Academic intelligence arises as a natural adaptation process in the frameworks of knowledge society in a manifold manner; to name a few directions: ‘intelligence is knowledge, knowledge is power’ (Sherman Kent), ‘Science – The Endless Frontier’ (Vannevar Bush), ‘Bacon’s Science of Science’ (Stevan Dedijer), organizational intelligence (Harold Wilensky), sensemaking (Karl Weick) and so on. By these determinants it can’t be conceived in a purely disciplinary manner as far as its spirit focus on the knowledge fusion process dealing with Observation through interdisciplinary dimensions, treating the Orientation necessary for knowledge based action within a multidisciplinary approach, aiming at Decision through responsibility related with a transdisciplinary vision and focusing on Action to reshape knowledge representations (John Boyd’s OODA approach). Adding another segmented dimension of the knowledge advancement through research namely fundamental research, applied research, practical research and commercial research it becomes possible to conceive a bidimensional space determined by OODA / research segmentation, corresponding to the duality between OODA and the intelligence cycle. This knowledge representation is based on a relationship induced with the four causal classes (Aristotle). Taking into account the correspondence between OODA and other cycle-like representations (Deming’s PDCA, Problem Solving, Appreciative Inquiry etc.) it becomes possible to introduce human resource profiles associated with knowledge, skills, competencies and capabilities. In this manner the complexity of the disciplinary, interdisciplinary, multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary scale get represented with respect to some basic elements arising in the intelligence realm. Finally the chain process/product can be conceived in terms of segmented research activities. The government secrecy/transparency perspective arise in an indexed manner: it is always transparent in terms of product and/or commercial research however opaque with different degrees in terms of processes and/or fundamental research. The consequences of this framework are discussed with respect to some important issues in political science, security studies, foreign policy.
