Introduction

Knowledge management is about facilitating the processes by which knowledge is created, shared and used. It is about changing the way everyone works, which requires changing people’s behaviours and work patterns. Knowledge management is essentially about people - how they create, share and use knowledge, thus knowledge management programmes should have both a “collecting” and a “connecting” dimension.

The collecting dimension involves linking people with information. It relates to the capturing and disseminating of explicit knowledge. The connecting dimension involves linking people with people - specifically people who need to know with those who do know, and so enhancing tacit knowledge flow through better human interaction and communication processes, so that knowledge is widely disseminated and not just held in the heads of a few.

The result-based COSOP knowledge management component should aim at an integrated approach of managing knowledge, by combining both the collecting and connecting dimensions. Furthermore, KM activities need to embedded in all processes and not considered as an add-on.

Successful and coherent implementation of a knowledge management component requires the adoption of an integrated and holistic approach. Such an approach should take into consideration the following:

• External factors (partners, donors, networks, local, national, regional and global factors)
• Organizational context (management behaviours, institutional pressures, funding cycles)
• Relationships and collaborations within and across organization (networks, ICTs, communication plans, core and support functions)
• Organizational knowledge (creation, sharing, storing, using knowledge, key activities and tools, packaging and communication of messages)

When information is applied to doing something and is globally applicable, it becomes knowledge. This definition, although valid, has one major weakness: it does not acknowledge that knowledge is a human creation or social construct. Knowledge workers evaluate, analyse, and adapt knowledge to their own material, political and social conditions. Thus development of knowledge becomes a process. This process in turn entails a process of questioning and reflection which is different from knowledge contained in a finished product. The questioning and reflection will lead to the creation of a finished knowledge products.

How will knowledge management unfold in result-based COSOP?

In order for the knowledge management component to add value, knowledge has to be harvested, analyzed and disseminated systematically.

KM activities should also result in and be a conduit for creating multi-purpose products which can be utilized for advocacy purposes.

The result-based COSOP is a knowledge intense document (contains operational and project management knowledge) whereby the process of knowledge management runs throughout the entire document, thus constituting a valuable foundation for KM and communication activities at country level.

The result-based COSOP, as the strategic framework for IFAD investments in a country, spells out the:

• key knowledge areas and related thematic compacts linked directly to the three identified strategic objective
• partnerships
• major processes required to operationalize knowledge management, especially those aimed at stimulating the exchange of local knowledge in articulation with the corporate processes.

Practical steps

Use the strategic objectives to identify key knowledge areas and relevant partner(s) who will assist in identifying critical, relevant knowledge generation and capturing opportunities. KM activities should focus to:

• identify key audiences and stakeholders
• identify who needs what knowledge and in what form using techniques such as knowledge audit
• manage the exchange of knowledge and learning among stakeholders in country
• ensure that learnings from the field and partners are identified and communicated to the corporate level
• facilitate the access of external and corporate information and knowledge for local partners.
• stimulate knowledge exchange, including innovations within the activities carried out by the local communities and other partners
• using knowledge harvesting techniques assist in knowledge capturing
• support local communities and rural poor people’s organizations to engage with national policy fora and practice networks
• regularly synthesize information and knowledge
• link up with external agency events, research institutes and consultancy firms
• organize sharing and exchange through knowledge bases, physical documentation, electronic files and national workshops

The captured knowledge will subsequently be packaged and disseminated through appropriate communication channels (such as the Rural Poverty Portal, regional newsletter, corporate events and publications) to the identified audiences/stakeholders.

The annual review process provides an opportunity to assess and document progress, shortcomings, what worked and what has not and link these back to the strategic objectives and the key rural poverty/rural development thematic topics identified at the outset.

This will then result potentially to having an inventory of activities/initiatives with upscaling potential and the learning captured will feed into the next COSOP cycle.

The KM partner(s) should be an integral part of the country programme team, participate in all relevant meetings.

Knowledge management and learning tools

In order to ensure that the learning that emanates from the implementation of the knowledge management component is systematically captured and disseminated it is recommended that all those involve carry out:

• knowledge audit in conjunction with the audience research/identification phase
• knowledge harvesting
• peer assist
• after action review
• identify and document best or good practices

A knowledge audit is a systematic process to identify knowledge needs, resources and flows, as a basis for understanding where and how better knowledge management can add value. Typically this process is carried out through face-to-face interviews; workshops; focus groups and e-discussions. Below is a check-list of questions that may be explored:

Knowledge

• What are the core tasks and processes carried out by different groups and people?
• What constitutes useful, applicable knowledge for the execution of these tasks and processes?
• How is this knowledge generated, identified, shared, stored and applied in core operations?
• How might improved generation, sharing, storing and application of knowledge be monitored?

Relationships and processes

• What existing and planned systems and processes can support the knowledge sharing and learning strategy, and how should they be deployed?
• What existing and planned initiatives might influence and support the generation, sharing, storing and application of knowledge?
• What is the nature of key relationships within the organization? How formal/informal are these relationships? How do they impact upon issues of knowledge and learning?

Organizational contexts

• How can human resources, information technology, information management and other support functions be better integrated to support the knowledge and learning ‘vision’?
• How might existing structures support the KM strategy?
• How might leadership and governance support the KM strategy?
• What are the perceived costs and benefits of improved knowledge and learning?

External factors

• How does the principle of ‘horizontal coordination’ work in practice and how can it be strengthened?
• How might the political, economic, and cultural contexts in which the country and/or project/programme operates impact upon the development and implementation of an effective knowledge and learning strategy?

In order to ensure that the learning is captured at all stages, it is recommended that the result-based COSOP adopts a knowledge harvesting approach.

Knowledge harvesting is an approach that allows the tacit knowledge or know-how of experts to be captured and documented. Knowledge exists in two forms: explicit knowledge, which is easily captured and shared; and tacit knowledge, which is more experiential and intuitive, and so is less easy to articulate. Knowledge harvesting is about trying to make some of the tacit knowledge more explicit. Its aim is to help make better and wider use of their existing knowledge by extracting it from the heads of a few key people and making it available to a much wider range of people.

The ultimate goal of knowledge harvesting is to capture an expert’s decision-making processes with enough clarity that someone else could repeat the same processes and get the same results.

While there is no set formula for knowledge harvesting, there are some general guidelines that facilitate the process. These can be broken down into a number of steps.

• Focus: Decide on what specific knowledge and expertise you want to capture, and be clear about what the benefits will be. It is neither possible nor desirable to capture everything that everyone knows
• Understand your target audience. It is important to understand who will be using the knowledge that you are capturing before you start to capture it. This will help you ensure you capture the right knowledge at the right level, and make it available in the most appropriate ways
• Find your experts/partners. Identify the experts - the people who have the knowledge and know-how you are seeking to capture
• Choose your harvesters/partners. An effective harvester (interviewer) is crucial. Much of the success of knowledge harvesting relies on the ability of the interviewer to elicit the right knowledge from experts. Making tacit knowledge explicit can be difficult – people often don’t “know what they know” and so helping people to talk about what they know, and then capturing that effectively, is a key skill. It is generally recommended that you use people with strong communication, interpersonal and interviewing skills.
• Harvest: interview your experts/partners. The best way to capture tacit knowledge is using one-to-one, face-to-face interviews with your experts. The interviews will involve asking them to talk about what they do and to describe specific situations in which they have applied specific know-how. Interviews need to be well prepared in advance, including drafting a topic guide or a list of questions. Examples of questions might include:
  • Describe a time when…?
  • What’s the first thing you do?
  • How do you know to do that?
  • How do you know when to do it?
  • What do you do next? Why?
  • What usually happens?
  • What happens if something else is done?
  • What would happen if…?
  • Who else is involved?
  • What are some common mistakes or misconceptions?
  • What is the most important thing to remember when you’re doing this?
  • Describe how you currently help others learn how to do this?
  • What are the main obstacles that prevent them from achieving the same results as you?
  • What are examples of support materials, documents, procedures, manuals, research evidence, check-lists that are relevant?
  • What would make this process easier to understand?
  • What would make this process easier to achieve?
• Organize, package and share. Once the knowledge has been gathered it will be edited, organized and presented (or “packaged”) into a form that meets the needs of its users
• Apply, evaluate and adapt. It is important to ensure that the knowledge you have captured is being accessed and applied and that users are getting value from it. You will also need to consider its value over time: knowledge harvesting can result in relatively static documents that will, at some point, become out-of-date and so they will need to be continually refreshed if they are to retain their value.

A peer assist is simply a process where a team of people who are working on a project or activity call a meeting or workshop to seek knowledge and insights from people in other teams.

• Peer assists are part of a process of gathering knowledge before embarking on a project or piece of work, or when facing a specific problem or challenge within a piece of work
• A peer assist allows the team involved to gain input and insights from people outside the team, and to identify possible new lines of enquiry or approach – in short, reusing existing knowledge and experience rather than having to reinvent the wheel. Peer assists also have wider benefits: they promote sharing of learning between teams, and develop strong networks among people
• Peer assists are relatively simple and inexpensive to do: they do not require any special resources or any new, unfamiliar processes
• It is worth using a peer assist when a team is facing a challenge, where the knowledge and experience of others will really help

An after action review (AAR) is a discussion of a project or an activity that enables the individuals involved to learn for themselves what happened, why it happened, what went well, what needs improvement and what lessons can be learned from the experience. The spirit of an AAR is one of openness and learning - it is not about problem fixing or allocating blame. Lessons learned are not only tacitly shared on the spot by the individuals involved, but can be explicitly documented and shared with a wider audience.

What makes after action reviews so powerful is that they can be applied across a wide spectrum of activities, from two individuals conducting a five minute AAR at the end of a short meeting to a day-long AAR held by a project team at the end of a large project. Activities suitable for AARs simply need to have a beginning and an end, an identifiable purpose and some basis on which performance can be assessed.

The sharing of practices is often one of the first things to be carried out in a knowledge management initiative. A best or good practice is simply a process or a methodology that represents the most effective way of achieving a specific objective. Best or good practices are practices that have proven to work well and produce good results, and are therefore recommended as a model.

Much of best practice knowledge is tacit - held in people’s heads and not always easy to document. Most best practice programmes combine two key elements: explicit knowledge such as a best practices database and/or learning notes (connecting people with information), and methods for sharing tacit knowledge such as communities of practice (connecting people with people). These two approaches are complementary. A database can provide enough information for a potential user of the best practice to find it and decide if it is worth pursuing further. However, the best way of sharing best practices is “on the job” and so communities and personal contact with others who have used the best practice is key.

The essence of identifying and sharing best practices is to learn from others and to re-use knowledge. Effective sharing of best practices can help organizations to:

• identify and replace poor practices
• raise the performance of poor performers closer to that of the best
• avoid reinventing the wheel
• minimize re-work caused by use of poor methods
• save costs through better productivity and efficiency

The following 6-step approach is recommended to identify and share best practices. The overall approach is aimed at documenting the essential features of a best practice, giving pointers to relevant experts in that practice, deducing general guidelines and disseminating basic knowledge.

• Identify requirements
• Discover good practices
• Document good practices
• Validate best/good practices
• Disseminate and apply
• Develop a support infrastructure

Support mechanism

The Communication division will support efforts to widely disseminate the lessons and best practices emerging from result-based COSOP. The Division will:

• advise as required on KM approaches and methods
• advise as required on how to improve the usefulness and adaptability of formats in which lessons, best practices, stories etc are provided
• adapt the learning emerging from result-based COSOPs for use in different contexts and fora, including in IFAD publications, videos, exhibits, on the IFAD website and the Rural Poverty Portal and at learning events as appropriate

Jump to Introduction How will knowledge management unfold in result-based COSOP? Practical steps Knowledge management and learning tools Knowledge audit Knowledge harvesting Peer assist After action review Best or good practice Support mechanism