To the Global Knowledge Development Community - After my _Appeal to the Knowledge Management (KM) Community_ was sent out on September 17th, we have gathered tremendous amount of validated information about the state of affairs of our law enforcement knowledge management systems (people, processes, and technology. One of our advisors, Larry Johnson, spoke on Nightline last night informing the public how bad the situation is. He told me today by phone that he supports what we are doing and that we need to move fast. Larry was with the US State Department Anti-Terrorism Unit.
The KMSJ Task Force is now working with various Homeland Security experts and groups across the country. Next Wednesday, as co-chair of an advisory council to the Republicans, I will contact Arizona Senator John McCain's office as well as members of Congress for their support. We are also about to launch a public relations champaign across the US and the world. Here is an opportunity to build a community of practice for a worthy cause - helping us secure our homelands! We need help from facilitators; community of practice developers; trainers; public relations people; computer system analysts, developers, and implementors; and others as well as researchers in the scientific community in KM related sciences. We need donations of time, knowledge, equipment, software, and/or funds for the _KM for the Security and Justice Task Force_ (KMSJ). Please join me in volunteering and supporting the Knowledge Management for Homeland Security and Justice Task Force at http://www.kmforsecurity.org __About The Knowledge Management Approach__ There is much talk going around Washington and the world about "Homeland Security." What is it? How can we ensure protection for our countries and people? What can KM bring to the solutions table? If you read the discussions and books about knowledge management, there is much theorizing and hypothesizing going on: a lot of "cool" new terms and concepts and much arguing that can sound like religious fervor. The rubber hits the road when our lives and economy are at stake. Crisis makes us cut the fat and get down to real problems with real innovations that can solve those problems. In a time of emergency, only those KM ideas and solutions that can demonstrate a measurable result win. All the rest should go into the handbook on KM theory or metaphysics for future discussion. So, let's get down to business. What are today's problems and how do we solve them? There are two main Homeland Security problems relating to KM: 1. Knowledge Production 2. Knowledge Diffusion _Knowledge Production_ This aspect of KM refers to the need for developing effective innovations to out-innovate the terrorists. Every terrorist connected to the world's flow of information is now as knowledgeable as the terrorists who attacked America. As the media uncover and reveal more terror innovations, they can all learn what actually works as opposed to terrorist activities that were--until now--merely theoretical. To combat those who are innovating ways to spread their terror throughout America and the world, we must ask, "What are the current 'tangible' KM innovations that can help fight their efforts? What are cutting-edge strategies and technologies that can assist the seeding, cultivating, growing, and harvesting of knowledge for diffusion purposes?" The aim of knowledge management is not that different from the aim of agricultural management. From an economics perspective, the land is where crops are produced. Over thousands of years, farmers (and then scientists) have innovated ways to increase yield per acre, diminish the impact of pests and diseases, improve the quality of the produce, and reduce harvesting time. If you equate the human brain to land and knowledge to produce, we also have, over thousands of years, innovated ways to increase yield per mind, diminished the impact of errors in reasoning, reduced the spread of bad knowledge, improved the quality of mental produce, and reduced "harvesting" time. However, when you compare innovation advancement in the fields of agriculture and knowledge, agriculture has reached the science age in which sophisticated instruments and techniques are used to help increase the rate of discovery and innovation. (They're even genetically engineering seeds!) By contrast, knowledge management still seems to be mired in the crop rotation era, and we barely know how to rotate our knowledge crops. We know KM is important, and we have evidence that it helps knowledge production, but knowledge managers lack step-by-step processes to encourage innovation effectively each time. And we are still light years away from structural knowledge engineering. Well, the time has come to create a "Manhattan Project" for knowledge production. Just as the members of that Project sped the development of a weapon that would effectively end World War II, we must establish a "Homeland Security Project" that will speed innovations and increase knowledge production to defeat terrorists in their war against the world as we know it today. _Knowledge Diffusion_ Let's say that the "Homeland Security Project" develops efficient and potent innovations to attack terrorist problems. Knowledge managers know that, in order to out-innovate the terrorists, new innovations must be diffused to everyone from airport security guards to the nation's leaders in the White House, Congress, and the Pentagon. In an ideal world, a "Matrix"--whereby brains could be plugged into one national machine--would transfer knowledge instantaneously. Ultimately, this may be where knowledge management research will take us, and the Innovation Management Institute is dedicated to furthering research in this area. But that is the future. Today's question asks, "What is the best technology we have for transferring knowledge rapidly once it is codified?" Gaming and simulation are one answer. Security guards and other forces can be retrained via simulation. For knowledge that cannot be codified, we need to innovate the tried- and-true, low-tech innovations such as mentoring and training. Mentors chosen for their rapid learning abilities will be periodically sent to the field to work with security forces to transfer new knowledge. Both production and diffusion require us to deal with the entire supply chain of knowledge. The production of knowledge is the most complex side and, for several reasons, less understood. First, there is the "garbage in, garbage out" problem. Poor quality data and records breed low quality or worthless knowledge claims. When you increase quality of data, you increase quality of hypotheses, since most of an answer is in the question, and you cannot recognize a solution unless you have the correct question. From good data you get good, worthwhile facts. From quality facts you get pattern recognition. Pattern recognition yields hypotheses, theories, and knowledge claims. All of this happens in a nonlinear way by connecting right minds with right minds. Secondly, most knowledge has a shelf-life that is, unfortunately, not printed on the package. When and how do we know that knowledge is outdated? How do we root out obsolete knowledge and replace it with new and accurate knowledge? Once knowledge is validated and "shipped out," it can be entered into the simulator or mentor to be diffused to those who need it, whether they are soldiers or senators or intelligence personnel or enforcement personnel or security workers. So - what type of technologies can help us manage this knowledge supply chain to solve Homeland Security issues? I have been working in the KM field since the late 1970s, so I have a long list of technologies and many ideas to share. But I am only one mind. The non-profit Global Knowledge Economics Council (GKEC) is establishing a task force to study concepts, problems, and solutions to Homeland Security and Justice issues. With the right minds innovating terrorist response and defense of our homelands, this task force can become the "Manhattan Project" of the 21st Century. We are asking that you please share your ideas, your knowledge, your talents, money, and/or technologies with the GKEC, and begin compiling lists of specific knowledge tools and communications technology tools that are currently available or could be innovated quickly. These innovations will certainly help us manage the knowledge supply chain to overcome the world's terrorists. And remember, the time has come to go beyond theoretical and metaphysical KM into measurable, rubber-meets-the-road innovations. Thank you in advance for your contributions. Edward Swanstrom Secretary-General Global Knowledge Economics Council 520-731-3130 ------------ ***GKD is an initiative of the Global Knowledge Partnership*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.globalknowledge.org>
