Comments on: A conversation with Lewis Shepherd about social software in the intelligence community

By: Jesse Wilson

Jesse Wilson — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 19:43:54 +0000

One more point: This doesn’t mean that NTK no longer exists–but that the debate between the two principles is being re-calibrated so that our basic ethos is to share. In fact, DNI Mike McConnell has asked that we move beyond NTS toward a “responsibility to provide” model, which implies a sense of stewardship for those who hold information. In today’s environment, the risk of inadvertent disclosure is outweighed by wider sharing. See my blog on this here: http://jesserwilson.wordpress.com/2007/09/28/changing-the-intelligence-communitys-culture-from-need-to-know-to-need-to-share/

By: NTK

NTK — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:49:44 +0000

Thanks Lewis. It’s unfortunate that it took something like 9/11 to illuminate the detriment that firewalls (like NTK) have on our ability to do our work most proficiently (not to mention cost effectively). If we’re lucky, the powers that be in my sector will learn from the intelligence community rather than from catastrophe. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

By: lewis

lewis — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 18:32:45 +0000

Hi NTK – cute name, but have you considered NTS? Within the IC proper, we have actually begun to reframe the entire paradigm to a “Need to Share” imperative, both formally (with increasingly dramatic policy changes and reform) and informally (using more social software, of course). “Moving from a NTK to a Need-to-Share culture” was an explicit recommendation of the 9/11 Commission, explained very well in their Report and in the follow-on Markle Foundation annual reviews as well. The latter are very worth reading for their generic and specific recommendations on how to acculturate sharing behavior. For us, it really has begun to work well that if we build it (the wiki, the blog, the shared-access database), they come.

By: NTK

NTK — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:01:34 +0000

As a person who works in the classified government research world I found this really interesting and encouraging. However, I don’t understand how the basic issue of Need To Know is being handled. Just because you have *clearance* doesn’t mean you have access (permission) to all information at that level — you also have to have Need To Know (abbreviated NTK, of course). That’s what compartmentalization is all about. Perhaps the Intel community is different than my community. Of course, I would Love, Love, Love to see more prolific use of blogs, tagging, wikis etc. in my sector… Does anyone know how the DIA et al. is dealing with NTK?

By: The Third Bit » Blog Archive » None Are Open to the Public

The Third Bit » Blog Archive » None Are Open to the Public — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:01:25 +0000

[...] Jon Udell’s fascinating interview of Lewis Shepherd, I discovered Intellipedia (yes, I’m late to the game). Through that, I discovered [...]