What is this course about?
This course is certified by the International Association for Intelligence Education (IAFIE)
How to use this course
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 1
FREE PREVIEW1.1 Why this chapter exists
FREE PREVIEW1.2 A working vocabulary
FREE PREVIEW1.3 The triangle, not the dichotomy
1.4 Hybrid practitioners and the structural pressures they face
FREE PREVIEW1.5 Common failure modes
1.6 The global landscape of intelligence-led models
1.7 Where the course goes from here
Reflection prompt
Chapter 1 Quiz
Chapter 1 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 2
2.1 Why this chapter exists
2.2 The cycle, in summary
2.3 Direction in an investigation
The Requirements Gap
2.4 Collection in an investigation
2.5 Processing and analysis in an investigation
2.6 Dissemination in an investigation
2.7 Feedback and re-tasking — the loop that matters most
2.8 A worked example
2.9 Where the chapter ends
Reflection prompt
Chapter 2 Quiz
Chapter 2 Assessment - Critique Exercise
Model Answer - Chapter 2 Assessment
Chapter 2 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 3
3.1 Why this chapter is front-loaded
3.2 The architecture of intelligence and investigative authorities
3.3 The Australian framework
3.4 Comparable frameworks in other jurisdictions
3.5 EU and beyond
3.6 The proportionality test
3.7 Ethics, beyond legality
3.8 Oversight and accountability
3.9 A worked example
3.10 Where the chapter ends
Reflection prompt
Chapter 3 Quiz
Chapter 3 Assessment - Proportionality and Ethics Exercise
Chapter 3 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Financial Intelligence: A Short Primer for Non-Specialists
Welcome to Chapter 4
4.1 Why this chapter is a survey, not a textbook
4.2 The three faces of every collection discipline
4.3 Open source intelligence
4.4 Human intelligence
4.5 Communications and digital collection
4.6 Surveillance
4.7 Financial intelligence
4.8 Regulatory and administrative data
4.9 Forensic and evidential collection
4.10 Imagery and geospatial
4.11 The mix problem: choosing across disciplines
4.12 A worked example
4.13 Where the chapter ends
Reflection prompt
Chapter 4 Quiz
Chapter 4 Assessment - Collection Planning
Model Answer - Chapter 4 Assessment
Chapter 4 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 5
5.1 Introduction
5.2 What a source is and is not
5.3 The relationship is the work and the four recurring failure modes
5.4 Grading: the Admiralty Code
5.5 Beyond Admiralty: contemporary grading practices
5.6 Handling: the contemporaneous record
5.7 Welfare
5.8 The handler relationship
5.9 Source-driven cases: the recurring trap
5.10 Cross-discipline source handling
5.11 From source-derived intelligence to evidence
5.12 A worked example
Reflection Prompt
Chapter 5 Quiz
Chapter 5 Assessment - The Source-Evidence Boundary
Chapter 5 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 6
6.1 Introduction
6.2 What changes when information becomes intelligence
6.3 Collation
6.4 Evaluation
6.5 Integration
6.6 The analytic value ladder
6.7 Working at each rung of the ladder
6.8 Confidence and uncertainty
6.9 The analytic record
6.10 The analyst's draft and the intelligence product
6.11 Minimum viable analysis under time pressure
6.12 Worked example
Reflection prompt
Chapter 6 Quiz
Chapter 6 Assessment - Minimum Viable Analysis Under Time Pressure
Model Answer - Chapter 6 Assessment
Chapter 6 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 7
7.1 Introduction
7.2 Two systems and the analytic worker
7.3 The Four Classes of Bias
7.4 Attention biases
7.5 Evaluation biases
7.6 Integration biases
7.7 Expression biases
7.8 The Yom Kippur case: institutional cognitive failure at scale
7.9 From individual to institutional cognitive failure
7.10 Calibration and the analytic record
7.11 The disciplines this chapter can offer
7.12 A worked example
Reflection prompt
Chapter 7 Quiz
Chapter 7 Assessment - Recognising Bias Exposure in Your Own Analytic Work
Model Answer - Chapter 7 Assessment
Chapter 7 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 8
8.1 Introduction
8.2 The three families of techniques
8.3 The Key Assumptions Check
8.4 Analysis of Competing Hypotheses
8.5 Indicators, Signposts, and the Quality of Information Check
A note for lessons 8.6 - 8.8
8.6 Devil's Advocacy
8.7 Red Teaming
8.8 Team A / Team B
8.9 The imagine family: Scenario Analysis, What-If Analysis, and the Premortem
8.10 Choosing and sequencing techniques
8.11 Making techniques work in real teams
8.12 Integrated worked example: a fixated-person assessment
Reflection prompt
Chapter 8 Quiz
Chapter 8 Assessment - Sequencing Techniques on a Case
Chapter 8 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 9
9.1 Introduction
9.2 The Product Specification
9.3 Product types and the three tiers
9.4 The bottom line up front
A note for lessons 9.5 and 9.6
9.5 The subject profile
9.6 The problem profile and network products
9.7 Threat and risk assessments
Chapter 9 Example Products
9.8 Confidence and caveats in products
9.9 Oral briefings and visual products
9.10 Dissemination, handling, and the audit trail
9.11 Common product failures and the cycle feedback loop
9.12 Worked example: one analysis, three products
Reflection prompt
Chapter 9 Quiz
Chapter 9 Assessment - Building the Product
Chapter 9 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 10
10.1 Introduction
10.2 The three protections
10.3 Operational security: managing exposure
10.4 Human source tradecraft
10.5 Surveillance as a field activity
10.6 Digital and online tradecraft
10.7 Cover and the protection of capability
10.8 Authorisation and proportionality in the field
10.9 The field–desk relationship
10.10 When tradecraft fails: compromise and the duty of care
10.11 Tradecraft, ethics, and the rule of law
10.12 Worked example: the three protections in tension
Reflection prompt
Chapter 10 Quiz
Chapter 10 Assessment - The Three Protections in Tension
Model Answer - Chapter 10 Assessment
Chapter 10 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
Welcome to Chapter 11
11.1 Introduction
11.2 Intelligence and evidence: the fundamental distinction
11.3 The three pathways
11.4 Admissibility: why intelligence is not automatically evidence
11.5 Provenance and continuity
11.6 The standard of proof and the language gap
11.7 Source protection and the disclosure tension
11.8 Disclosure and public interest immunity
11.9 Using intelligence to generate evidence — and the line that must not be crossed
11.10 Writing intelligence that can survive the transition
11.11 Integrity, the rule of law, and the practitioner at the seam
11.12 Worked example: three pieces of intelligence, three pathways
Reflection prompt
Chapter 11 Quiz
Chapter 11 Assessment - Three Pathways to the Courtroom
Chapter 11 Reference Sheet
Chapter learning outcomes
12.1 What the capstone is
12.2 How to approach a minimally scaffolded case
12.3 Capstone Rubric and Marking Guide
12.4 Final Assessment
12.5 Course Conclusion
Investigative intelligence is the disciplined use of intelligence principles, methods and tradecraft in support of investigations. It helps practitioners make sense of incomplete and sometimes conflicting information, develop and test competing explanations, identify intelligence gaps, prioritise collection, assess sources, produce decision-relevant intelligence and manage the transition from intelligence to evidence. The course focuses specifically on the point where intelligence and investigation meet.
The Certificate of Investigative Intelligence is designed for: Intelligence analysts working alongside investigative teams Investigators who use intelligence methods or products Financial crime, fraud and AML/CTF professionals Regulatory, compliance, integrity and enforcement practitioners Intelligence managers and investigation supervisors Professionals responsible for assessing complex information and supporting operational decisions The course is relevant across government, law enforcement, regulation, financial services, corporate investigations and other investigative environments.
No. The course does not attempt to teach every aspect of investigative practice. Its focus is the intelligence–investigation interface: how intelligence supports investigative decisions, how investigative activity generates new intelligence, and how practitioners manage the important distinction between information, intelligence and evidence.
No formal intelligence qualification is required. The course explains its core concepts and frameworks clearly enough for investigators and professionals moving into intelligence-related work. However, the material is substantial and professionally rigorous. Experienced practitioners will also encounter advanced applications, difficult judgement problems and opportunities to examine their existing practice.
No. Although many of the principles are applicable to criminal intelligence and law-enforcement investigations, the course has been designed for a much broader professional audience. Its methods can be applied in regulatory investigations, financial crime, fraud, corruption, workplace misconduct, compliance, integrity, insurance, security and other complex investigative settings.
The course examines: The relationship between intelligence and investigation Intelligence requirements and collection planning Source evaluation, handling and protection Information grading and reliability Analytical reasoning and cognitive bias Structured analytical techniques Hypothesis development and testing Intelligence products and decision support Field judgement and operational application The distinction between intelligence and evidence Disclosure, source protection and the transition to evidentiary processes Learners apply these concepts through realistic scenarios, reflections, practical exercises and a final capstone assessment.
The course is delivered entirely online and is 100% self-paced. It combines written teaching material, short instructional videos, practical examples, reflection activities, downloadable resources, knowledge checks and applied assessment tasks. There are no scheduled classes, allowing learners to complete the course around professional and operational commitments.
Learners should allow approximately 50–60 hours to complete the full course and its assessments. Experienced practitioners may progress more quickly, while learners who are newer to intelligence practice (or who engage extensively with the activities and supporting material) may require additional time.
Assessment is based on application and professional judgement rather than simple recall. Learners complete knowledge checks and applied exercises involving realistic intelligence and investigative problems. The course culminates in a substantial capstone task requiring learners to integrate the concepts, methods and protections developed throughout the program. Successful completion requires learners to demonstrate that they can apply the tradecraft, not merely describe it. Learners who successfully complete the required course content and assessment components will receive the Certificate of Investigative Intelligence from Intelligence Rising.
