# Presentation: 506039

## Federal Knowledge Management Initiative

**Federal KM Working Group****Neil Olonoff**

**Notes:**
This presentation summarizes the "Federal Knowledge Management Initiative Roadmap."  The initiative, begun several months ago by members of the Federal Knowledge Management Working Group, aims to establish an official center for knowledge management in the Federal Government.  With this center of operations as a start, the Federal government can begin to foster knowledge sharing practices and culture, build innovation, and find solutions to the Knowledge Retention Crisis. And there is much more to the plan.  Learn how you can become a part of this exciting, ambitious new direction for knowledge management in Government, by attending via phone and computer.

## Is “American know-how” disappearing from the Federal Government?

- We all know America is smart. Our government possesses a vast reservoir of information.
- But recent catastrophic “knowledge failures” prove we need to get better at sharing these huge knowledge assets.

**Notes:**
Federal KM Initiative CommitteeFederal KM Working GroupWashington, DC
May, 2008
Dear Government Leader:   
Looking at recent missteps Government has made, and current problems we face as a nation, Americans might be asking themselves if “American know-how” is a vanishing commodity.  
It seems that many of America’s recent catastrophes have resulted from “intelligence” failures.  9/11, the response to Katrina, the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster, and problems in Iraq can be traced to “knowledge failures.”  And this is happening in the USA where “know-how” used to be our main stock in trade.  But what is know-how?  Most of us envision a lone inventor working in his shirtsleeves.  That’s a myth!  Tom Edison had a whole team in his lab.  
No: the real story of know-how is collaboration and knowledge sharing.  That’s how we invented the light bulb and built the railroads.  That’s how we traveled to the moon, and led in the advances of modern science.  America’s greatest successes have grown out of knowledge leveraged by collaboration -- shared knowledge. 
In 2005, President Bush signed a directive instructing the Intelligence community to overcome barriers and share information.  In the wake of 9/11 the administration belatedly recognized that we have a problem.  But he didn’t go far enough.  We must do more.  In civilian agencies, in military units, everywhere in government, we need to get better at sharing the enormous knowledge assets America already has. 
We can hear you thinking, “Tall order.”  But the great thing is we already know what to do.  We have the toolset.  It’s called knowledge management, or KM. 
KM is two things: 
First, it’s a set of management practices.  They are about knowledge sharing using methods you’ve heard of: Best Practices, Lessons Learned, Communities of Practice, teams, and collaboration. 
Second, KM is an attitude.  This is the hard part, because it means getting people to change, to be open to new information and willing to have real conversations.  You wouldn’t think that would be hard work, but it is.  It’s a good thing Americans aren’t afraid of hard work. 
We are asking you – leaders in the next Administration – to look at our action plan.  It contains a blueprint for breaking away from current, failed policies and instituting real knowledge management in Federal agencies.  
Our simple goal is to restore “American know-how” to American government. 
Respectfully, 

## Costs of Failure to Share Knowledge

- Dangerous Knowledge Gaps
- Historically, failure to share knowledge has resulted in disasters.
- Which could have been averted with a “word to the wise?”
- The sinking of the Titanic?
- 9/11 attacks?
- Space Shuttle Challenger crash?

**Notes:**
Failure to share knowledge incurs costs.  During calm times in office environments these costs are usually expressed in lost efficiency and person hours or dollars.  In high-pressure environments such as hospitals and battlefields, the costs can be measured in casualties and human lives. 
Dangerous Knowledge Gaps
Historically, failure to share knowledge has resulted in disasters.  Amazingly, each of the following could have been averted completely with “a word to the wise” -- knowledge shared at the right time, by the right person. 
The sinking of the Titanic: the location of the iceberg was spiked in the ship’s telegraph office.
Crash of the Space Shuttle Challenger: the Challenger engineers knew the dangers of freezing the o-ring that failed. 
9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon: prior to 9/11 the FBI was investigating foreign students at flight schools learning to fly, but not land, large commercial jet planes.  
Lee H. Hamilton, Former Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission, made this statement to Congress on November 8, 2005: 
Poor information sharing was the single greatest failure of our government in the lead-up to the 9/11 attacks.  The failure to share information adequately, within and across federal agencies, and from federal agencies to state and local authorities, was a significant contributing factor to our government’s missteps in understanding and responding to the growing threat of al Qaeda in the years before the 9/11 attacks.  There were several missed opportunities to disrupt the 9/11 plot.  Most of them involved the failure to share information.  
The right information was available; it just wasn’t shared.  That famous World War II slogan, “Loose Lips Sink Ships” is true: careless spilling of intelligence is a dangerous thing.  But it’s equally true that knowledge and information – properly exchanged – can save lives.  
So, yes, catastrophic disasters have occurred because of failure to share information.  In addition, these stories are quietly echoed millions of times per day in all sorts of work environments.  
Inefficiency
How much time do Federal knowledge workers and managers spend trying to find information that is somewhere “out there?”  Estimates vary, but a ballpark figure is that 10% of the workday is spent in attempting to find information necessary to do the job. 
Often searching for information is a matter of finding a person who knows something. This is a common problem, caused by the lack of internal understanding of “who knows what.” 
The cost of knowledge inefficiency is increased when we factor in work duplication, or “reinventing the wheel.”  This occurs when agencies re-do work that has been done elsewhere because they are unaware of or cannot find work product from the earlier project. 
We now anticipate Agency failure to capture the intellectual capital that will walk out the door as each baby boomer retires will result in a serious knowledge loss syndrome. 
These inefficiencies result in a cascading set of problems: 
Agencies fail to leverage their intellectual capital and digital assets. 
It’s difficult to make good decisions.
Response time is lengthened.
Effectiveness deteriorates. 
Customer service suffers. 
Overall performance degrades. 

## Hurricane Katrina

- The Federal response to Hurricane Katrina was marked by now infamous failures to communicate

## 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.

## This is nothing new or particularly American ...

- The location of the iceberg that sank the Titanic  was spiked in the ship’s telegraph office.

## Even the 9/11 attacks ...

- The FBI was already investigating foreign students learning to fly, but not land, large jet planes

## An Epidemic of Avoidable Error

- All these notorious disasters could have been averted with a “word to the wise.”
- Of course, it also happens quietly millions of times every day ..

## We have the antidote

- Knowledge management
- A ten year old discipline that consists of ..
- a set of management practices, plus ...
- culture change to instill attitudes of cooperation and collaboration

## Federal KM Initiative Roadmap

- The Knowledge Imperative
- Why Knowledge Management is critically important for Federal government, right now
- The Way Forward
- The Federal KM Initiative Action Plan sets out actions to instill knowledge sharing in government

**Notes:**
Overview 
This document is a roadmap to reaching the goal of restoring American know-how to government.  It consists of three sections. 
Part 1: Federal Knowledge Management Imperative, describes why formal knowledge sharing and Knowledge Management programs are critically important for the Federal government.  
Part 2: Federal KM Initiative Action Plan contains specific recommendations. 
Appendix: Introduction to Knowledge Management is an overview of the general principles of knowledge management. 

## Why is Knowledge Important?

- Silly question!
- It’s an enabler and multiplier
- But it doesn’t “flow through the pipes” very well. It’s “sticky.”
- Sticky? Why?
- Organizational “stovepipes”
- Human nature.

**Notes:**
That seems like a silly question.  You might as well ask “Why is water important?”  We all know intuitively that knowledge is a common, indispensable resource, like air or water.  But just as water, when scarce, is hoarded, so is knowledge.  In many environments, knowledge doesn’t “flow through the pipes” very well.  It’s sticky, for a multitude of reasons.  
Many of the reasons have to do with organizational “stovepipes” and human nature.  Even though teamwork and collaboration are the foundations of human success on earth, we also are very competitive.  We root for our own little teams.  It is the most basic of competitive syndromes; call it “us versus them.”  So our basic nature tends to undermine our success as a group by failing to fully share and collaborate. 
Twenty years ago, most people would have reacted to these statements with a shrug, saying, “That’s just the way things are.”  Today, we have a new management practice – Knowledge Management – that can help us solve this problem. 

## Benefits of Sharing Knowledge

- Synergy and efficiency
- Quality & Value Enhancement
- Innovation
- Morale

**Notes:**
The benefits of knowledge management, especially in government, where the bottom line is elusive, can be difficult to calculate.  And of course success stories are not as riveting as failures; a disaster averted is not a front-page story.  However cumulative experience and data indicate that knowledge management creates value in most organizations. 
John Seely Brown, of the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) wrote an article in 1995 called “The People are the Company.”  In it he describes how a careful study of water cooler conversation among Xerox copier technicians revealed more than mere banter.  Where a lesser observer would have seen time-wasting inefficiency, PARC saw value.  In fact, the technicians were exchanging invaluable tips that saved the company thousands of dollars.  Instead of shutting down the conversations, the company institutionalized them by issuing two-way radios to the copier technicians, thus creating real value out of “mere water cooler chat.” 
Cost Savings
Some of the ROI metrics that are reported for knowledge management include: 
Reduce time spent on information search and retrieval.  This activity occupies a large percentage of knowledge workers’ time.  
Reduce time to locate “experts.”  Expert Locators or “organizational yellow pages” are well-established as basic knowledge management services. 
Avoidance of work duplication.  By sharing knowledge we begin to stop “reinventing the wheel.” 
Quality and Value Enhancements
When Agencies are able to effectively leverage their intellectual capital and digital assets this promotes a productive, value-enhancing environment: 
Agency managers make better decisions. 
Agencies respond more quickly and effectively to mission change. 
They provide improved customer service. 
This document is a roadmap to reaching the goal of restoring American know-how to government.  It consists of three sections. 
Part 1: Federal Knowledge Management Imperative, describes why formal knowledge sharing and Knowledge Management programs are critically important for the Federal government.  
Part 2: Federal KM Initiative Action Plan contains specific recommendations. 
Appendix: Introduction to Knowledge Management is an overview of the general principles of knowledge management. 

## Government’s Critical KM Needs

- A central resource center for Knowledge Management
- Foster consistent knowledge sharing practices
- Build a knowledge sharing culture
- Solutions to meet the challenge of the Age Wave Retirement Crisis

**Notes:**
No Centralized Resource for Knowledge Management
Although most Federal Agencies have some knowledge management activities, there is no centralized Federal resource for knowledge management.  There is no Government sponsored support function for knowledge management.  There is no clearinghouse for data on extant activities, no library of best practices, and no consultation available.
(Note: The Office of Personnel Management / OPM has a webpage on training containing exactly two references to Knowledge Management – one points to the Center for Army Lessons Learned and the other refers to KM.gov, website of the Federal KM Working Group, sponsor of this paper.  Even a cursory effort would have produced dozens of additional references.)   
This means that when Federal managers look for government-oriented support and advice on knowledge management, they have nowhere to turn but sources external to government such as private sector and academic organizations.  (The Federal KM Working Group, sponsor of the Committee for a Federal KM Initiative, authors of this paper, includes many working KM professionals, but does not have the ability to provide services or support.) 
No wonder the knowledge management efforts underway have been sporadic and uncoordinated.  
This lack of centralized resources and coordination results in a number of gaps: 
No Policy or Standards for Knowledge Management
Inconsistent Knowledge Sharing Practices 
Insufficient Attention to the Knowledge Retention Crisis
Gaps in Federal Worker Knowledge Competencies 
No Policy or Standards for Knowledge Management
Federal Agencies are accustomed to compliance with specific policy and standards.  In the absence of explicit policy, managers are justified in making up their own or simply ignoring recommendations as “more of a guideline than a rule.” 
When leaders have made recommendations without going to the full extent of crafting policy and standards, this can be seen as a half-hearted attempt to pay “lip service” to an issue without fully committing.  This is the current status of knowledge management in the Federal government today. 
Knowledge Management and knowledge sharing are now so demonstrably critical to the functioning of the Federal government that the time has long past for a weak-kneed, half-hearted response.  We must enact policy, create flexible standards, and support solid performance in all of our agencies. 
Inconsistent Knowledge Sharing Practices 
Knowledge Management practices should be tailored to each organization according to its needs.  However, most organizations benefit from adopting a consistent toolset.  Few Federal Agencies (let alone the Federal Government as a whole) have standard practices around knowledge or information sharing.  Creating a standard toolset will save money and create efficiencies of scale.  In addition, when workers transfer between or within agencies, there will be easier transfer of skills and of work-product.  Finally, instilling some consistency will help to enable cross boundary sharing of knowledge. 
The Knowledge Retention Crisis
The Baby Boom generation is now edging towards full retirement.  This group – the largest demographic segment of the American work force by far – will leave a vacuum of skills and manpower in its wake when it exits the ranks of the employed.  In the Federal workplace, their exodus will leave enormous skill gaps.  For more information on Knowledge Retention and the “brain drain”, see this section: Knowledge Retention. 
Gaps in Federal Worker Knowledge Competencies 
The vast majority of Federal workers are “knowledge workers.”  Knowledge management and sharing are skills that can be learned.  There are right ways and wrong ways to request information and share knowledge in teams.  In order to embed knowledge sharing in organizations, conscious effort must be devoted to workplace learning of KM competencies.  For more information on knowledge work and knowledge worker competencies, see the section below: Knowledge Work and Knowledge Workers. 

## Federal KM Initiative Action Plan 

- Goals:
- Establish a Federal KM Center
- Create a Federal CKO Position
- Enact Policies, Standards & Practices
- Web Presence & KM Awareness Campaign
- Train Federal Workers in KM Skills
- Build a knowledge sharing culture
- Age Wave Retirement & Recruiting Programs
- Web 2.0 and social computing
- Recruit Generation Y employees

**Notes:**
The Federal KM Initiative Committee proposes several actions be taken.  As mentioned above, the Committee is an organ of the Federal Knowledge Management Working Group. This group comprises Federal and private sector knowledge management practitioners with an interest in making knowledge management work in US Government. We stand ready to support each one of these objectives. The signature page following the prefatory letter contains the names of others who have agreed that these actions make sense. 

## Establish a Federal Knowledge Management Center 

- Central resource for Federal KM
- Provide impetus and consultation for the tasks in the Action Plan
- Work with OPM to recognize the discipline, establish appropriate Position Descriptions, competency maps, and professional advancement

**Notes:**
In order to provide a consistent, coordinated effort towards the goal of instilling knowledge management in government, we recommend the creation of a “Federal Knowledge Management Center.”  This Center will provide expert consultative support for knowledge management efforts across the Federal Government. 
In addition, the Center will oversee the creation of standards and practices for knowledge management across government.  The Federal KM Center will have several responsibilities. 
Help Build a Knowledge Sharing Culture in the Federal Government  
Develop and Promulgate KM Policies, Standards and Practices
Develop and Disseminate Knowledge Retention Programs
Create a Web Presence and Demonstration Site
Train Federal Workers in Knowledge Management Competencies 

## Establish a Federal CKO Position

- “Chief Knowledge Officer”
- The official face of Federal KM and “evangelist in chief”
- Coordinate with colleagues at each federal agency
- Demonstrate the benefits of sharing and collaborating across agencies

## KM Governance: Policies, Standards and Practices

- KM Governance
- Policies
- Standards
- Practices
- Specifying the decisions that need to be made, and those who should make them, to maximize the benefits and efficiency of knowledge management activities.

**Notes:**
Policies 
In Federal agencies and military organizations, one of the first experiences of a new staffer is the mandatory Information Assurance briefing.  This is given by the Security or Information Assurance Officer, and emphasizes – among other things -- the dangers of indiscriminately sharing information.  
At no point, however, do Federal staffers receive a counterbalancing briefing about when and how to share information properly.  There is no reason to perform this brief, because there is no policy or standard that requires it. 
Part of the work of the Federal KM Center should be to draft policy for knowledge sharing. These policies will define under what circumstances, with whom, and how Federal workers should share knowledge.  These policies will be drafted by the Federal KM Center, and submitted to the sponsoring entity for approval. 
Standards
The policy should incorporate minimum standards for several aspects of knowledge management implementation.  For example, Knowledge Management learning and competency standards should be set and made part of the career roadmap for Federal workers so that all Federal workers become highly competent knowledge workers. Standards should set expectations for agencies around what types of knowledge management programs should be set in place. 
Practices
Knowledge Management comprises a large and diverse toolset of practices allowing great variation in implementations. Certainly different agencies may adopt tailored approaches due to their specific areas of interest and work.  But why should all agencies reinvent the wheel, developing their own idiosyncratic approaches in isolation? For reasons of economy and effectiveness, there is value in a library of Best Practices. Accordingly, the Federal KM Center will collect, develop, publish and disseminate information on effective KM practices specifically geared to Federal Government. 

## Web Presence and Content Distribution 

- To support all the activities of the Federal KM Center
- Awareness medium
- Content Distribution point
- Demonstration site for blogs, wikis, and social network tools

**Notes:**
The Federal KM Center should create a comprehensive web site to support its activities. The web site will be an awareness tool and a distribution point for content.  In addition it will provide a demonstration site for web services useful to KM, such as blogs, wikis, and social networks. 

## Build Awareness of KM Resources

- Differentiating KM from IM & IT
- Awareness Communications Campaign

**Notes:**
Although the root concepts and many of the practices in Knowledge Management are hardly new, its name and identity as a professional discipline are recent, their inception dating to the 1990-95 time period. As a new discipline, it has had to survive the challenges that confront any emergent management practice. 
KM has had to show longevity, to prove that it is not a fleeting business fashion or fad.  (E.g., “process reengineering” or “total quality management.”)  KM has had to demonstrate its value to organizations.  KM has had to develop a coherent body of academic and professional knowledge, a new paradigm of study and practice. 
In addition, KM practitioners have had to combat confusion caused when software product vendors and service companies rushed to capitalize on the initial wave of knowledge management popularity. In their eagerness to profit on the “flavor of the month,” they rebadged their products with the phrase “knowledge management.”  The confusion was exacerbated by the rise of the Internet and the irrational investor exuberance of the brief “dot com” era.  In those days, it was difficult to make sense of the vast number of new services, products and technologies.  This caused great misunderstanding and KM was often caught in the crossfire. 
Today, Knowledge Management has met these challenges and has emerged as a reference discipline, albeit one that is still developing.  But confusion and lack of awareness still plague the discipline, as one would expect in a practice merely 10-15 years old. 
Therefore the Federal KM Center will undertake an Awareness Campaign around knowledge management and the benefits of knowledge sharing.  In addition to standard items such as posters and newsletters, we anticipate exciting, proactive knowledge sharing events in appropriate venues.  Of course a web presence is a key factor: 

## Train Federal Workers in KM Skills

- Anyone can learn knowledge work competencies.
- Plus, there’s a valuable bonus:
- Knowledge work competencies bring deeper understanding and appreciation of the value of knowledge sharing.
- This, in turn, supports culture change.

**Notes:**
Knowledge Management and knowledge work require skills that anyone can learn. These skills and competencies provide enhanced efficiency, as well as supporting knowledge sharing. Competence in KM skills also brings deeper understanding and appreciation of the value of knowledge sharing, which in turn supports culture change.  

## Build a Knowledge Sharing Culture  in Government 

- Leadership Support
- Explicit Knowledge Sharing & Collaboration Policies
- Proactive Support and Consultation
- KM Competency Training
- Build Awareness of KM Resources

**Notes:**
Above, we discussed the important “people part” of knowledge management, and noted that it is largely about attitude.  The reader may feel that building a “knowledge sharing culture” is a Quixotic, idealistic dream without much chance of success.  True, the Federal Government – like much of the world – is not always an open, trusting place.  So the task is hard work – very hard -- but knowledge management professionals have researched this issue a great deal, and there are several specific methods we can use to work this issue. 

## Meet the Challenge of the Retirement “Age Wave”

- Vast numbers of Federal workers from the “Baby Boom” generation will soon retire.
-  Knowledge Retention programs are aimed at offsetting this “brain drain”
-  Web 2.0 programs support the recruiting of Generation Y employees

**Notes:**
Knowledge Retention programs comprise a subset of the practices toolset. Knowledge retention is the collection of practices and tools aimed at offsetting the “brain drain” caused by the retirement of the Baby Boom generation. We highlight this because this issue may become critically important to the continued viability of many of our Agencies in the near term. The issue is important to the viability of Federal Agencies in the near term

## Establish Web 2.0 and Social Computing Policies

- Under the auspices of the Federal CKO
- Coordinate with cyber security specialists to mitigate security concerns
- Demonstrate the need to establish Web 2.0 and social computing technologies
- Establish “rules of behavior” for federal employees, including participating in virtual worlds
- Bring Facebook-like environments to the federal intranets

## Attract and Recruit Generation Y

- In coordination with OPM, create campaigns to attract “Gen Y”
- Then, support the proliferation of social computing by providing them Web 2.0 tools
- Allow them the freedom to operate and thrive within federal bureaucracy

**Notes:**
They think and act differently
They are Net savvy
They are comfortable and social computing settings and embrace collaboration, even with people they hardly know
They shun e-mail, preferring text messaging, twittering, and podcasts

## Summing Up

- We discussed reasons why KM is critically important for the Federal government.
- Bottom-Line Imperative
- Quality & Value Enhancement
- Innovation
- Morale

**Notes:**
In Part 1: The Federal Knowledge Management Imperative, we discussed the reasons why Knowledge Management programs are critically important for the Federal government.  These cluster into two main points: 
Avoid dangerous knowledge gaps.  We have noted that knowledge gaps have been responsible for some of the greatest disasters of our time. The thought of another 9/11 or botched Katrina-type response should be enough motivate us. 
Improve efficiency.  Federal workers spend an inordinate amount of time and resources looking for and creating information. Even a small reduction in that effort will provide an ample return on investment for this action plan. 
Part 2: Federal Knowledge Management Initiative Plan described an action plan, with specific recommendations.  Chief among these were:
Create a Federal Knowledge Management Center
Develop and Promulgate Policy, Standards and Practices 
Build Awareness for Knowledge Management
Support KM Competencies in Federal Knowledge Workers
This roadmap document began with a discussion of the “cost of not sharing knowledge.”  We noted that this cost can be computed in many ways.  In calm, back office environments, the cost is tallied in FTE’s, labor hours, and dollars.  In stressful situations, the cost may be paid in human lives.  
Certainly there is a dollar cost to the KM Initiative we describe.  However, considering the stakes, our question is not “Can we afford to do this?”  
It is, rather, “Can we afford not to?” 

## Action Highlights

- The action plan contains specific recommendations, including:
- Create a Federal Knowledge Management Center
- Develop and implement Policy, Standards and Practices
- Build Awareness for KM
- Support Knowledge Work Competencies

## Can We Afford This? 

- We began by discussing the “cost of not sharing knowledge.” In an office the cost can be computed in labor hours or dollars. In a war or emergency, the cost may be paid in human lives.
- There is a cost to this effort, as well. But considering the stakes, our question is not “Can we afford to do this?”  It is, rather, “Can we afford not to?”

**Notes:**
Considering that a stimulus package will soon funnel 500 Billion dollars through Federal Agencies, it makes sense to try to improve their ability to work well and wisely. 

## Get Involved! 

- Join the **Federal KM Working Group**. No dues are involved. To join the **listserv**, send a blank e-mail to _kmgov-subscribe@list.jpl.nasa.gov _
- Read the **Roadmap **on our Wiki page
- http://wiki.nasa.gov/cm/wiki/Federal%20Knowledge%20Management%20Working%20Group%20(KMWG).wiki/home/home.html
- Sign the **Petition **by emailing the presenter, Neil Olonoff _olonoff@gmail.com _

**Notes:**
In Part 1: The Federal Knowledge Management Imperative, we discussed the reasons why Knowledge Management programs are critically important for the Federal government.  These cluster into two main points: 
Avoid dangerous knowledge gaps.  We have noted that knowledge gaps have been responsible for some of the greatest disasters of our time. The thought of another 9/11 or botched Katrina-type response should be enough motivate us. 
Improve efficiency.  Federal workers spend an inordinate amount of time and resources looking for and creating information. Even a small reduction in that effort will provide an ample return on investment for this action plan. 
Part 2: Federal Knowledge Management Initiative Plan described an action plan, with specific recommendations.  Chief among these were:
Create a Federal Knowledge Management Center
Develop and Promulgate Policy, Standards and Practices 
Build Awareness for Knowledge Management
Support KM Competencies in Federal Knowledge Workers
This roadmap document began with a discussion of the “cost of not sharing knowledge.”  We noted that this cost can be computed in many ways.  In calm, back office environments, the cost is tallied in FTE’s, labor hours, and dollars.  In stressful situations, the cost may be paid in human lives.  
Certainly there is a dollar cost to the KM Initiative we describe.  However, considering the stakes, our question is not “Can we afford to do this?”  
It is, rather, “Can we afford not to?” 

## 	Questions