Effective interagency collaboration, whether in a crisis response or in the delivery of large programs, depends on bringing all tools and collaborators together. The success or failure of a team is often judged by its ability to create solutions or make decisions efficiently. The key to that is being able to share and exchange information. Yet, in the public sector, interagency teams are often hampered by security concerns. This challenge is amplified when collaboration with industry, state and local governments, and other outside stakeholders are required in this same process.

Despite established security standards and cybersecurity directives, practical information-sharing hurdles remain. Agencies still lack the shared modalities for bringing planners, data and required tools together in a virtual environment. By outlining key challenges, we can define the parameters of a solution that replicates the experience and security of gathering a team to work within a secure facility — but doing it online. 

Overcoming hurdles through technology

The secure exchange of information is inherently problematic in government agencies — no common system or shared drive is in place to enable. While corporate-focused video conferencing tools like Teams, Zoom and Webex have made it possible for remote or dispersed teams to meet securely, these solutions only allow participants to share a screen, not exchange information or work collectively on a document, plan or project.

The solution isn’t multiple tools or environments but a technology-driven approach that creates a secure, invitation-only virtual workspace for teams or projects. This virtual workspace can be defined by several “needs capabilities” that solve the top security hurdles:

• Challenge: Interagency work sessions function well when participants can gather in the same room — but are less than ideal when participants are in multiple locations — or working remotely.

Capability needed: Interagency teams require an environment that offers secure data exchange and storage synchronously and asynchronously.

• Challenge: Team participants have different needs, permissions, security clearances and information access levels.

Capability needed: Interagency teams require role-based, environment-based and asset-based permissions for viewing, posting, editing, downloading and commenting.

• Challenge: If documents, tools and data streams aren’t secure, collaboration isn’t secure. 

Capability needed: Robust, end-to-end data encryption is needed, at rest and in transit.

• Challenge: Effective planning requires situational awareness. Emailing a PowerPoint created 10 hours ago or holding briefing calls every two hours doesn’t work well for real-time operations. 

Capability needed: Provide a place to gather all relevant intelligence (in any format) and connect real-time data streams, video or analysis to make informed decisions and plans at a glance. 

• Challenge: Knowing what other agencies are doing is an important part of a response — and silos exist around more than documents and data — teams need to report and coordinate response plans and adjust in sync. 

Capability needed: Interagency teams require Ops Center capabilities across the “circle of trust” to share, coordinate and execute plans.

• Challenge: Technology and security requirements change frequently so cross-agency teams require agility and flexibility.

Capability needed: A device-agnostic, app-based solution can evolve at scale.

• Challenge: There’s a lack of FedRAMP-approved collaboration tools, and even fewer FedRAMP-approved tools that can be deployed in air-gapped and Top Secret environments when required.

Capability needed: Check tools under consideration for FedRAMP-approval at FedRAMP Marketplace, and make sure vendors can offer the same user experience for controlled unclassified information and Top Secret data.

Using a new, secure approach to collaboration involves a learning curve. Federal organizations don’t have time for missteps. They seek intuitive use, short time-to-value and proven results as cross-agency teams increasingly bring niche expertise and experience to national security decisions and mission-critical plans. 

John Greenstein is CEO of Bluescape.

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