collaboration and knowledge sharing for national security developing the framework: the knowledge...

Collaboration and Knowledge SharingFor National Security

Developing the Framework:The Knowledge Services Solution

Guy St. ClairConsulting Specialist, Knowledge Management and Learning

SMR International New York NY USA

[email protected]

SMR InternationalNew York NY USA

Objectives:• Examine industry and government efforts in knowledge

development/knowledge sharing (KD/KS)

• Look at critical infrastructure protection (CIP) and the integrated digital environment (IDE) as models

• Identify requirements for KD/KS

Goal:• Demonstrate that the convergence of information management,

knowledge management, and strategic learning (knowledge services) provides a realistic gateway for KD/KS


Background

• CIP– President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection, Critical

Foundations: Protecting America’s Infrastructures, October 1997– Presidential Decision Directive 63 (PDD 63) – Cooperative efforts, both private and public and in partnership, are in

place

• Integrated Digital Environment– Enterprise-wide move to knowledge-centric environment– Transformation of the work culture– Commitment to work in accordance with new norms


Assumptions• Knowledge sharing is commonly desired among stakeholders• KD/KS will make a difference and is critical to national and

economic security• Legal issues will be resolved• Technology for enabling KD/KS exists• Policy, procedure, and infrastructure/structure issues present

the greatest challenges to establishing a sustainable knowledge-sharing culture

• Private-public partnerships are essential to meet challenges posed by new technologies and non-traditional threats

• 20th-century government command-control policy frameworks and attitudes toward industry cooperation need to be adapted and modified to facilitate this partnership

• Both the public and private sectors have to walk a fine line in balancing security, commercial, and public interests


Overall Framework

• Develop glossary of terms

• Identify common set of information/knowledge to be developed and shared, utilizing glossary of terms being developed

• Establish informal exchanges– Identify commercial and agency efforts– Identify/connect with appropriate agency notification efforts– Develop an information/knowledge exchange plan for shared

processes– Work with pre-existing organizations to collect and alert

organizational representatives

• Formalize process using agreed-upon reporting guidelines with agreed-upon format


Why Share Information and Knowledge?

• To comply with any existing information/knowledge sharing requirements

• To ensure protection of critical information

• To support high quality analysis

• To provide near real-time collaboration and the exchange of pertinent information and knowledge among participants

• To establish rational analysis of activities reported in a consistent manner, through the use of a standard reporting process

• To “level the playing field,” so that all participants are describing the same types of activity, using the same language


Additional Benefits• To provide situation management expertise and advice, through

the identification and distribution of benchmarking and due diligence efforts

• To identify and disseminate knowledge about best practices

• To provide for the development of a growing body of knowledge about agreed-upon subjects

• To encourage commitment (and the eventual participation of other stakeholders), through the broadcasting of

information and knowledge among participants

• To build e-trust and bring a KD/KS culture into the stakeholder community; to establish within the stakeholder community that KS/KS is everyone’s problem and benefits all stakeholders


Why Knowledge Services?

• Knowledge Services Defined: The Convergence of– Information management– Knowledge management– Strategic (performance-centered) learning

• Organizational Culture Change– KD/KS builds on the assumption that all stakeholders accept

their leadership responsibility to develop, to learn, and to teach, and to share tacit, explicit, and cultural knowledge within the enterprise

• Founded on Collaboration/Learning/Teaching


Knowledge Services• Information Management

– the organizational methodology that is concerned with the acquisition, arrangement, storage, retrieval, and use of information to product knowledge

• Knowledge Management– the management practice that is used to help an enterprise

manage explicit, tacit, and cultural information in order to reuse the information and, when appropriate, to create new knowledge

• Strategic (Performance-Centered) Learning– the successful achievement of skills, competencies,

knowledge, behaviors, and/or other outcomes required for excellence in workplace performance


Knowledge Services

• Collaboration– “Collaboration is the premier candidate to replace hierarchy

as the organizing principle for leading and managing in the 21st century workplace.” -Edward M. Marshall

• The Learning Organization– systems thinking/personal mastery/mental models/shared

visions/team learning -Peter Senge

• The Teaching Organization– Everyone continually acquires new skills; everyone passes

learning on to others -Noel M. Tichy & Eli Cohen


General Findings• KD/KS is tremendously important; still must achieve a critical mass of

clarity: “No one has the strategic vision yet.”

• Most stakeholders share philosophical commitment; must yet get to the notion of the private/public partnership (but recognizing that much of the infrastructure that enables KD/KS is private-sector based).

• Both public and private sectors must do a good job of KD/KS; critical for creating new processes and making the ones we have work better

• National effort should lead to global effort, since most of the major players in the effort are global organizations.

• Trust is critical; assurance that knowledge developed and shared will not be distributed inappropriately is a key concern among all stakeholders


General Findings (2)

• Prior to 9/11, not much was being shared because

– no one had developed the “habit” of sharing– no notion of a nation at risk (the “burning fire” wasn’t there)– minor incidents were happening but not necessarily being reported– “we’re not sharing a lot because we don’t have anything to share”

• Different mood after 9/11: desire to share, and most stakeholders are seeking a framework or process



• KD/KS must be looked at in totality; a holistic approach to establishing knowledge development and knowledge sharing processes is required

• Stakeholder communities seem to require a “standard of effort,” or rules of behavior, to ensure that methods, laws, expectations, etc. are coordinated

• Some sort of enforcement mechanism is needed, to ensure that knowledge is shared, once an agreement to share has been established

• Considerable interest in Y2K model—can that be replicated for current information sharing effort?



• Span of control: is there a single leader/authority who can provide an “official” response or answer when one is required?

• Similarly, is there a single facilitator or coordinator who can bring diverse players to the table?

• KD/KS Awareness, Training, and Education: specific control objectives must be developed and implemented

• Commitment: must “raise the bar” and organizations (both public and private) must develop management plans for encouraging good KD/KS practices



• Arrangements can be informal or formal, but the consensus is that a formal arrangement will work better

• Commercial firms have established a viable framework which government and corporate organizations are utilizing, to some extent

• Assume technical staff and knowledge professionals will build the effort, but management must drive it (CIO/CKO/CLO overviews essential, but “Get rid of the generals” — have the work done by technical staff and knowledge workers who understand the need)


Next Steps• Identify partnering opportunities with organizations (both public and

private) currently implementing KD/KS programs

• Develop recommendations for technical architecture and data schemas to resolve interoperability issues, where necessary

• Determine recommendations for incorporating strategic (performance-centered) learning for technical training and, especially, for resolving cultural issues

• Determine data transfer requirements

• Publish reporting formats and test data transfer

• Formalize procedures


Future Issues• Resource development and the allocation of responsibility for

supporting an established KD/KS program (particularly in the early stages of development)

• Establishment of U.S. public policy for voluntary cross-sector KD/KS

• Development of enforcement standards

• Identifying state and international legal and public policy issues, to ensure cooperation and enforcement

• Development and implementation of a formally structured information clearinghouse


Contact Information

Guy St. Clair

SMR International

527 Third Avenue # 105

New York NY 10016 USA

Tel: 212 683 6285

Fax: 212 683 2987

[email protected]

collaboration and knowledge sharing for national security developing the framework: the knowledge...

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