ICP-LLM
Rethinking decision relevance: Using ICP-LLM to support intelligence work
Intelligence serves to give decision-makers in the military, security agencies, and private security an information and decision-making advantage. What is relevant for decision-making, for example, in strategic forecasting for the armed forces, in crisis management for a company, or in crime analysis for police case processing, should be defined by those who have to make the decisions themselves. For this to work, the provision of decision-relevant intelligence products is a prerequisite.
In security policy and criminal analysis practice, the Intelligence Collection Plan (ICP) is a key tool for targeted information gathering. It translates overarching information needs – such as Critical Information Requirements (CCIR) and Priority Intelligence Requirements (PIR) – into concrete Specific Information Requirements (SIR) and Essential Elements of Information (EEI).
By structuring and organizing the research and analysis process, ICP contributes significantly to more effective teamwork. It enables the targeted delegation of specific EEIs, supports debiasing in the analysis process, and makes it comprehensible and verifiable for third parties.
However, manually creating an ICP is time-consuming, error-prone, and often influenced by cognitive biases. Advances in generative artificial intelligence – particularly large language models (LLMs) – open up the possibility of partially automating this routine process. Generative AI can substantially simplify routine tasks in intelligence planning. Consistent human control ensures the responsible use of LLMs.
On November 3, 2025, the Intelligence Collection Plan – Large Language Model (ICP-LLM) will be officially unveiled. This innovative tool, developed in close collaboration between the Institute for Intelligence and Security Management (I2SM) at Northern Business School (NBS), Structured Analysis Germany, and NATO's Civil-Military Cooperation Centre of Excellence (CCOE), will then be available for free download here. Stay tuned!
The development of the ICP-LLM is continuing as part of a research project. Please feel free to share your comments, suggestions, and experiences with using our tool with us. We look forward to receiving your feedback: niklas.koch[at]i2sm.nbs.de