data, information and knowledge management in the life of the federal executive

Data, Information and Knowledgein the Life of the Federal Executive

Richard Huffine, LDS384Library Director

U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey

Data, information and knowledge today

• We are inundated with data and information in our careers and in our personal lives

• How you manage this challenge and how you ensure you know what you need to know… will be a big factor in your success

• Data, information and knowledge are what you need to make good, sound decisions as a government executive

• Hopefully, this presentation will give you some help with this challenge… not add to the issue!

The hierarchy

http://www.lanl.gov/collaboration/tech-transfer/tech-transfer-summaries/monitoring-surveillance-enhanced.php

The hierarchy at playData – raw inputs, worthless out of context

Information – Data in contextKnowledge - Understanding

Wisdom – The application of knowledgeJudgement – Making choices

• The strategies for managing objects in each of these levels are often similar and complimentary.

• Just remember that in a digital world, this content will not survive benign neglect the way data and information did in the print era. Knowledge has been largely passed down through oral tradition.

Is this your office?

Personal Information Management

• Activities you perform to acquire, organize, manage, retrieve and use information for future use in accomplishing personal goals.– You need to have the right information at the right time. – It needs to be in the right form and complete enough to meet

your needs. – Getting this right helps us spend less time looking for

information. – We can then make better, more creative, intelligent decisions.– And we have more time in our lives for what we really value.

What do you value?

• Do your information choices reflect your values?• Do you:

• Forward• Summarize• Reference• Read• File• Delete• Archive

• Include• Exert• Redact• Share• Protect• Search• Trust

• Taking no action at all is also a choice. If you don’t do anything, you can easily be overwhelmed.

Devices• Computer

– PC, Mac, Nexus, etc.• MiFi

– personal Internet connection

• Smartphone– iPhone, Android,

Blackberry• Tablet

– iPad, Kindle, Surface• USB stick• Cloud Storage

• Paper• Binders• Books• Journals• Reports• Handouts

• Notepad, pen, pencil

What do you consume?

• Direct Communications– E-mail – direct, group, broadcast– Voicemail, postal mail

• Internal Knowledge– Meetings, Gossip, Dashboards, Wikis

• News– Newspapers, News shows, Web sites, blogs, RSS Feeds

• Technical Knowledge– Journals, Newsletters– Books, Industry and Technical Reports

Applications

• Computer Applications– Word processing, spreadsheets, databases

• Internet Applications– Web sites, Wikis, data systems, Sharepoint

• Mobile Applications– Notetaking - ThinkBook– Collecting Information - Evernote, Bento– Managing tasks – RTM (Remember the Milk), Orchestra– Keeping Up-to-date – Flipboard, Pulse Reader– Wellness – MyFitnessPal

Beyond what is free and online

• How do you get information that you cannot find for free and online?– Your colleagues will often find and share information that

they have access to.– Some Agencies have commercial subscriptions for you.

These could include aggregate databases or direct specialized sources

– Agency libraries can often borrow material for you from other libraries. They can also purchase material you need.

How you contribute what you know?

• E-mail• Shared drives• Web sites• Blog posts• Wiki entries• Reports to supervisors, subordinates• Newsletter and journal articles

Things to remember

• Copyright and Licensing– As a Federal employee, things you produce for work are in the public

domain. – You have to respect the copyright of the publishers of information you

receive. – There are exceptions for “government purposes” and “fair use.” Check

with your librarian.– Some of the information we buy (including contract deliverables) are

restricted based on the license we sign. Those licenses trump copyright.• The current administration believes in “transparency” and “open

government.”– Usually, that means being more participative in decision-making and

sharing as much information as possible.

Knowledge Management

• KM is an emerging discipline of study that explores how we create, manage, use, and share knowledge specifically.

• There are KM efforts in several Federal Agencies that are trying to expand the practice and improve agency performance

• Success requires the definition of a Knowledge Strategy that articulates how to accomplish the mission and the role of data, information and knowledge in achieving the mission

Knowledge Services

• In order to achieve the goals of a Knowledge Strategy, agencies need to align resources and coordinate the services including:– Records Management and Archiving– Libraries– Communities– Customer and Information Services– Freedom of Information– Publishing and Web Content Management

The convergence

• The reality is that our personal habits and the organization’s capabilities are coming together

• If you:– practice good personal information

management;– contribute what you know to your

organization, and – support a robust knowledge strategy

• Then you can leverage data, information and knowledge to further your personal and professional goals.

Who is responsible for what you don’t know?

• Ultimately, you must seek the information you need;– determine its value and validity; – decide if you have what you need to make a decision;– stand by the decisions you make; and– determine when new information calls a decision into

question.

• What you keep, toss, manage and create reflects your values; and

• There is help available. Seek out an information professional when you need help.

Questions and Discussion

Richard Huffinerhuffine@usgs.gov

richardhuffine@yahoo.com703-648-7182 o

Twitter: @rlhuffine

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.All of the images in this presentation were taken from Web-based materials on .gov domain hosts.Their use here is presumed to meet all requirements for a non-commercial fair use.