IC Human Capital
The IC sponsors several language education and training programs which may be of interest to educators, students, and IC employees.
National Language Service Corps
The NLSC offers individuals with language expertise the opportunity to help their neighbors and fellow citizens by participating in federal efforts, particularly in times of emergency or crisis when their expertise can truly make a difference.
National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y)
The U.S. Department of State, through the NSLI-Y, provides merit-based scholarships for eligible American high school students to learn less commonly taught languages in summer, semester, and academic year overseas immersion programs.
STARTALK’s mission is to increase the number of U.S. citizens learning, speaking, and teaching critical need foreign languages. STARTALK offers students (K–16) and teachers of these languages creative and engaging summer experiences that strive to exemplify best practices in language education and in language teacher development.
Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship
The Pickering Undergraduate Foreign Affairs Fellowship seeks to recruit talented students in academic programs relevant to international affairs, political and economic analysis, administration, management, and science policy.
Critical Language Scholarships Program (CLS)
CLS institutes provide fully-funded group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences for seven to 10 weeks for U.S. citizen undergraduate, master's and Ph.D. students. More information on CLS is available at this link.
U.S. Department of State Limited Non-Career Appointment (LNA) Opportunities
U.S. Department of State offers LNA opportunities ranging from 15 to 27 months, depending on the specific program. The Consular Fellows Program is an LNA opportunity of up to five years, which directly supports the Department of State’s mission to provide overseas consular services that protect U.S. citizens, ensure U.S. national security, facilitate the entry of legitimate travelers, and foster economic growth.
University of Maryland Center for Advanced Study of Language (CASL)
CASL is a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC), collaborating with academia, the private sector, and the U.S. government to produce independently validated solutions to advance the capacity of foreign language skills and tools.
The National Foreign Language Resource Center (NFLC) – E-Learning Portal
A searchable, annotated bibliographic database of language and culture resources. Subscription is required.
Language Education and Resources Network (LEARN)
LEARN events are targeted sessions where invited attendees share educational best practices, develop networks of teachers to create communities of practices, and reduce duplication of efforts in areas such as curriculum design and course development. LEARN workshop attendance/participation is limited to instructors, course developers, and other language professionals from U.S. government affiliated institutions. No vendors are allowed to participate.
Defense Language and National Security Education Office (DLNSEO)
DLNSEO addresses, at a DoD and a national level, the entire linguistic, regional, and cultural spectrum of activity - from public school education to initial foreign language training for civilian and military populations; assessment, enhancement, and sustainment of that training; and the leveraging of international partners.
These unique opportunities for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students offer important language-related components to their education.
Boren Scholarships provide unique funding opportunities of up to $20,000 for U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In exchange for funding, Boren Scholars commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.
Boren Fellowships provide unique funding opportunities of up to $24,000 for U.S. graduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. In exchange for funding, Boren Fellows commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation.
These grants are awarded to U.S. universities recognized as leaders in the field of language education. They are designed to support university infrastructure to enhance student achievement of superior-level proficiency in critical languages.
Intelligence Community Centers of Academic Excellence (IC CAE)
IC CAE was congressionally mandated with the mission to increase intelligence community job applicants who are multi-disciplinary, as well as culturally and ethnically diverse. IC CAE provides grants to competitively accredited U.S. four-year colleges and universities to support the design and development of intelligence-related curricula.
English for Heritage Language Speakers Scholarship Program
A scholarship program for naturalized U.S. citizens fully proficient in critical languages seeking to apply their professional knowledge in a federal government career. The program held at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., combines advanced English language training with professional communications skills and strategies.
Chief Human Capital Office
Policy and Strategy
Policy
The IRTPA of 2004 directs the DNI to “prescribe, in consultation with the heads of other agencies or elements of the intelligence community, and the heads of their respective departments, personnel policies and programs” governing IC human capital matters.
The policy function in the Assistant Director for Human Capital (ADNI/HC) supports the ADNI/HC (the accountable ODNI official for human capital related issues), with developing, coordinating, and adjudicating IC policy issuances – including IC Directives (ICDs), IC Implementing Guidance (ICPGs), IC Standards (ICSs), and other policy documents – in coordination with the Office of the ADNI for Policy and Strategy. The ADNI/HC is also responsible for all human capital related legislative issues for the IC. Additionally, the ADNI/HC is charged with providing support to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) for human capital Initiatives.
IC Human Capital Vision 2020
The 2014 National Intelligence Strategy (NIS), directed by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), established a mandate for the Intelligence Community (IC) to integrate, transform and strengthen its support to national security. The Assistant Director of National Intelligence for Human Capital (ADNI/HC) is responsible for meeting the Workforce Enterprise Objective: Our People – “Build a more agile, diverse, inclusive, and expert workforce.” To accomplish this objective, the IC Chief Human Capital Office (CHCO) developed IC Human Capital Vision 2020 — a strategic human capital framework that enables the IC to attract, engage and retain a diverse and innovative workforce.
Building on the guidance provided within the 2014 NIS and The IC Human Capital Vision 2020, describes the human capital Initiatives established by the IC CHCO Council and IC HC Working Groups to achieve the NIS Workforce Enterprise Objective.
The HC initiatives are organized into the following high-level Vision 2020 focus areas:
Shape an Effective Workforce – The IC will share information and advocate for new/revised policies, processes and technologies to better attract, retain and recognize personnel. Implications: To better align workforce capabilities with emerging mission requirements.
Embrace Continuous Learning – The IC will sustain a learning culture that drives continuous improvement in performance while providing the means to share critical knowledge across IC organizations. Implications: Resulting in a workforce better able to maintain and sustain current and emerging mission successes.
Embed Agility, Innovation, and Engagement – The IC will become more responsive by changing how it manages human capital. Improved organizational designs promote and facilitate collaboration, which leads to increased agility. Implications: To more effectively deploy the impactful policies, processes and technologies that enable mission success.