R 271823Z DEC 07
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE
AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI

UNCLAS STATE 170388 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FROM DEPUTY SECRETARY NEGROPONTE 
MANAGEMENT OFFICERS AND IMOS 
PLEASE DISTRIBUTE TO ALL REPORTING OFFICERS AND STAFF 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: AMGT AINF
SUBJECT: INTELLIPEDIA - AN IMPROVED TOOL FOR COMMUNICATING 
POLICY 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: THE DEPARTMENT HAS A NEW TECHNOLOGY TOOL AT 
ITS FINGERTIPS THAT WILL REVOLUTIONIZE THE WAY WE SHARE 
INFORMATION, MAKE US MORE EFFICIENT, SAVE US TIME, AND 
IMPROVE OUR WORK FLOW: INTELLIPEDIA. USING THE SAME 
SOFTWARE THAT POWERS THE POPULAR "WIKIPEDIA" SITE ON THE 
INTERNET, INTELLIPEDIA IS AN EDITABLE WEB-BASED TOOL 
AVAILABLE TO THE ENTIRE USG INTERAGENCY COMMUNITY AND TO 
STATE EMPLOYEES ON OUR CLASSIFIED AND UNCLASSIFIED 
NETWORKS. I STRONGLY ENCOURAGE ALL STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICES 
AND POSTS TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, LEVERAGE INTELLIPEDIA AS 
AN INSTRUMENT TO MANAGE SHARED WORKING FILES AND TO 
COLLABORATE MORE EFFICIENTLY AND QUICKLY WITH OTHER STATE 
AND INTERAGENCY PERSONNEL AROUND THE WORLD. 
 
¶2. (U) BY USING INTELLIPEDIA AS A ONE-STOP SHOP TO SHARE 
POLICY WITH OTHER BUREAUS, FIELD OFFICES, AND THE 
INTERAGENCY COMMUNITY, THIS TOOL CAN BE USED TO SHAPE 
POLICY. INTELLIPEDIA IS USER-DEFINED AND DRIVEN, WHICH 
MEANS THAT ANYONE WITH A DEPARTMENT LOG-ON CAN CREATE AN 
ID, THEN VIEW, ADD, AND CHANGE INFORMATION. UNLIKE 
WIKIPEDIA, ALL CONTRIBUTIONS TO INTELLIPEDIA ARE 
ATTRIBUTABLE TO NAMED INDIVIDUALS WITH USG CLEARANCES. 
BECAUSE THE SYSTEM IS DECENTRALIZED, IT BECOMES MORE 
DYNAMIC AND USEFUL AS WE DO NOT DEPEND ON A SINGLE 
ADMINISTRATOR TO KEEP PAGES UP-TO-DATE. 
 
¶3. (U) INTELLIPEDIA IS A TIME-SAVER. OFFICERS CAN QUICKLY 
DISSEMINATE INFORMATION TO A BROAD WORKING GROUP WITH THE 
INVESTMENT OF A FEW MINUTES. THEY CAN ALSO TAKE ADVANTAGE 
OF INFORMATION OTHERS HAVE UPLOADED. FOR EXAMPLE, THE 
EUROPEAN UNION DESK COULD UPLOAD CLEARED TALKING POINTS ON 
EU-CUBA ISSUES FOR GENERAL USE IN BRIEFING MEMOS, THEREBY 
PROVIDING DESK OFFICERS A STARTING POINT FOR PAPERS, GIVING 
FIELD OFFICERS MORE CONSISTENT INSIGHT INTO WHAT WASHINGTON 
IS SAYING ON THE EU, AND SHAPING THE INTERAGENCY'S POLICY. 
EMBASSY OFFICERS CAN SHARE REAL-TIME ANALYSIS WITH 
WASHINGTON AND AN INTERAGENCY AUDIENCE AND BY USING 
INTELLIPEDIA EFFECTIVELY, WE CAN SHAPE A REAL-TIME 
INTERAGENCY LIBRARY OF FOREIGN POLICY. 
 
¶4. (U) INTELLIPEDIA ON THE CLASSIFIED SYSTEM ALSO HAS CABLE 
FUNCTIONS THAT ARE FAR MORE USER-FRIENDLY THAN THOSE 
AVAILABLE THROUGH CABLE EXPRESS. WITHIN INTELLIPEDIA, USERS 
CAN SEARCH FOR ANY COMBINATION OF KEYWORDS, CABLE NUMBERS, 
TAGS, AND DATE RANGES AND HAVE THOSE RESULTS DISPLAYED ON 
AN INTELLIPEDIA ARTICLE.  USERS CAN ALSO CREATE NEW PAGES 
THAT WILL CAPTURE FUTURE INCOMING CABLES, E.G. THE 
RESPONSES TO A SPECIFIC DEMARCHE CABLE AS THEY COME IN. 
CABLES MUST HAVE A SIPDIS CAPTION IN ORDER TO BE 
AUTOMATICALLY PUBLISHED ON INTELLIPEDIA AND ON THE 
NETCENTRIC DIPLOMACY SYSTEM. 
 
¶5. (U) INTELLIPEDIA IS FREE, OFFERING THE DEPARTMENT A 
SIGNIFICANT BUDGET ADVANTAGE OVER OTHER WEB-SITE 
TECHNOLOGIES OFFERED ON THE CLASSIFIED AND UNCLASSIFIED 
NETWORKS.  EUR, FOR EXAMPLE, IS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THIS 
TECHNOLOGY AND COST SAVINGS AND IS TARGETING SPRING 2008 
FOR ITS TRANSITION TO A CENTRALIZED INTELLIPEDIA SITE FOR 
ALL EUR COUNTRIES AND POLICY ON THE CLASSIFIED INTELLIPEDIA 
NETWORK. 
 
¶6. (U) SEVERAL STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICES HAVE ALREADY 
RECOGNIZED THE OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED BY INTELLIPEDIA AND 
HAVE CREATED ACTIVE SITES ON THE CLASSIFIED SYSTEM (SEE 
HTTP://WWW.INTELINK.SGOV.GOV/WIKI/), INCLUDING THE BUREAU 
OF EUROPEAN AND EURASIAN AFFAIRS, EUR'S EUROPEAN UNION 
OFFICE, EMBASSY ANKARA, AND S/ES'S CRISIS MANAGEMENT 
SUPPORT OFFICE.  THE BUREAU OF INTELLIGENCE AND RESEARCH 
PORTAL LINKS TO INR INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENTS, ANALYST 
NOTES, POLL RESULTS, AND FOREIGN MEDIA COMMENTARY.  THE 
STATE DEPARTMENT'S ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN THIS PROCESS 
ENSURES THAT THE ARTICLES IN INTELLIPEDIA ARE CURRENT AND 
USEFUL TO STATE AND OUR INTERAGENCY PARTNERS. 
 
¶7. (U) INTELLIPEDIA CAN ALSO BE USED FOR A VARIETY OF 
COLLABORATIVE BUSINESS PROCESSES. IF YOU NEED HELP, E-MAIL 
INTELLIPEDIA_HELP@STATE.SGOV.GOV OR 
INTELLIPEDIA_HELP@STATE.GOV. 
 
¶8. (U) MINIMIZE CONSIDERED. 
RICE