Institute
Center for Intelligence, Research, Analysis, and Training
The Center for Intelligence Research Analysis & Training (CIRAT) brings together the students and faculty of the Mercyhurst College Institute for Intelligence Studies (MCIIS) to perform high quality, low cost, open source research and analysis for private businesses and institutions and for governmental agencies through grants, partnerships and contracts. The students and faculty make full use of the theoretical and applied principles taught by MCIIS to present actionable information for CIRAT’s customers and clients.
Founded in 1995, CIRAT’s primary goal is to give MCIIS students exposure to actual intelligence problems and questions and the experience of applying what they have learned in the classroom to those problems and questions. CIRAT provides the flexibility of trained individuals or teams, led by experienced faculty and staff, who respond to unmet open source research and analytical needs in surge situations or longer-term requirements. These students are generalist analysts. They have been trained to conduct in-depth research on virtually any topic assigned to them and then to apply their analytical skills to the question or problem. From there, they present their results in a variety of formats customized to the need of the decisionmaker. These range from massive spreadsheets to short written reports to highly visual or digital presentations.
CIRAT has worked with scores of businesses ranging from start-up companies of one or two persons in northwest Pennsylvania to Fortune 500 companies. It has provided research and analysis to a variety of federal, state and local agencies ranging from the nation’s highest profile intelligence agencies to local police departments.
The National Intelligence Council had this to say about CIRAT’s contribution to a major project on global health: “…we consider this product an invaluable contribution to the NIC's global disease project: not only in terms of content, but also for the insights it provides into methodological approaches.”
Our building is located at 3928 Wayne Street, Erie, PA 16504.
MCIIS 20th Anniversary and 2012 Alumni Conference - July 8-12, 2012
We will be hosting a series of keynote speakers, panelists, student work, and more. Please check the Conference Updates page to the left for the most up-to-date information on the conference.
