TOPICAL STRATEGIC MULTI-LAYER ASSESSMENT (SMA) MULTI-AGENCY/MULTI-DISCIPLINARY WHITE PAPERS IN SUPPORT OF COUNTER-TERRORISM AND COUNTER-WMD Collaboration in the National Security Arena: Myths and Reality - What Science and Experience Can Contribute to its Success June 2009 The views expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy or position of the organizations with which they are associated. Editorial Board: Jennifer O’Connor (DHS), Chair Elisa Jayne Bienenstock (NSI), Robert O. Briggs (UNO), Carl "Pappy" Dodd (STRATCOM/GISC), Carl Hunt, (DTI), Kathleen Kiernan (RRTO), Joan McIntyre (ODNI), Randy Pherson (Pherson), Tom Rieger (Gallup) Contributing Authors: Sarah Miller Beebe (Pherson), Keith Bergeron (USAFA), Elisa Jayne Bienenstock (NSI), Deborah Boehm-Davis (GMU), Robert O. Briggs (UNO), Chris Bronk (Rice), Kerry Buckley (MITRE), Joseph Carls (ret), Nancy Chesser (DTI), Lee Cronk (Rutgers), Bert Davis (ERDC), M. Jude Egan (LSU), Justin Franks (ODNI), Nahum Gershon (MITRE), Tamra Hall (MITRE), Col Craig Harm (NASIC), Richards Heuer, Jr. (Consultant), LTC Brad Hilton (US Army), Carl Hunt (DTI), Kathleen Kiernan (RRTO), Larry Kuznar (NSI), John M. Linebarger (Sandia), Joseph Lyons (AFRL/RHXS), Jean MacMillan (Aptima), Joan McIntyre (ODNI), Brian Meadows (SPAWAR), Victoria Moreno-Jackson, (Nat'l Assoc for Community Mediation), Gale Muller (Gallup), S. K. Numrich (IDA), Jennifer O’Connor (DHS), Douglas Palmer (ODNI), Stacy Lovell Pfautz (NSI), Randy Pherson (Pherson), Terry Pierce (DHS & USAFA), Tom Rieger (Gallup), Ned Snead (IDA), Michael Stouder (GWU), Kevin K. Troy (NSI), Dag von Lubitz (MedSMART), Rodd Wagner (Gallup), Sandy Wetzel-Smith (SPAWAR), Wally Wulfeck (SPAWAR) Compiled by: Nancy Chesser (DTI) – [email protected] Collaboration White Paper June 2009 FOREWORD The inter-agency/multi-disciplinary white paper provided in the following pages includes 35 articles addressing USG agency and operational perspectives, scientific disciplines studying collaboration, common barriers to collaboration, findings from applied research on collaboration, and finally potential enablers for collaboration. It is primarily intended for the operational and policy community in DoD, the Intelligence Community (IC), DHS, and other US Government agencies. The authors are from the IC, Services, USG agencies, FFRDCs, academia, and the private sector. The white paper addresses the following set of critical questions: • What kind of collaboration is required to accomplish the mission? • What barriers to that kind of collaboration exist in the status quo? • What actions facilitate this kind of collaboration? • What systems will best enable these actions? By way of background, we developed the concept for this white paper after completing an SMA* effort during 2008 to develop approaches to anticipate rare events such as the nexus of terrorism and WMD. That effort highlighted the fragility of the models and the need for a multi- disciplinary, multi-agency approach to deal with anticipating/forecasting, detecting and interdicting such events. That effort led to the following: 1- Publication in November 2008 of a white paper entitled “Anticipating Rare Events: Can Acts of Terror, Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction or Other High Profile Acts Be Anticipated? A Scientific Perspective on Problems, Pitfalls and Prospective Solutions” (copies available upon request). 2- Development of a concept for an Inter-Agency Limited Objective Experiment (IA LOE) as described in the current white paper This collaboration white paper is published as an adjunct to the aforementioned experiment. Key observations highlighted in this white paper include: 1- The post 9/11 operational and analytical demands which consistently highlight the central role of collaboration across USG Agencies and the negative impact resulting from the absence of common framework, definitions, and vocabulary 2- The lament that many, if not most, US Government organizations follow the hierarchical models developed after WWII which constrain collaborative planning and are now challenged by the following: a. Rapid advances in information technology and related disciplines b. The information “Tsunami” c. Globalization trends and resulting geographically distributed social networks where no one person has the monopoly on what is needed to get the job done d. The growing dispersal of expertise, as the boundaries between analysts, operators, and collectors become increasingly fuzzy * This white paper is a product of the Strategic Multi-Layer Assessment (SMA) effort. For those not familiar with SMA, it provides planning support to Commands with complex operational imperatives requiring multi-agency, multi-disciplinary solutions that are NOT within core Service/Agency competency. Solutions and participants are sought across USG. SMA is accepted and synchronized by Joint Staff and executed by STRATCOM/GISC and OSD/DDRE/RRTO. ii Collaboration White Paper June 2009 e. Military need for National-to-tactical integration f. Outdated regulatory and legal policies that impede information sharing and dissemination g. Organizational cultures that disincentivize collaboration 3- Finally, technologies and tools by themselves will NOT improve collaboration. This collection of papers deliberately challenges the all too prevalent view that collaboration is a pure technology issue. Improvements in collaboration will come from innovative ways and incentives to transform and re-tool organizations, focus attention on the cultural and social impediments, and develop the means to empower individuals while establishing accountability. As a prospective reader, please do not be put off by the size of the report. The short articles are intentionally written to stand alone; however, while a selective reading would offer its own rewards, you are encouraged to read the whole report to expand and enrich your perspective of this critical problem space. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks to the numerous contributors, to the editorial board chaired by Dr. Jennifer O’Connor (DHS), and to Dr. Nancy Chesser (DTI) for compiling the manuscript. Dr. Hriar Cabayan [email protected] iii Collaboration White Paper June 2009 iv Collaboration White Paper June 2009 Table of Contents Executive Summary (Jennifer O’Connor - DHS)........................................................................... 1 1. Agency and Operational Perspectives.................................................................................... 9 1.1. A Framework for Thinking about Collaboration within the Intelligence Community and Beyond (Joan McIntyre, Douglas Palmer and Justin Franks - ODNI) .................. 9 1.2. A Military Perspective on Collaboration: Where the Past Meets the Present (Col Craig Harm - NASIC and Carl Hunt - DTI) ............................................................... 15 1.3. The Law Enforcement Perspective in US Interagency Collaboration: Leveraging the Whole of Government Approach (Kathleen Kiernan - RRTO/Kiernan Group and Carl Hunt - DTI)................................................................................................... 21 1.4. Enabling Collaboration through Teams of Leaders - ToL (LTC Brad Hilton, US Army).................................................................................................................... 27 2. Scientific Disciplines Studying Collaboration ..................................................................... 34 2.1. Overview of Collaboration in the National Security Arena: A Multidisciplinary Collection of Perspectives (Elisa Jayne Bienenstock, Kevin K. Troy, and Stacy Lovell Pfautz - NSI).................................................................................................... 34 2.2. Anthropological Perspectives on Collaboration (Larry Kuznar - NSI) ...................... 40 2.3. An Evolutionary Perspective On Collaboration And Cooperation (Lee Cronk - Rutgers)....................................................................................................................... 47 2.4. Collaboration in the National Security Arena as a Social Dilemma (Elisa Jayne Bienenstock and Kevin K. Troy – NSI)...................................................................... 55 2.5. Collaboration: A Perspective from Organizational Studies (Michael Stouder - GWU).......................................................................................................................... 60 2.6. Analytic Teams, Social Networks, and Collaborative Behavior (Richards Heuer, Jr. - consultant and Randy Pherson and Sarah Miller Beebe, Pherson Assoc.) ................. 68 2.7. The Engagement Economy: Applying Lessons of Economics in Collaboration – Moving from Attention to Engagement (Carl Hunt - DTI) ........................................ 73 2.8. A Seven-Layer Model for Collaboration (Robert O. Briggs - UNO)......................... 80 3. Common Barriers to Collaboration...................................................................................... 96 3.1. Barriers to Collaboration: Imbalanced Empowerment and Accountability (Thomas Rieger - Gallup) .......................................................................................................... 96 3.2. Small Groups, Collaborative Pitfalls, and Remedies (Richards J. Heuer, Jr. - consultant and Sarah Miller Beebe - Pherson Assoc.).............................................. 103 3.3. Building a Culture of Collaboration – Observations from the