50 U.S.C. § 3034c — Intelligence Community Innovation Unit

(a) “Emerging technology” has the meaning given in section 6701 of the Intelligence^* Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 117–263; 50 U.S.C. 3024 note). “Unit” means the Intelligence Community^* Innovation Unit. This section does not define those quoted terms itself.
(b)(1) Within 180 days after December 22, 2023, the Director must develop a plan for implementing the Unit within the intelligence community. (2) The plan must explain how the Unit will (A) help intelligence-element heads identify commercial emerging technologies and related capabilities for critical mission needs; (B) give agencies seeking to deploy them technical expertise; (C) move promising prototypes and solutions from research and prototype projects into production; and (D) connect the intelligence community with the private sector, focusing on small and medium-sized companies and organizations with little experience working with it. (3) The plan must provide for no more than 50 full-time-equivalent personnel and assess how the Unit would improve identification and evaluation of commercial emerging technologies for prototyping and possible intelligence-community adoption. (4) When the plan is complete, the Director must send it to the congressional intelligence committees^* and the Senate and House defense appropriations subcommittees and brief them.
(c) If appropriations Acts specifically provide money in advance for the purposes of this section, the Director must establish the Unit within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence within 180 days after submitting the plan.
(d) The Unit may not cancel or otherwise limit an intelligence-community element’s authorized activities.
(e)(1) The Unit’s head is its Director. The Director of National Intelligence appoints that person, who reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence. (2) The appointing Director must prefer people with significant private-sector experience involving commercial emerging technology and a record of helping the Government or private sector adopt such technology.
(f)(1) Besides its Director, the Unit may have no more than 50 full-time-equivalent positions. (2) The Director of National Intelligence must ensure enough staff have expertise in (A) other-transaction authority and nontraditional or rapid acquisition paths; (B) engaging and evaluating small and medium-sized technology companies; (C) intelligence-community mission needs; and (D) other skills the Director considers necessary.
(g) At the Unit’s request, an intelligence-element head may detail personnel to it on a reimbursable or nonreimbursable basis.
(h) Once the Unit identifies a demonstrated critical mission need and a likely mission partner that will field and provide further funding after maturation, its Director must move research and prototype projects into production products, including by designating them as Emerging Technology Transition Projects under the cited pilot program.
(i) The Director of National Intelligence must take needed steps to encourage other intelligence-element heads to use the Unit.
(j)(1) Nothing here requires an intelligence element to give a private entity preferential treatment in technology procurement or restricts or preempts intelligence-community activities. (2) The Unit is limited to the existing authority of the Director of National Intelligence.
(k) This section’s authorities and requirements end 5 years after the Unit is established.