"We saw a real need for an organization for intelligence historians. The number of scholars in the field had grown dramatically and they really did not have a home. There were a few organizations in Europe, and one in Canada, but it focused primarily on contemporary intelligence problems. ISA also had the intelligence studies section, SHAFR and SMH had also always offered a home for intelligence scholars, but we believed there was a number of people who were falling between the cracks. I also believed that we needed a platform to advocate for intelligence history and to highlight the need for the declassification of documents. Without documents there will be no intelligence history."

- Sarah-Jane Corke