The
Knowledge Management Clearinghouse aka The Klearinghouse
Contact: George Brett, NCSA
ghb@ncsa.uiuc.edu / 703-248-0120
1 Introduction
This document outlines the formation of a Knowledge Management Clearinghouse (The Klearinghouse) that will become a national center for the identification, collection, and dissemination of information about tools, resources, and projects that require high performance networks and computational environments. While recent advances in networking and meritorious applications have been proceeding at a rapid pace, what has been lacking is a coordinated effort to capture, collect, or otherwise systematically organize experience, knowledge and other by-products of network utilization. The Klearinghouse will do this.
The Klearinghouse will focus on three areas of information technologies:
- People to People Communications – this is the space (kSpace) that knowledge grows and evolves from. This includes real-time (synchronous) and any-time (asynchronous) communications services such as video conferencing, web conferences, and electronic mail.
- People to Content / Data – this is the knowledge base (kBase) or collections of information that are growing in number and size.
- People to Work-Specific Technologies – these are the applications and technology tools (kTools) used to perform the research and educational activities. These tools are dedicated to serve specific purposes such as numeric analysis, genomic sequencing, or digital biological workbench.
We will begin by working with select communities and discipline groups that are currently organizing their activities so that their research teams can work over widely distributed spaces in real time and/or at any time. The information and resources identified for these specific communities will later evolve into generalizable materials to serve broader constituencies.
The three-year focus will identify useful information technology tools for Research and Education. A particular interest is how to capture real time events / sessions so that they can be used in asynchronous settings and later moved into archives to become part of a Body of Knowledge to be used by discipline communities. This process of knowledge management is more important as communities become more dependent on ephemeral media that is “here today and gone tomorrow.” It is important to identify and develop methods to ensure that digital media will be available for historical purposes. The information technology tools and how they are used in Research and Education will be "linked" contextually with the output of the scientific communities / discipline groups. The groups then gain comprehensive access to information produced as by products of their collaboration activities.
1.1 Statement of Purpose
Rapid technological changes have impacted many aspects of how we participate in Research and Education. A major challenge has been how to “keep up” with the technological advances. Another challenge is how to keep abreast of current information in one’s discipline. Finally, there is the question of how can we, as researchers and educators, be more proactive in contributing to the body of knowledge in our respective specialties. These challenges are part and parcel with the implementation and integration of newly emerging software tools and networking systems into the daily activities of Research and Education.
The Klearinghouse proposes to identify, develop and provide services that answer these and other questions related to the engineering and management of information / knowledge. While Knowledge Management itself is a complex environment, the Klearinghouse will set elements in place to provide the foundation for an evolving system to support the mission of the National Science Foundation.
The
Klearinghouse will serve as a nexus for the identification, cataloging,
evaluation, and aggregation of state-of-the-art applications, tools,
information, and services in support of Research and Education processes
requiring high performance, advanced networks and computational resources.
1.2 Some questions that will be answered:
1.2.1 How will we identify information technology applications, tools, and environments for Research and Education?
1.2.2 How should one capture real time events / sessions so that they can be used in asynchronous settings and later be moved into archives to become part of a body of knowledge?
1.2.3 How will we provide links between various collections of discipline specific content?
1.2.4 Will MetaData be sufficient or do we need other resource discovery tools and services?
1.3
Overview and Core functions
The Knowledge Management Clearinghouse, a.k.a The Klearinghouse
Research and Education, especially higher education, have been key players in the development of various information technologies including the Internet. While advances in networking and meritorious applications have been proceeding at a rapid pace, what has been lacking is a coordinated effort to capture, collect, or otherwise systematically organize the experience, knowledge and other product of the work done. The Knowledge Management Clearinghouse will be the coordinating entity.
The Klearinghouse will function as the coordinating activity for the identification and use of tools for knowledge management in real time, any time, and over time.
2 Description
“Knowledge is leading us toward a new type of work with new types of workers.” (Blackler, Reed and Whitaker, 1993)
2.1 Overview
The Klearinghouse will serve as a nexus for the identification, cataloging, evaluation, aggregation of state of the art applications, tools, information, and services in support of Research and Education processes requiring high performance, advanced networks and computational resources.
Early work on this process was done by the Distributed Application Support Team (DAST) of the National Laboratory for Applied Network Research (NLANR). The DAST activity developed a database schema for the first phase of a High Performance Connections Applications Database (HPC Apps Database).
The HPC Apps Database was designed to fulfill at least two functions: 1) it was to be designed as an open architecture so that other institutions or organizations could make use of the design schema for their own data collections of advanced applications. Using like schema would then permit easier exchange of data from one collection to the other. And 2) it was developed to provide the research community a means to find out who-is-doing-what with high performance networks and computational resources as well as advanced applications.
The preliminary design of the HPC Apps Database was completed in late summer of 1999. The collection was initially populated with content about projects (meritorious applications) from the National Science Foundation High Performance Connections awards. At that time, there were approximately 140 projects loaded into the database based on the early connections awards. By January of 2000, there were more than 890 projects identified, verified, and loaded based on information from later HPC awardees. The database team then began to provide more detail by adding in specific resources used by the projects. These resources include software applications, hardware, and other specific components used in support of the projects. There were 150 resources in the collection in the Spring of 2000.
The HPC Apps Database was initially intended to be part of a larger set of tools for the Research and Education community online. As will be further explained in this proposal, The Klearinghouse is the logical next-step to expand on the HPC Apps Database project. The Klearinghouse is designed to serve as a resource and tool kit for people who are either planning to use advanced technologies in their work or who are looking for other people who are already using such resources.
We propose that, over the next three years, The Klearinghouse will evolve to become a national center for the identification, collection, and dissemination of information about tools, resources, and projects that require high performance networks and computational environments. We believe that early on this will happen by working with select communities and discipline groups that are currently organizing their activities so that their research teams can work over widely distributed spaces in real time and asynchronously.
The Klearinghouse will work with these select communities to identify computer mediated communications tools (e.g., Web base conferences, video conferencing, multicast services, etc., etc.) that would allow teams to work over distance and time. Additionally, The Klearinghouse will work with these communities to explore and develop ways to begin to establish information protocols in support of developing better knowledge management processes.
2.2 Core Team
The Klearinghouse will build on prior work from the HPC Apps Database to begin to provide information resources for a Knowledge Base (kBase) and a Knowledge Space (kSpace). The primary staff of The Klearinghouse will serve as the Core Team for all activities of The Klearinghouse. This group will be charged with design and development of information resources. We will be responsible for identifying and evaluating resources from external sources. We will work to make available persistent[1] examples of best practices. The Core Team will work as a focal point to aggregate other national and regional activities to promote collaboration in the development of knowledge management processes for Research and Education.
Initially the Core Team will be made up of George Brett, Principal Investigator, with Ester Soriano, Senior Research Programmer and HPC Clearinghouse Architect.
George Brett has more than twenty years experience providing support and access to leading edge technologies for Research and Education. In the mid 1980’s, as a way of getting microcomputers into the hands of faculty, he developed a model of rotating mini microcomputer laboratories (2 computers with 1 printer) dedicated to faculty use. A novel aspect of the mini micro-labs was the Lab-in-a-Box collection of public domain and shareware software for the computers. Thus, Brett was able to provide hardware and software suitable for research and education activities for little or no cost for faculty to evaluate and learn the new technologies. In the early 1990’s Brett founded and directed the Clearinghouse for Networked Information Discovery and Retrieval (CNIDR) and served as Principal Investigator on the CNIDR cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation. The following four years CNIDR served as a champion for public domain internet software tools. CNIDR worked to ensure that tools such as archie, gopher, veronica, WAIS, and the emerging World Wide Web were available for the Research and Education communities through various means such as advocacy in standards committees, establishment of public ftp sites, publication of brochures and documentation, establishment of a national help desk, and providing development teams computational resources to build code with. It was during this time that Mr. Brett served as Principal Investigator for the Global Schoolhouse project which was a showcase for internet collaboration technologies as used by 17 public schools around the USA. Cornell’s CU SeeMe software was one of the major tools used by the students to communicate among themselves and with scientific scholars around the world. Since then Brett has worked with other agencies and institutions in resource discovery, standards processes, and collaborative technologies. The Klearinghouse is a culmination of his ideas and work to this point in time and will serve as a vector for future directions in his efforts to provide the R&E community with the best possible technologies.
Ester Soriano joined the DAST HPC Clearinghouse in the summer of 1999 as research programmer assigned to design and develop the underlying database schema for the HPC Applications Database. She worked with Brett and members of the DAST team to ensure that the design would provide best possible tool for the wide variety of target users. Soriano worked with the NCSA database group during this project. During this past year she has built the HPC Applications Database from an idea to a vital collection of over 960 projects and 150 resources that can be viewed by way of 6 different reports or through 5 query interfaces.
Early in the project the Core Team will include a Project Manager, a Knowledge Space Leader, an Information Content Specialist, and several student assistants. During the second year of the program we will identify a Knowledge Tool Leader who will build a team focused on specific tools and applications. Later the Core Team will grow to meet the requirements of the work to be done as identified by the Advisory Board, funding agencies, and virtual teams as described below.
One example of how the Core Team will function as a technology transfer advocate would be through the use of Just In Time teams (JITt) in response to projects or products requested by user communities. The JIT teams will come together only long enough to meet the needs of the particular projects. The membership of the JITt will come from various communities including higher education, discipline based organizations, and the corporate sector. (See Figure 1.) We already have interest in such efforts from four different organizations: The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC), Internet2, Marconi Communications, and the Community of Science (COS).
The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) is the first regional organization to work cooperatively with The Klearinghouse to collect and maintain content about advanced applications for their membership. CENIC began working with the staff of the DAST HPC Apps Database to see how they might add and maintain data for their members. In response to this request the HPC Apps Database design team developed software to allow remote entry of data about CENIC advanced applications. This partnership will continue to evolve with The Klearinghouse program.
Internet2 is a consortium being led by over 170 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 is recreating the partnership among academia, industry and government that fostered today’s Internet in its infancy. Recent discussions with Internet2 indicate a high level of interest in joint activities in The Klearinghouse and NCSA. These negotiations will ensure that the work of The Klearinghouse will become part of the Internet2 Advanced Applications information base. Also, Internet2 has working groups focused on knowledge space tools such as digital video, HDTV, and related activities all of which will be an important part of the kSpace content set.
Marconi Communications will be developing research projects in the next three years that will involve activities and resources similar to those being identified by The Klearinghouse. Rather than duplicate or do this activity in parallel it has suggested that we explore how to leverage the content in a way that all parties will benefit.
The Community of Science has a long history of working with the research community within Higher Education. Currently the Community of Science is evaluating and implementing kSpace applications in support of their extensive knowledge base of faculty researchers. Recent discussions with Mr. Williams indicate that there is probable reason for The Klearinghouse to work with the Community of Science to ensure that technology enables the best possible use of the appropriate tools. The Community of Science has a large membership that can be also found in those who will be using The Klearinghouse.
2.3 Knowledge Management Processes
One outcome of the NLANR process has been the realization that the high performance network community as well as some of the discipline communities using the networks still do not know what other people or groups are doing with technology within or outside their own communities. As a result there is duplication of effort and missed opportunities. In addition, there has been a long-standing tradition in higher education to produce software locally on campus or in research lab. With improved knowledge management processes, The Klearinghouse will provide the Research and Education communities with the ability to identify information technology resources and to make better decisions about which tools to apply to their particular requirements.
In support of these knowledge management processes, The Klearinghouse will focus three areas:
1) People to People communications (Knowledge Space / kSpace);
2) People to Content / Data (Knowledge Base / kBase); and
3) People to work specific technologies / tools (Knowledge Tools / kTools).
A diagram of this structure is presented in Figure 2. Each of these three areas is addressed below.
2.4 People to People – Knowledge Space (kSpace)
“People to People communication” has been a key role of information technology for a long time. In the early days, Computer Mediated Communications was mainly electronic mail and news. Later, technology was used to build virtual laboratories for collaboration or collaboratories. Recently, much of the work of the Internet2 has been focused on the use of network-based video technologies for Research and Education.
The rapid growth of the World Wide Web has led to an explosion of tools and resources for individuals and groups to work together across distance and time with technology. Most of these tools have been developed for business communities and their customers. Currently, one can find Enterprise Information Systems (EIS), Customer Relationship Management Systems (CRMS), and Enterprise Portal Systems (EPS) and more available for purchase or license on the Web. There is not a centralized obvious source of information that provides the Research and Education community an overview or comparison of such tools. The Klearinghouse will provide that source -- enabling efficient and immediate use of these tools within the Research and Education communities.
2.4.1 Synchronous / Session based communication
Real-time communications continue to be a driving force in the use of high performance networks. Such applications include video which require high bandwidth along with quality of service guarantees to ensure that interactive sessions are technically acceptable to the participants. Added to these requirements are increased technical demands when other applications are used concurrently such as remote instrumentation or sharing applications across networks.
The Klearinghouse Knowledge Space proposes to identify these real-time tools –both ready-to-use and under development. . kSpace provides an easy-to-use collection of information about the tools along with links to where they can be observed or used online. Eventually, The Klearinghouse will create persistent links where its users connect with those resources identified to be the “best of breed” -- if a person is looking for a synchronous tool she will be able to find that tool in the kSpace directory and then, via the network, observe or participate in a session using the tool.
2.4.2 Asynchronous / Thread based communication
Asynchronous communication tools continue to be a mainstay of the net through email, USENET news, and World Wide Web. These resources continue to be much the same as they were in the past. However, there are aspects of even these basic tools that are subject to change such as new file formats, network optimization, and combinations of activities.
There is a recent emphasis in the business community to use Web browsers as the universal entry point and user interface for legacy computing and data systems. The Klearinghouse proposes to identify these new Web tools and recent additions in a way that will be useful and meaningful for the Research and Education community. As with the synchronous tools, we will provide links to “best of breed” with the asynchronous resources.
One additional element with asynchronous environments is the question of how to best capture synchronous events / sessions so that they then become useful in an asynchronous environment. The Klearinghouse proposes to work on this question by identifying and evaluating existing projects that are already beginning to capture and index network broadcast video or data streams such as projects at the University of California at Berkeley or the Carnegie Mellon University. This process is illustrated in Figure 3.
2.5 People to Content – Knowledge Base (kBase)
2.5.1 The DAST High Performance Connections Applications Database
The Klearinghouse will expand on the information collection about advanced applications that require high performance networks and computational resources. This database identifies work being done in various disciplines that is funded by a variety of agencies (federal and private). A frequently asked question is “Who is doing what with which technology?” This collection serves as a starting point in identifying the key personnel, the technologies implemented and where to go to find more information.
2.5.2 Links to other collections
There are a number of information resources that relate research projects and education initiatives. However, not many of these are linked together either organizationally, technically, on the net, or in any other manner. The Klearinghouse will work to establish and improve these connections. At first, The Klearinghouse will capture / collect pointers to these collections in an adjunct collection for Technology Information Resources. During its first year, The Klearinghouse will work with other groups such as the Association for Research Libraries (ARL) and the Coalition for Networked Information (CNI) to explore implementation of dynamically linking collections via meta data, XML, or other emerging technologies.
2.6 People to Tools – Knowledge Tools (kTools)
2.6.1 Examples of Knowledge Tools
There are a growing number of projects in Research and Education that are focused on developing applications or software tools. Examples of this include the Biologist’s Workbench, the ACCESS Grid, the Globus User Forum, and the Alliance Science Portals. In most cases, these tools are being developed to meet the needs of specific communities defined by discipline, technology, or project. At the same time, some of the underlying technologies of the tools are being generalized so that they might serve as platform for other tools. Therefore it will be important for The Klearinghouse to identify these tools to be added to the kBase.
2.6.2 The Klearinghouse activities with kTools
In a process similar to kSpace, initially The Klearinghouse proposes to collect information about kTools to be added to the kBase. This information would provide discipline-based communities the ability to locate tools of special interest. The Klearinghouse will in fact have a number of the kTools in the knowledge base due to the fact that these are often listed as either projects or resources for high performance network applications.
What will be important later on is to explore how to better connect the individual to the specific community as well the reverse. In this case The Klearinghouse will need to work as a conduit or broker between individuals and communities. This activity can be done in a number of ways including: presentations at discipline oriented workshops or conferences; establishing liaison relationships with support personnel within the discipline comminutes; or developing documents for online and print based dissemination.
3 Timeline & Milestones
3.1 Year One
3.1.1 First Quarter of Year One
· The Core team of The Klearinghouse will be set in place. Staff will be hired. Once this team is active, they will proceed to set up the framework of an ongoing digital environment.
· Continuation and maintenance of DAST Clearinghouse activities
3.1.2 Second Quarter of Year One
· The Klearinghouse will expand on the work of the DAST Clearinghouse by building (e.g., collecting and verifying content) and maintaining the database of advanced applications, which will by August 2000 exceed 1,000 projects (meritorious applications) with over 200 resources (software, tools, and other products).
3.1.3 Third Quarter of Year One
· The Core team will begin to expand The Klearinghouse resource collection with information about kSpace environments, tools, and resources along with expansion of the kBase content.
This process involves identifying kSpace information resources and data collections that will be important for The Klearinghouse constituency. Initially external information resources will be either pointed to or linked to manually on The Klearinghouse web pages. It is in the strategic interests of The Klearinghouse to work with other agencies to develop or put in place technologies to permit resource discovery across heterogeneous data environments (but this is a long term issue).
· Develop two-way communication channels with constituent communities. The Klearinghouse will strive to listen and observe well in order to provide the best possible information content. Also The Klearinghouse will use kSpace collaboration tools to disseminate information in a timely manner.
· Creation and consultation of an advisory board with regard to tactical and strategic planning for The Klearinghouse
This board of invited experts will provide ongoing oversight for The Klearinghouse and its activities. While this committee may meet in person initially, it is planned that the group will be able to use Knowledge Space tools to do their work. This group should number between seven and twelve individuals with active interest in the work of The Klearinghouse. They will represent research communities, education communities, public, and private sector partners.
There have been a number of individuals who have worked with the DAST Clearinghouse as it developed the initial database of advanced applications. These persons should be among those contacted initially. Outside recommendations for advisory members will also be encouraged.
Some suggested names for this committee include:
·
Jaquelyne
Brown, University of Washington
·
Ardoth
Hassler, Georgetown University
·
Ted
Hanss, Internet2
·
Micah
Beck, University of Tennessee – Knoxville
·
Hunt
Williams, Community of Science
·
Thomas
West, CENIC
·
Clifford
Lynch, CNI or Joan Lippencott, CNI
·
Mark
Luker, EDUCAUSE
·
Jill
Gemmill, University of Alabama – Birmingham
·
Mary
Fran Yafchak, SURA
·
Stanley
Stevens, Marconi Communications
·
Steve
Woolff, Cisco
·
Hunt
Williams, Community of Science
·
Jennifer
Tieg Von Hoffman, Boston Unv
·
Alaina
Kanfer, NCSA / UIUC
3.1.4 Fourth Quarter of Year One
· The Klearinghouse staff will participate in conferences, workshops, and meetings to develop two-way communication with its constituent communities. This is important so that not only do the communities learn about The Klearinghouse and what it has to offer, but also we make sure we are identifying and cataloging the proper set of information and resources. Two-way communications also will involve on-going commitment of The Klearinghouse to follow-up and maintain contact with the communities.
· The Klearinghouse will develop both tactical (short range) and strategic (long term) plans to support the primary goals of the project. These plans will be submitted to a committee of advisors (see above) who will then assist in prioritizing the elements.
3.2 Year Two
3.2.1 First and Second Quarter Year Two
· Continue and expand The Klearinghouse activities with the kBase and kSpace materials and content.
· Begin work to connect more directly to other Knowledge Tools (for discipline groups and general use) from kBase and kSpace
· Continue to locate and identify leading edge resources and services.
· Continue with two-way communications with constituent communities. Participate in regional and national conferences. Publish articles and documents to explain rationale for improving knowledge management in Research and Education.
· Adjustment to tactical and strategic plans to meet technical and political realities. The Klearinghouse will have to make sure that the priorities for developing; collecting, and maintaining resources are in line with the needs of its constituents.
· Series of White Papers on The Klearinghouse knowledge management services for Research and Education
3.2.2 Third and Fourth Quarter Year Two
· Begin working with Standards setting groups to promote standards for kBase, kSpace, and kTools activities and cross linkages.
· Work with advisory committee to develop a plan for continuing funding after grant ends. Questions include: How to sustain The Klearinghouse? Should this be a not for profit activity or is there another business model more appropriate?
· Recognition by Research and Education community that The Klearinghouse is a national resource for information and connections to leading edge networking and computational resources. The point is to figure out some metric by which The Klearinghouse team will be able to say it is producing valuable services.
3.3 Year Three (same)
3.3.1 First and Second Quarter Year Three
· Begin to transition The Klearinghouse into next phase of operation.
· Work with advisory committee to map out process of transition and prioritize activities.
· Continue work on Knowledge Base, Knowledge Space, and Knowledge Tools
· Continue standards work
· Continue to locate, identify and include new resources for The Klearinghouse
· Actively work with other communities to develop new resources to fill in gaps between kBase, kSpace, and kTools
3.3.2 Third and Fourth Quarter Year Three
· Put in place and act on a Transition Plan and Process for the next phase of The Klearinghouse
· The Knowledge Base will continue to grow to include more resources and become dynamically linked to other knowledge collections.
· The Knowledge Space will grow to include more resources as well as provide more examples of persistent resources for constituents to explore and experiment with.
· Produce and publish online final report of three years with case studies of how The Klearinghouse provided new resources to Research and Education communities.
4 Partnerships
The Klearinghouse will work with communities, organizations, and institutions to create services that will be world class. Currently there are four partners who have expressed strong interest in cooperation with The Klearinghouse: the Internet2 of the University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development, the Community of Science, Marconi Communications, and the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC).
4.1.1 Mr. Ted Hanss / Internet2
Internet2 is a consortium being led by over 170 universities working in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet. Internet2 is recreating the partnership among academia, industry and government that fostered today’s Internet in its infancy. Recent discussions with Internet2 indicate a high level of interest in joint activities in The Klearinghouse and NCSA. These negotiations will ensure that the work of The Klearinghouse will become part of the Internet2 Advanced Applications information base. Also, Internet2 has working groups focused on knowledge space tools such as digital video, HDTV, and related activities which will be an important part of the kSpace content set.
Mr. Ted Hanss
Internet2
3025 Boardwalk, Suite 100
Ann Arbor, MI 48108
(734) 913-4250
email: ted@internet2.edu
www.internet2.edu
4.1.2 Dr. Thomas West / the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC)
The Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC) is the first regional organization to work cooperatively with The Klearinghouse to collect and maintain content about advanced applications for their membership. CENIC began working with the staff of the DAST HPC Apps Database to see how they might add and maintain data for their members. In response to this request the HPC Apps Database design team developed software to allow remote entry of data about CENIC advanced applications. This partnership will continue to evolve with The Klearinghouse program.
Dr. Thomas West
President/Executive Director
Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California
4665 Lampson Ave
Los Alamitos, CA 90720
562-985-9656
E-Mail: twest@cenic.org
4.1.3 Dr. Hunt Williams / Community of Science
The Community of Science has a long history of working with the research community within Higher Education. Currently the Community of Science is evaluating and implementing kSpace applications in support of their extensive knowledge base of faculty researchers. Recent discussions with Mr. Williams indicate that there is probable reason for The Klearinghouse to work with the Community of Science to ensure that technology enables the best possible use of the appropriate tools. The Community of Science has a large membership that can be also found in those who will be using The Klearinghouse.
Dr. Hunt
Williams
Community of Science
Baltimore, MD
410-563-2378
email: hw3@cos.com
www.cos.com
4.1.4 Mr. Stanley Stevens / Marconi Communications
Mr. Stevens and Marconi Communications will be developing research projects in the next three years that will identify resources similar to those being identified by The Klearinghouse. Rather than duplicate or do this activity in parallel, Mr. Stevens has suggested that we explore how to leverage the content in a way that all parties will benefit.
Mr. Stanley
L. Stevens
Senior Manager Channel Development
Marconi Communications
20 Riverside Farm Drive
Lee, NH 03824
(603) 659-0519
sstevens@fore.com
www.marconi.com
5 Figures
5.1 Figure 1
5.2 Figure 2
5.3 Figure 3
