The National Center for Narrative Intelligence
Understanding, detecting, defending, and ensuring U.S. advantage in the cognitive domain, through a growing constellation of experts in government, industry, academia, and allied partners.
What is the National Center for Narrative Intelligence (NCNI)?
The National Center for Narrative Intelligence (NCNI) was established in 2023 and is the nation’s hub for understanding and shaping how information influences perception, decision-making, and security in the digital age.
NCNI unites government, industry, and academia to strengthen America’s cognitive resilience and leadership in narrative intelligence.
Our Mission
Strengthen America’s cognitive advantage by integrating research, education, policy, and technology to detect influence, defend truth, and develop the people and tools needed to secure the nation’s information future.
The Purpose of the NCNI
Narrative intelligence is the real-time detection, analysis, and response to information campaigns that shape perception and drive behavior. Adversaries are weaponizing information to destabilize societies and undermine U.S. interests—often without firing a shot.
NCNI addresses this challenge by providing analytic frameworks, decision-support tools, and training that help leaders across sectors interpret and respond to evolving threats in the cognitive domain. We equip public and private organizations to recognize influence activity, measure its impact, and respond decisively.
The Four Pillars of the NCNI
Workforce Development
NCNI develops a national cognitive security workforce through immersive training and partnerships linking students, government, and industry to strengthen U.S. information advantage and narrative intelligence.
Applied Research
NCNI conducts mission-focused research combining social science, technology, and defense to provide government and industry partners insights on narrative dynamics, influence campaigns, and AI-driven information threats.
Policy Advocacy
NCNI bolsters national strategy against cognitive threats through evidence-based frameworks, legal models, and policy guidance, equipping lawmakers, agencies, and allies with tools and briefings that protect democratic values.
Collaboration
NCNI unites government, academia, and industry through summits, roundtables, and partnerships to shape policy, enhance interagency cooperation, and build national resilience in cognitive and narrative defense against information threats.
Workforce Development
NCNI is developing a national cognitive security workforce to shape, defend, and lead in the cognitive domain. Through education, immersive training, and AI-enabled learning, it links students, agencies, and industry. Regional hubs like the EdgeTheory Lab offer hands-on experience with live data and emerging technologies, preparing professionals to strengthen U.S. cognitive security and information advantage.
Applied Research
NCNI conducts applied research merging social science, technology, and national defense to produce actionable insights for government and industry. By mapping foreign influence and testing narrative detection models, it advances understanding of narrative dynamics, influence campaigns, and AI-driven information threats in support of DoD, the intelligence community, and policy organizations.
Policy Advocacy
NCNI shapes national strategy with evidence-based frameworks, legal models, and policy recommendations that counter cognitive threats while safeguarding democracy. Collaborating with lawmakers, agencies, and civil society, it delivers practical solutions and produces the annual *State of Cognitive Resilience* report, along with briefings, toolkits, and simulations for Congress, executive agencies, and allied governments.
Collaboration
Our collaboration initiatives unite government, academia, and industry to drive innovation in cognitive warfare. Through the annual Cognitive Warfare Summit, roundtables, and simulations, we shape policy, foster cooperation, and set shared priorities for policy, doctrine, and funding—strengthening the national framework for cognitive and narrative defense and advancing a lasting culture of information advantage.
Technology and Innovation
NCNI partners with organizations such as EdgeTheory to develop AI/ML tools that detect influence campaigns, map narrative flows, and deliver real-time insights into the information environment. Supporting the Department of Defense, U.S. Cyber Command, and others, these technologies enhance cognitive-domain decision-making and promote collaboration among government, academia, and industry to strengthen national narrative defense and sustain information advantage.
About Narratives and Narrative Intelligence
Narrative intelligence is the study and application of how stories — true or false — shape what people believe, how they act, and whom they trust. NCNI draws from linguistics, psychology, policy, and AI to understand and influence the forces that drive perception in the modern world.
In an era of overwhelming connectivity and synthetic information, narrative intelligence offers a strategic compass—one that enables leaders to cut through noise, anticipate influence, and defend freedom of thought.
Why Narrative Intelligence and Cognitive Influence Matter
- Malign actors are using AI to manipulate information at scale.
- Influence—more than force—will shape the 21st-century battlespace.
- Understanding narratives is critical to defending democracy, markets, and minds.
- U.S. national security demands interdisciplinary tools, partnerships, and talent to lead in this space.
