The National Intelligence Council (NIC) is an institution within the United States government that serves as the center for midterm and long-term strategic thinking for the US Intelligence Community (IC). Established in 1979, the NIC's primary purpose is to bridge the Intelligence Community with policymakers by providing unvarnished and unbiased intelligence assessments. Its creation followed the earlier Office of National Estimates (ONE), which was established in 1950 and was replaced by the NIC to provide strategic analysis that was not solely a reflection of the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) judgments.
The NIC is composed of a Chairman, Vice Chairman, and National Intelligence Officers (NIOs), who are senior analysts and national security policy experts appointed by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). Its core mechanism is the production of National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs), which are the authoritative written judgments of the entire Intelligence Community on crucial national security issues. The NIC’s responsibilities are further detailed in Intelligence Community Directive Number 207. Additionally, the NIC produces the "Global Trends" report every four years, beginning in 1997, which assesses critical drivers and scenarios for global trends for the incoming US President. The NIC reports to the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and supports the National Security Council. The NIC's placement under the DNI is a result of the structural changes mandated by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 (IRTPA).