Federal Knowledge Management Initiative Committee

Federal KM Working Group

Neil Olonoff, Committee Chair

[olonoff\@gmail.com](mailto:Olonoff@gmail.com)

Cell: 703.283.4157

Office: 703.614.5058

> **[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:\
> ]{.underline}February 2, 2009, Washington D.C.**

Is "American know-how" disappearing from the Federal Government?

In recent years, Federal failures to share knowledge have resulted in
disasters, preventable by a "word to the wise."\* The Space Shuttle
Challenger disaster, 9/11 and the impaired response to Hurricane Katrina
all could have been averted. Government must improve its ability to
communicate, to share and utilize information and knowledge. The
**Federal Knowledge Management Working Group**, over 700 Federal
employees and contractors, have mounted a campaign to restore "American
know-how" to the Federal Government by instilling knowledge management
in Government.

**Knowledge Management (KM)**, a discipline that uses management tools
along with culture change, has worked in the private sector. Some
agencies have succeeded at KM, including **NASA** and the **US Army**,
but there is **no formal Federal program**. There is no policy,
standards or direction. There is no central clearinghouse of lessons
learned or "what works." So Agencies and Departments must spend scarce
consulting dollars to find their own way, "reinventing the wheel" in a
wasteful duplication of effort. To fill this leadership void, the
Federal KM Working Group presents an **Action Plan** calling for formal
KM governance, with these goals:

1.  **Establish a Federal Knowledge Management Center** to serve as a
    centralized resource for agencies in carrying out their own
    knowledge management efforts. The center will provide consulting and
    serve as a clearinghouse of Federal KM resources, such as software,
    expertise, and lessons learned.

2.  **Establish a Federal CKO Position.** This person, the face of
    Federal KM, will coordinate with Federal departments to explain the
    benefits of sharing and collaborating across agencies.

3.  **KM Governance.** Enact Government-wide Policies, Standards and
    Practices that specify the general direction and intent of Federal
    knowledge sharing efforts.

4.  **Awareness Campaign and Web Presence.** To communicate the serious
    need for KM and distribute content "from those who know to those who
    need to know."

5.  **Build a Knowledge Sharing Culture in the Federal Government.**
    Change the Federal mindset from "need to know" to "need to share."

6.  **Train Federal Workers in KM Skills.** By learning KM competencies,
    they will also acquire a deeper understanding and appreciation of
    the value of knowledge sharing.

7.  **Meet the Challenges of the Retirement "Age Wave."** KM includes
    "knowledge retention," an effort to reduce "brain drain" due to
    thousands of retiring baby boomers. The other side of the coin,
    today, is the Federal challenge in recruiting Generation Y
    employees, who have been raised on Web 2.0 and social computing
    tools.

\***An Epidemic of Avoidable Error.** The Space Shuttle Challenger: NASA
engineers already knew the dangers of freezing the O-ring that failed,
leading to the loss of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Hurricane Katrina:
The Federal response to Hurricane Katrina was marked by now infamous
failures to communicate. 9/11 attacks: The FBI was already investigating
foreign students learning to fly, but not land, large jet planes.

-End-