distinct and plausible falsifiable hypotheses or scenarios to address the intelligence question. You advise and mentor others in generating hypotheses and scenarios.
Hypothesis Testing	You can articulate how to evaluate or test a hypothesis.	You understand how multiple hypotheses form the basis of rigorous assessment, and with guidance, can analyse information and intelligence against these hypotheses to make appropriate likelihood assessments for each plausible hypothesis.	You routinely evaluate hypotheses against the available information and intelligence and make an assessment of the current or past situation and the implications.	You routinely critically evaluate and test multiple, falsifiable hypotheses, articulating the respective strengths and weaknesses of your hypotheses in relation to the relevant intelligence and information available, which guides further research and analysis related to the intelligence question. You advise and mentor others in testing hypotheses.
Scenario Evaluation	You understand that multiple scenarios form the basis for rigorous forecasting, You can articulate how to evaluate or monitor a scenario.	With guidance, using your subject matter knowledge and by analysing available information, intelligence and assumptions, you can make relative or absolute likelihood assessments for each scenario, over credible time horizons.	You routinely monitor and evaluate future scenarios by identifying indicators and triggers to provide early warning and implications, seeking information and intelligence relating to the indicators.	You routinely monitor multiple scenarios by identifying indicators and triggers to provide early warning. You advise and mentor others in evaluating scenarios.
Selection of Analytic Techniques	You understand the rationale for using structured techniques in support of analytical work.	You think creatively and critically about the problem and select the most appropriate structured analytic technique, with support.	You think creatively and critically about your problem, independently selecting and adapting the most appropriate structured analytic technique.	You adapt creative and critical thinking techniques and introduce innovative approaches that best suit the question and timeframe you face. You research and apply new analytic methods and share them across the community.
Application of Analytical Techniques	You can articulate how analytical techniques improve the rigour of analysis and assessment.	With guidance and support from peers, you apply appropriate structured analytical techniques to improve the rigour of your analysis and assessment and document their use.	You independently select and apply a range of appropriate structured analytical techniques, and keep a full audit trail of their use.	You promote the benefits of structured analytical techniques and facilitate their appropriate selection and use by others, including in workshops. You identify opportunities to improve tradecraft with emerging technologies, seeking to mitigate the risks and harness opportunities.
Reasoning and Judgement	You have a basic understanding of the concept of critical thinking.	You understand the purpose and principles of critical thinking. You show logical and coherent reasoning that justify your analytical judgements.	You make analytical judgements, based on evidence and reason, without concerns about being proven wrong. You test and challenge the reasoning and analytical judgements of others, supporting your team, organisation or analytical community.	You create an environment in which analysts are empowered and supported to make analytical judgements, based on evidence and reason, and are confident to take calculated risks and posit hypotheses that are falsifiable.
Judging Subjective Probabilities and Analytical Confidence	You have a basic understanding of subjective and objective probabilities.	With advice and support, you make probabilistic judgements and provide an analytical confidence level and statement on issues that are well understood and have a strong evidence base	You independently make probabilistic judgements and associated analytical confidence assessments, even where intelligence gaps exist.	You construct sound probabilistic judgements and associated analytical confidence assessments where uncertainty is high, possibly due to a lack of intelligence and information. You support others in making judgements under uncertainty.
Identifying Assumptions	You can articulate why identifying assumptions is important in an assessment product.	You can identify the assumptions relating to your hypotheses, and proactively challenge these to understand the extent to which they are supported.	You use a range of techniques which robustly test your assessments to identify subtle or hidden assumptions, routinely challenging and reviewing assumptions.	You proactively challenge firmly held assumptions across your organisation and/or professional community, including where information sources remain incomplete or ambiguous.
Identify and Mitigate the Risk of Bias	You are aware of common cognitive biases and basic mitigation strategies.	You are conscious of existing knowledge and internal and external assessments and you evaluate them on their merits, not being constrained by them when developing your own, or new, assessments.	You select and apply techniques to expose biases and mitigate undue influence of existing knowledge to challenge conventional thinking.	You have a wide and deep understanding of your professional community and proactively revisit the existing analytic position on core documents to mitigate biases in light of new information/intelligence.
Quantitative Data Literacy	You have a basic comprehension of quantitative data sets and can interpret basic graphs and charts.	You understand and draw upon basic quantitative data sets, and are able to identify and correct basic errors in data and interpret graphs and charts.	You can apply basic statistical analysis to small and large data sets, and identify the limitations of the quality and credibility of the data you are working with.	You are able to synthesise complex data sets with qualitative data as part of a rigorous analytical process. You seek out experts beyond your team in order to support deeper interpretation of data sets.

Communication of Intelligence Assessment 

You establish the customer needs and engagement requirements, planning your delivery of the message whilst pre-empting and preparing for challenging questions in person or in writing. 

You write and brief clearly, succinctly, and in plain language, to articulate your assessment, using the PHIA Probability Yardstick and, where appropriate, the Analytical Confidence Rating framework to communicate uncertainty. Your written and verbal assessments answer the questions posed by the customer in a way that can be clearly understood by them. You use visualisation tools effectively to communicate your assessment. Your assessment outputs are accessible to diverse audiences. 

You constructively review and quality assure assessments in line with the PHIA Common Analytical Standards. 

You respond and adapt to challenges from customers during meetings or in writing, whilst maintaining independence and credibility. 

You confidently check with the customer that your core messages have been understood and that the customer understands how the assessment will support their decision-making. 

At Awareness, you are able to write or brief in plain English with good spelling and grammar. You understand why different verbal and written styles, formats and tools may be necessary. You are aware of the necessity to communicate uncertainty in assessments, and to review assessments. 

At Working, you construct assessments in a logical manner and in coherent English. You employ the PHIA Yardstick and the Analytical Confidence Rating framework. You communicate your assessment to a limited audience in a clear and concise manner. You seek guidance on the most appropriate format for delivery of assessment. You provide peer review and feedback.

At Practitioner, you communicate complicated issues in clear and concise language and/or visually, appropriately articulating uncertainty using the PHIA Probability Yardstick and the Analytical Confidence Rating framework. You can provide peer or line manager review and challenge on assessments outside of your area of expertise. You are competent at communicating assessment in a verbal manner with both large audiences and in a one-to-one setting. You convey core messages in the time available. You anticipate questions and can provide additional information where required. 

At Expert, you can prepare simultaneous versions of assessments to meet the requirements of a range of customers. You champion new styles, forms and methods for presenting assessments and adapt your verbal and written style according to customer needs and ensure accessibility. You advise others on how to communicate uncertainty by applying the PHIA Probability Yardstick and the Analytical Confidence Rating framework. You have ownership of quality assurance of assessment and ensure outputs are in line with the PHIA Common Analytical Standards. You proactively engage in a one-to-one setting with customers, encouraging a two-way discussion of the assessment. You are constructively assertive with customers where necessary, managing conflict and disagreements between parties.

Category	Level 0: AWARENESS	Level 1: WORKING	Level 2: PRACTITIONER	Level 3: EXPERT
Accessibility for Inclusivity	You are aware of different accessibility requirements.	You seek guidance to support you in producing briefings or written assessments that are compliant with accessibility requirements.	You understand how to ensure your products comply with accessibility requirements and are accessible to all.	You champion the need for briefings or written assessments to meet accessibility requirements and advise others on how to ensure their products are accessible to all.
Communicating the Message	You can distil information into clear, relevant written or verbal communications. You are able to write and brief in plain English with good spelling and grammar.	You produce clear, relevant, accurate, informative and concise written or verbal assessments following the principles of plain English with good spelling and grammar, in line with relevant workplace writing guides.	You distil and interpret large amounts of intelligence and information with clarity. You ensure all information and intelligence presented in an assessment is relevant to the requirement and releasable to the customer. You appropriately vary the tone and nature of the language you use in verbal briefings depending on the customer need.	You understand the requirements of different customers and can prepare multiple, simultaneous versions of verbal or written assessments for different audiences.
Using the Appropriate Style and Format	You understand the need to use different verbal styles or written templates/formats to communicate different messages and to different audiences.	You seek guidance on the most appropriate templates, style and formatting to communicate your assessments, adhering to workplace guidance. Where possible and appropriate, you adapt your approach for the specific customer audience.	You influence the structure of templates and methods of dissemination in your workplace so that they meet the needs of the customer.	You design and implement templates, style and forms of dissemination in your workplace to meet the needs of the customer.
Visualisation	You can demonstrate an understanding of when it may be appropriate to display information in a visual way.	Where appropriate, you incorporate visualisations when information or concepts (for example spatial or chronological relationships) are best conveyed in graphic form. You work with experts, commissioning visualisations when needed.	You understand the differences between infographics and data visualisation and apply best practice when creating and incorporating visualisations in your assessments. You build visualisation into assessment from an early stage.	You consider and develop new ways to present findings visually, drawing on expertise to make use of cutting-edge tools and sharing innovation across your workplace and/or the community.
Articulating Uncertainty	You understand why analysts need to adopt common and explicit language when communicating uncertainty.	You understand when to use the PHIA Probability Yardstick and PHIA Analytical Confidence Rating framework, and employ them in your assessments. You articulate intelligence gaps.	You apply the PHIA Probability Yardstick and PHIA Analytical Confidence Rating framework to complex pieces of work and problems and clearly articulate the reasoning behind the uncertainty to non-expert customers.	You advise others on best practice relating to the use of the PHIA Probability Yardstick and PHIA Analytical Confidence Rating framework and you advise others on how to articulate intelligence gaps.
Quality Assurance	You understand the benefit that peer review processes add to the production of assessment.	You support others by providing peer reviews of their work from an editorial, subject matter and PHIA Common Analytical Standards perspective, and provide constructive feedback.	You provide peer or line manager review on complex products that may be outside of your area of expertise, and provide constructive or challenge feedback to improve the quality of their work.	You have ownership of the quality assurance of the work of other analysts, who may be more junior or less experienced, providing systemic constructive feedback and developmental advice on how to ensure outputs are in line with the PHIA Common Analytical Standards.
Communicating with Impact	You understand the need to ensure the content and style of verbal and written products are linked to a desired audience and impact.	You seek advice from others on how to apply workplace guidance on how to convey information and assessments and tailor your style to have impact with your customer. When you are unable to answer questions from customers, you agree a timeframe to respond.	You actively adapt your briefing style to have the most impact with your customer. You seek feedback on written and verbal assessments, acting on this feedback to improve your communication style and content.	You have an ongoing dialogue with key customers relating to their requirements, the assessment and their related decision to ensure that your work continues to have impact beyond the end of its production. You adapt your personal style in response to feedback and influence organisational guidelines to meet their needs. You proactively work with others to share best practice on how to land messages with impact.

Co-operation, Co-ordination & Challenge 

You build a range of effective working relationships, applying your knowledge of the intelligence assessment community to ensure you develop relationships with the most relevant individuals and organisations. Using these networks, you draw on the right expertise at the right time, ensuring the delivery of the best intelligence assessment possible. 

With open-mindedness and genuine interest in the views of others, you co-ordinate and co-operate with colleagues to build consensus in your assessments. You enable and encourage effective challenge from the community by being an active listener and stimulating lively debate. You are comfortable with being a dissenting voice, articulating your argument clearly with respect, robust analysis and logic. You escalate dissent through the management chain where necessary. 

At Awareness, you are aware of the requirement to develop a community network and to elicit information from others. You are aware that views may diverge and understand the importance of challenge and consensus. 

At Working, you are developing your network. You understand the importance of drawing on partners to support analysis and assessment. You know where there is consensus and divergence in your community and seek and take on board constructive challenge. 

At Practitioner, you develop and maintain a broad range of relationships with colleagues who have shared areas of responsibility, drawing on, and co-ordinating, their contributions when appropriate. You actively and constructively challenge the analysis of others when your own analysis leads to an alternative assessment, working with colleagues to understand the source of differing views. 

At Expert, you are expected to be a community leader in challenge and the techniques appropriate to bring this into the analytical process. You identify novel partners, bringing in external views to challenge perspectives. You effectively chair round table discussions or facilitated workshops, effectively managing disagreements and conflict while effectively influencing discussions and preserving relationships. You seek new sources of expertise, building relationships with non-traditional partners, to bring further challenge to the conventional assessment. Your input and contribution is sought by partners and the community, and you influence and contribute effectively to the work of others.

Category	Level 0: AWARENESS	Level 1: WORKING	Level 2: PRACTITIONER	Level 3: EXPERT
Cross Community Networking	You understand how to build and maintain networks across different teams or organisations.	You liaise regularly with existing peers in partner organisations, understanding their roles and how they fit into the wider community. You know who the relevant subject matter experts are.	You develop new and maintain existing networks and relationships within the community.	You develop long term relationships amongst experts in your professional community and actively address relationship gaps. You constantly broaden your network to bring fresh perspectives to cross-cutting issues.
Cross Community Working	You understand when you might need to request information from another team or department.	You produce informed and relevant assessment, incorporating community information where relevant. You share information and assessments regularly with partner teams, units and/or organisations.	You support the co-ordination of projects, teams or tasks across the community, contributing to the work of others. You use extensive knowledge of your professional community to facilitate cross workplace or community stakeholder meetings and discussions.	You lead on or oversee the coordination of multiple complex collaborative activities for high level customers at pace, including projects, teams or tasks across your professional community, avoiding duplication.
Cross Community Consensus	You are aware that organisations may have differing views on topics and understand the need to identify areas of consensus and divergence.	You identify where consensus exists and where assessments diverge across your community.	You offer and receive reasonable challenge. You seek to identify areas of analytical agreement to build consensus. Where analytical differences can’t be resolved, you clearly communicate these differences in your assessment.	You intervene early to try to understand and overcome significant analytical disagreements across your professional community. You robustly defend your unit’s position where needed, managing analytical disagreements with partners to ensure relationships are preserved beyond the immediate issue.
Managing Challenge	You understand the rationale for embedding challenge within analytical work.	You seek out and respond positively to constructive challenge from peers and partners during discussions.	You offer constructive and structured challenge in the analytical and subject matter expert community. Where appropriate, you offer challenge to policy and operational customers.	You create a diverse network of peers and stakeholders beyond your immediate area of responsibility, challenging conventional wisdom. You embed open mindedness and challenge as part of your organisational culture.