ctnsp.dodlive.mil DH No. 80 1
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mart security builds on actionable knowledge. e North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO) Wales Summit in September 2014
highlighted the need to build on partnerships to prepare and op-
erate together better. Building on the successes of past partnership ini-
tiatives and capabilities, this paper proposes new ways to embrace and
extend techniques and relationships originally developed under success-
ful Secretary of Defense (SECDEF)-level memoranda of understand-
ing (MOUs) within NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program. e
Global Knowledge Networking (GKN) initiative supports smart deci-
sionmaking by educating and training tomorrow’s agile, resilient, and
eective leaders. GKN is a network of people, ideas, and processes to
make knowledge actionable and is focused on improving on U.S. and
coalition interoperability through improvements in existing training and
education capabilities. It has begun to convene strategic dialogues around
key challenges and collectively owned opportunities. Its initial framing
is globally relevant and focused on the Arabian Gulf region through a
proposed test bed for collaboration with the member states of the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC). is will allow new tools for interoper-
ability to be explored and created together as enablers of joint capability.
Drawing on the experiences of NATO’s Partnership for Peace, it will
promote an innovative systems approach that could help cultivate and
sustain more eective security partnerships around the globe.
Global Knowledge Networking:
Smart Strategies for Promoting
Innovative Learning and Leader
Development
by Walter L. Christman, Frank C. DiGiovanni, and
Linton Wells II
Defense Horizons
National Defense University
CENTER FOR TECHNOLOGY AND NATIONAL SECURITY POLICY
About the Authors
Walter L. Christman is Executive Chair-
man of the Global Challenges Forum
Foundation and a Visiting Fellow in the
Institute for National Strategic Studies
(INSS) at the National Defense Univer-
sity. Frank C. DiGiovanni is the Director
of Force Readiness and Training in the
Ofce of the Deputy Assistant Secre-
tary of Defense (Readiness). Linton
Wells II is a Visiting Distinguished
Research Fellow in INSS and a former
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary
of Defense/DOD Chief Information
Ofcer.
Key Points
Dealing effectively with contem-
porary security challenges requires
prepared coalitions of partners that
are able to operate together.
The Global Knowledge Networking
(GKN) initiative supports local deci-
sionmaking and makes knowledge
actionable. Its core is the “compos-
able organization,” where people,
ideas, processes, and technology
can be brought together as needed.
The GKN supports initiatives from
NATO’s Wales Summit, focused
especially on interoperability and
capacity-building. A proposed Gulf
Knowledge Center test bed also
would support recent decisions by
a Gulf Cooperation Council Summit
concerning military command and
education.
Building new learning tools with
coalition partners can improve
common understanding and shared
procedures. This vision is a key part
of the next generation of training
and readiness capability, led by the
Ofce of the Under Secretary of
Defense (Personnel & Readiness).
The GKN initiative could be adapted
for regions beyond the Gulf.
April 2015
