Here is the first cut of the proposed system. It lays out the basic
   procedural elements. Let us discuss, critique, and refine it.

    

                Proposed System to Develop a Paid Source Network

                                        

   Our efforts to develop into a true global intelligence company which
   offers its clients, analyses and forecasts, better than anyone else,
   requires, among other things, a reliable network of well-placed sources.
   What this means is that we will have to increasingly move towards
   developing paid sources. Obviously, our financial limitations will
   determine how fast we can achieve this goal.

    

   As of now we have very few paid sources who we hired as and when we came
   to know of them and we determined that we needed to have them and that we
   could from a financial standpoint. This approach served our needs for
   quite some time but now that we are aggressively moving towards global
   operations it is essential that we have a system by which we enhance our
   source capabilities. Such a system should allow us to uniformly develop
   the network across the various aors.

    

   As each aor enhances its understanding of various parts of its respective
   region, it is only natural that it will come across the need for paid
   sources. Each aor head working with the corresponding field analyst will
   identify the need for a source in x country or y region. These two senior
   analysts - given that they are jointly responsible for maintaining
   situational awareness - will determine the need based on the geopolitical
   significance of the area/issue.

    

   Once there is a consensus within the aor that having a paid source in a
   given area is critical to their operational needs, the aor will submit a
   request to the Vice-President of Tactical Intelligence (VP-TI) with all
   the necessary details justifying their specific requirement. The VP-TI,
   working with the CFO and CEO, would already have developed a budget to
   address the needs of all the aors within the analytical group, would then
   coordinate with the relevant field analyst and the CEO in reviewing the
   request. Whether or not a particular request will be approved will be
   based on the strategic priorities of the company, financial bandwidth,
   which aor takes precedence at a given point in time, and availability of
   reliable sources.

    

   Once an approval has been issued, the VP-TI will then work with the
   relevant field analyst to identify and process suitable candidates for the
   position. The field analyst will most likely have at least one candidate
   already in the pipeline and will provide the details (identity,
   background, occupation, affiliations, location, etc) of the candidate to
   the VP-TI. While the VP-TI is the one who will decide on whether or not
   person A will be hired as a paid source, he will be heavily dependent upon
   input from the field analyst to make his decision.

    

   The final stage is one where compensation will be negotiated with the
   prospective source. The VP-TI will let the field analyst know what the
   company can offer, which will then be relayed via the field analyst to the
   source. This proposed process is complete if and when the company and the
   source agree on a particular amount.