New Tools for Collaboration

The Intelligence Community does not lag far behind the private sector in using collaborative tools; indeed, it has developed an impressive array. However, the most used tools, like instant messaging (IM), are employed primarily within agencies for peer-to-peer communication and hence are neither widely collaborative nor especially novel: they are different ways of accomplishing familiar functions. The array of collaborative tools across agencies—ranging from IM to blogs to a wiki called Intellipedia—is impressive but used mostly by enthusiasts. This report identifies lessons learned from looking at the use of internal collaborative tools across the Intelligence Community, especially across the four biggest agencies: Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, National Security Agency, and National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.