Is It Really Possible to Prevent "Interagency Information-Sharing" from Becoming an Oxymoron?
Abstract
In July 2004, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) issued its Final Report. As one of its 41 recommendations, the Commission proposed the creation of a National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) in an attempt to resolve interagency information sharing challenges. The Director of the NCTC would be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and would report to the Commission's proposed new National Intelligence Director. On December 17, 2004, the President signed into law an Intelligence Reform Bill, which formally established the NCTC. But for the NCTC to achieve a successful interagency information sharing solution, it must first develop a holistic enterprise solution, which creates a synergistic effect between people, processes, and technology. The greatest mistake the United States can make is to allow itself to believe a quick organizational change and a few technical solutions are going to resolve the Interagency Information-Sharing (IIS) conundrum. Instead, a methodical approach must first be taken to obtain clarity regarding the IIS deficiencies that led up to the 9/11 catastrophe, as well as the mission of the new NCTC. Second, Knowledge Management (KM) as a concept needs to be used to achieve ISS success. This includes addressing the challenges of affecting change with the intelligence culture and its people. Third, the construct and processes of KM implementation need to be accelerated by taking the best practices of DoD and tailoring them to the NCTC mission. Fourth, the NCTC needs to implement enterprise resource planning to ensure rapid information exchange with the goal of achieving total knowledge dominance over U.S. adversaries. Finally, all of this must be fused together into a synergistic solution to produce an organization that can successfully bridge the IIS divide and thus prevent "interagency information-sharing" from becoming an oxymoron.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 18, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA434417
Entities
People
- Ronald R. Stimeare
Organizations
- United States Army War College