training
HUMINT training
Next Sight's HUMINT training is a twelve-module course in lawful human-source tradecraft for investigators, analysts and security teams, taught by practitioners with criminal-police and intelligence backgrounds, for private cohorts scheduled on request.
We reply by e-mail, usually the same day and always within 24 hours; after a scoping call you receive a written proposal with dates and price.
- Duration
- 3, 7 or 21 days
- Group size
- 10–25 people
- Language
- English
- Delivery
- In person; online on request
- You receive
- Certificate of attendance
Curriculum last reviewed:
Who it's for
Built for professionals who run source-driven work.
- Intelligence officers
- Law enforcement
- Private investigators
- Security professionals
- Corporate security teams
- Government investigators
Course outline
HUMINT training course outline: twelve modules.
The course covers finding and assessing sources, approaching and building relationships, elicitation and psychological principles, counterintelligence, operational planning, debriefing and reporting, with ethical and legal considerations as a dedicated module. It is taught in English, in formats of 3, 7 or 21 days for groups of 10 to 25, and pairs naturally with our HUMINT intelligence services when you need the work done rather than taught.
Modules can be combined, sequenced, or delivered as a single tailored curriculum in the 3-, 7- or 21-day format agreed with your team. Every topic is scoped to lawful, defensible tradecraft.
Introduction to HUMINT
Foundations of human intelligence and its role in lawful intelligence gathering.
Identifying quality data sources
Techniques for locating and assessing potential human sources of information.
Approaching and building relationships
Strategies for approaching prospective sources and establishing trust-based contact.
Nurturing sources
Maintaining relationships over time to sustain a reliable flow of information.
Turning information into actionable intelligence
Validating and analysing reporting so it can drive operational decisions.
Advanced HUMINT techniques
Refined methods for eliciting and extracting information from targets.
Psychological principles
Applied psychology for influence, rapport, and persuasion in source handling.
Ethical and legal considerations
The ethical and legal frameworks that govern lawful HUMINT operations.
Counterintelligence measures
Identifying and mitigating counterintelligence threats to protect operations and sources.
Operational planning and execution
Planning, risk management, and contingency design for HUMINT operations.
Case studies and practical exercises
Real-world scenarios and hands-on drills applying HUMINT tradecraft end-to-end.
Debriefing and reporting
Structured debriefing of sources and accurate reporting of gathered intelligence.
Who teaches it
Taught by the people who have run the casework.
The course is delivered by Next Sight's founders, whose credentials are published on the about page.
Zvonimir Cvetko Damnjanović
Former career law-enforcement officer with the Criminal Police Directorate — cybercrime and CSAM investigations, including Europol's Cyber Patrol Action Week. Leads operational tradecraft at Next Sight: OPSec, secure communications, deep- and dark-web investigations, HUMINT and OSINT.
Bernarda Škrabar Damnjanović
Chair of the Professional Council of the Institute for Security and Strategic Research (IVSR), with nearly two decades in investigation and intelligence. Member of the Executive Board of the Council of International Investigators (USA) and honorary dean of the Detective School in Bucharest.
Delivery formats
HUMINT training in person, or online on request.
In person
Delivered in person by experienced practitioners, in English, as a 3-, 7- or 21-day course for a group of 10 to 25. Scenarios calibrated to your operational environment and source profiles.
Online, on request
On request, the course is delivered online for your team, instructor-led like the in-person course.
Cohorts are scheduled on request — private delivery for teams, in person, or online on request.
Request dates and a proposalHow a programme is built
From objectives to operational discipline.
Step 1
Scope & objectives
We define the operational context, source environment, lawful boundaries, and the intelligence outcomes the team must achieve.
Step 2
Module selection
Modules are combined and adapted into a coherent curriculum sized to mission profile, experience level, and the 3-, 7- or 21-day format chosen.
Step 3
Hands-on delivery
Practitioner-led sessions with realistic source scenarios, elicitation drills, and debriefing exercises — in person, or online on request.
Step 4
Certificate & follow-on
Participants receive a certificate of attendance. Reference materials, optional refreshers, and follow-on advisory embed HUMINT discipline in day-to-day operations.
Pair it with
Pair it with the rest of the tradecraft.
HUMINT rarely stands alone: see the HUMINT glossary entry and the article on how OSINT and HUMINT differ, or how the same tradecraft supports intelligence and government bodies and corporate security teams.
HUMINT intelligence services
When you need the work done rather than taught.
OSINT training
Build the open-source baseline first; HUMINT is tasked against the gaps.
OPSEC training
Protect the investigator, the devices and the casework while the work is under way.
Ready to plan a cohort?
Request dates and a proposalAnswers
Frequently asked questions.
There are no public dates: cohorts are scheduled on request. Tell us the format (3, 7 or 21 days), the number of participants and the month you have in mind. We reply by e-mail, usually the same day and always within 24 hours; after a scoping call you receive a written proposal with dates and price.
Twelve modules covering the human-intelligence cycle end to end: identifying quality data sources, approaching and building relationships, nurturing sources, psychological principles, advanced HUMINT techniques, counterintelligence measures, operational planning and execution, and debriefing and reporting — with ethical and legal considerations as a core module.
HUMINT training runs in three formats of 3, 7 or 21 days, so the curriculum fits the mandate, the experience level and the time available.
The HUMINT training is delivered in English.
HUMINT training groups are 10 to 25 participants. Cohorts are scheduled on request — private delivery for teams, in person, or online on request.
Yes. HUMINT training participants receive a certificate of attendance.
Intelligence officers, law enforcement, private investigators, security professionals, corporate security teams, and government investigators working in authorised human-source operations.
Yes. Modules are combined, sequenced and adapted into a curriculum sized to the team's mission profile, experience level and time available, and scenarios are calibrated to your operational environment and source profiles.
OSINT builds the factual baseline and generates the questions; HUMINT is tasked narrowly against the gaps and corroborated in both directions. The OSINT course builds that baseline, HUMINT training follows it, and OPSEC training protects the investigator while the work is under way.
Yes. Next Sight's HUMINT intelligence services deliver structured interviews, participant observation and vetted regional source networks — lawful, discreet and operationally controlled — for teams that need the work done rather than taught.
Yes, when it is scoped and run correctly. Lawful corporate HUMINT relies on voluntary, non-deceptive human engagement conducted within GDPR, national law, and the client's own policies. Ethical and legal considerations form a dedicated module of the training, and every programme is scoped to the attending team's jurisdiction and mandate.
Yes. Ethical and legal considerations form a dedicated module, and every programme is scoped to lawful, authorised tradecraft for the attending team's jurisdiction and mandate.
Commission HUMINT training for your team.
Share your team's mandate and source environment. We will propose a tailored HUMINT curriculum, the 3-, 7- or 21-day format that fits, and a delivery plan. We sign DPAs and NDAs.
We usually reply the same day, and always within 24 hours.