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The Ronald Reagan Building
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004

In conjunction with the ASD (NII) / DoD CIO Office and the DoD Federal Information Sharing Executive organization.

Visit the ISF conference wiki and contribute to the dialog before the event.  Use it to get familiar with the topics, register your comments and responses to the main questions of the conference and get your thoughts before the speakers. This page is established and maintained by the Data Analysis Center for Software (DACS)

ISF Wiki page   to leave a comment a brief registration is required.

The Seven Steps to Effective Information Sharing

Information sharing relies on establishing and governing organizational constructs that enable information to be mobile in trust-based relationships.  These are federations.

There are numerous examples of federations and their governing constructs, beginning with the Constitution of the United States.

  "We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."  

Through this instrument of governance a great nation evolved - a federation of colonies became a republic.

Purpose

Identify what a federation is:

  • methods and mechanisms for creating a federation
  • different purposes and types of federations
  • policies, agreements and technologies
  • self-forming, self-organizing, self-regulating
  • enabler of interoperability in specific domains

Discuss governance of a federation:

  • processes and rules for operating a federation
  • roles of participants and trusted third-parties
  • necessary trust regimes
  • lessening the administrative burden

Present selected case studies from across Government and Industry

  • Identity assurance
  • Collaboration
  • International

Examine the concept of a “maturity model”

  • policy
  • process
  • technology
  • trust
 

The Audience

  • Those responsible for establishing federations for identity assurance, information sharing or collaboration
  • Those developing products or services to enable and operate this type of environment
  • Those interested in an organizational maturity model as a measure for federation, information sharing and collaboration readiness.
  • Those engaged in establishing policy and procedures for governance of different federation types.

Takeaways:

  • Understand how Government and Industry are using the federation model, types of federations, steps for establishing and governing, and specific types and uses.
  • Identify specific actions necessary for development of a maturity model.
  • Identify recommended actions for expansion of the white paper.

 

Agenda at a Glance:

7:30 to
8:30 AM
Registration
     
8:30 AM Call to Order
  Keynote Speakers
Keynote speakers from Department of Homeland Security, Department of Defense and Office of Management and Budget
     
    Networking Break
10:30 AM

Panel Discussion – Establishing a Federation

Moderator: Bryan Aucoin, Alanthus

Panel participants from DHS, DoD, EPA

This panel will address the initial considerations in establishing a federation: agreeing on the mission need, a formal method for governance and compliance, and the rules and policies that establish information mobility.

The Need

The first step in any information sharing federation is to determine what needs to be shared based on mission/business requirements.  The process takes the nascent federation from undocumented or under-documented needs to a coherent set of well documented information needs.  It provides a focus on the allocation of federation resources around common needs.

A Charter

Since there is no overarching governance body for autonomous organizations seeking to federate, an agreement, or charter, should be established that sets forth aspects of self-regulation and compliance.  This establishes a policy and compliance regime (e.g., a legally binding vehicle, MOAs, Contracts) that includes information sharing principles and business rules.  It moves a federation from having no means to assess compliance with federation agreements to having an auditable means to verify participant compliance.  This provides the basis of establishing and maintaining trust among for federation members.

Information Mobility Rules 
Establishing information access and management policy is the way the federation decides how the federation will share.  It is implemented not through disparate means of access management or static access control lists but through a common means of defining access management policy by means of a hybrid of dynamic, attribute-based access control.  This provides the basis for federated access management.  In this way controlled information is only mobile when accessed by authorized users.

 

12:00 PM Lunch with Speaker

 

1:30 PM

Panel Discussion – Governance and the Trust Fabric

Moderator: Paul Grant, ASD (NII)/DoD CIO

Panelists from GSA, DoD, DoJ, DHS

This panel addresses instantiation of the federation once agreements and basic policies are in place.

Information Preparation Standards and Rules                        

A key aspect of preparing for information sharing is establishing data standards and agreements along with an understanding of architecture governance.  The aim is prepare data to be shared.  It establishes marking/tagging requirements and definitions (handling instructions) and establishes a core set of common data standards and architecture for the data.  It deals with the problem of disparate data architectures within the many distinct data repositories across the extended enterprise represented by the federation.  Without this preparation information is much less mobile and understandable. In short, it provides the basis for common understanding of the data in order to share data accurately and unambiguously 

Information Mobility Services

The participants must agree upon the services required to make information sharable (e.g., discovery, directory, collaboration).  Disparate data sharing architecture within the extended enterprise are connected through a common architectural pattern for data sharing within the extended enterprise, and this provides the common basis for information sharing and discovery.

Identity Management
Each federation must have established an identity management capability, and the participants must agree on how to federate these identities.  The disparate definitions of “identity” and means of management within the participants is evolved to a common definition of “identity” and a federated means of managing them among the participants.  Identity management in a federation provides the common means of identification and authentication within the extended enterprise for securing interoperable access.

     
    Networking Break
     
3:30 PM  

Panel Discussion – Case Studies

A discussion among organizations who are relying federation as a means of accomplishing their missions.

 

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Registration

There are three ways to register for this conference.

If paying by credit card:

1
Register Online
 

Online registration is now open. Register Online Today!

On-line registration closes Friday, November 28, 2008.

Returning customers can log-in to their account using their NDIA Customer/Member ID and password.  For new customers, please take a moment to complete the New Account process and then complete your registration. Retain your Customer/Member ID and password for future use.

You will receive an Event Registration Confirmation e-mail immediately upon receipt of your payment online, so please ensure that your e-mail address is complete and accurate.

   
2

Register by Fax:

  Register via fax by completing the Registration Form and faxing it to
(703) 522-3192.  No fax registrations will be accepted after Friday, November 28. 

If paying by check:

3
Register by Mail:
 

Completed Registration Forms with accompanying payment may be mailed to: AFEI, Event #9A01, 2111 Wilson Blvd., Suite 400, Arlington, VA 22201.  Please do not mail any registrations after Friday, November 21.

   
  Registration Form   (pdf)

 

Registration Fees

Event Number 9A01

Early
(Before 10/21/08)

Regular
(10/22/08 -
11/27/08)

On-site
(on/after 11/28/08)

Government*

$150

$225

$325

AFEI Member

$325

$425

$525

Industry Non- Member

$525

$625

$725

*active-duty military and full-time government employees only

Registrations after November 28 must be on-site and at the on-site conference rate.

Registrations will not be taken over the phone. Payment must be made at the time
of registration.

Please contact Betsy Lauer 703 247-9473 for assistance.

Cancellations, Substitutions, and Requests for Refunds:
All cancellations, substitutions, and requests for refunds must be done so in writing to Betsy Lauer via email at [email protected]. Cancellation requests received before November 28 receive a refund minus a $75 administrative fee. Refunds can not be issued for no-shows.

NOTE: No refunds for cancellations received after November 28.

Substitutions welcome in lieu of cancellation!

Confirmations and Receipts

You will receive an emailed confirmation after you use the CONFIRM button on the web page. When registering online, please review your information then “submit” and “confirm” your entry. PLEASE check your account information for accuracy (i.e.: spelling of name, address, company name, email address, phone number, etc.).  If all required information is input correctly, you will see “Thank you for your registration!”. If you do not receive an emailed confirmation after submitting your registration, your registration is incomplete and was not received. Please call Betsy Lauer at (703) 247-9473 for assistance.

How to Register for Others or Multiple Attendees On-Line
If you are registering another person or co-worker, (e.g. if you are registering your boss and/or co-worker(s), company/agency credit card holder registering several people, etc.), you must enter the respective email address, customer/member ID and password for each person you are registering, using their Customer ID account profile to register them.  For assistance please call Betsy Lauer.

Identification Badges
Each attendee will be provided with an identification badge during registration. This badge must be worn while attending the event. All attendees must present a valid, government picture ID (Driver's License), when picking up their badge. Conference badges are to be worn at all times during the event.

Attire
The appropriate dress for this conference:

Industry/Contractors/Civilians: Business Casual (slacks and open collar)
Active Duty Military: Uniform of the Day

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Lodging

For information about hotels nearby, click here.

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Sponsorships

AFEI offers a variety of sponsorship packages for this event. Please download the AFEI Sponsorship Prospectus (PDF) for additional details and contact AFEI to discuss your strategic marketing plan.

Contact Info: Betsy Lauer (703-247-9473)

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Exhibits

AFEI welcomes vendors wishing to demonstrate their innovative technology solutions at the conference. Space is limited and is on a first-come, first-served basis. For details and prices download the application (PDF).

Exhibitors may secure tabletop exhibit space in the foyer, adjacent to the plenary session. The price includes a skirted table, electricity and one full conference registration. Don't miss this opportunity to show-case your company capabilities and services.

Contact Info: Betsy Lauer (703-247-9473).


Background

 

Information Sharing

In its broadest sense the term information sharing could be applied to any situation where there are participants who need to collaborate and exchange knowledge with regard to specific situations.  Today, the implied application for the term as dictated by common use is the sharing of terrorist-related data.  However, the mechanisms that mobilize information and enable its sharing can be quite common across various domains. 

 

U.S. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States made specific recommendations in 2004 regarding national priorities in the sharing of information aimed at increasing our security from the threat of terrorism.  The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) of 2004 mandated the establishment of a Federal Information Sharing Environment, currently operated under the Program Manager for Information Sharing Environment.

 

Clearly, information sharing is now an operational goal for Federal agencies and Departments.  However, it can not happen without proper regimes, frameworks and governance.  Policies and rule sets must be in place to enable information to be shared.  Information mobility depends on the right frameworks, procedures and protections in a trust-based environment.  Absent these, information can not be made mobile, and thus can not be shared.

 
 

 

The National Strategy for Information Sharing is focused on improving the sharing of homeland security, terrorism, and law enforcement information related to terrorism within and among all levels of governments and the private sector. 

 

This strategy is for homeland security information, terrorism information, and law enforcement information which is found across all levels of government as well as in the private sector and international partners.  Achieving the vision laid out by this and other national strategies will require a re-thinking of old paradigms regarding how we deal with information.

 
     
 

In this regard the Department of Defense has the same information sharing challenges as it works to become more net-centric and to have interoperability with its partners at all of the same levels.

Information sharing for DoD is defined as “Making Information Available to participants (people, processes or systems).”  Information sharing includes cultural,

 
 

managerial and technical behaviors by which one participant leverages the information created or held by another.  The DoD touchstones of information sharing are: Culture, Policy, Governance, Economics and Resources, Technology and Infrastructure.

 

The DoD Information Sharing Strategy guides the Department’s sharing of information within the DoD and with Federal, state, local, tribal, coalition partners, foreign governments and security forces, international organizations, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector, hereafter referred to as external partners.

 

The goals of the DoD strategy are: (1) promote, encourage, and incentivize sharing; (2) achieve an extended enterprise; (3) strengthen agility in order to accommodate unanticipated partners and events; and (4) ensure trust across organizations.

 

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President's Corner
AFEI Belguim
AFEI Member Survey

4th DoD Open Technologies Conference
October 29, 2008

Information Sharing Federations
December 2, 2008

Warfighter's Vision
March 5-6, 2009

defensejobs.com

 

     
 
AFEI is an affiliate of the National Defense Industrial Association
 
     

 

 

 

Association For Enterprise Integration
2111 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 400 • Arlington, VA 22201
Phone: 703-247-9474 • Fax: 703-522-3192
For more information, e-mail [email protected]
Directions to AFEI
AFEI is an affiliate of the National Defense Industrial Association.