RAPID Theme 2:
Improved knowledge management and learning for development agencies
Background
Effective use of information, knowledge and learning
is central to ODI's mission to lock together high-quality applied
research, practical policy advice, and policy-focused dissemination
and debate. However, a very large proportion of the literature on
KM is developed by, and aimed at, the corporate sector. Therefore,
business rationales of organisational efficiency and financial profit
strongly characterise the underlying motivation for much of the
KM literature and recommendations. Development agencies can benefit
from this in so far as they also need to continually improve organisational
efficiency. However, the overarching goal of poverty reduction and
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that many development agencies
work towards require that KM and learning in the development sector
should not only contribute to internal efficiency but also to issues
such as improved responsiveness, partnership, and policy influence.
Therefore, RAPID's second focus area is improved knowledge management
and learning systems in Southern and Northern development agencies.
In 2001, ODI established an Information and Communications Committee
to advise on the development and implementation of a strategy to
improve internal knowledge and learning processes and systems. The
strategy aims to improve the integration of ODI's work, facilitate
a more productive dialogue on development issues within the institute,
and improve ODI's capacity to engage development policy-makers and
partners in the North and South.
RAPID has already produced a literature review on KM and organisational
learning in the international development field (ODI
Working Paper 224), the KM
strategy for ODI and a working paper reviewing knowledge and
learning practices in a range of development organisations (ODI
Working Paper 244). The next few months will also see the publication
of a practical handbook on knowledge and learning tools. A PPA-funded
project is also underway to develop the knowledge and learning strategy
for a large African-based
humanitarian NGO.
Lessons
Most of the literature on KM and organisational learning
is developed by, and aimed at, the corporate sector, and focus on
improving organisational efficiency and financial profit, whereas
development agencies tend to require that KM and learning should
not only contribute to internal efficiency but also to issues such
as improved responsiveness, partnership, and policy influence. While
there is some literature about knowledge management in northern
development agencies there is very little about the knowledge needs
and specific challenges of Southern institutions. Extrapolating
from experience in the corporate sector, and initial experience
in development agencies, improved KM and learning offers the potential
to help development institutions respond better to the needs of
the poor, to increase their impact on policy, and the translation
of development policy into practice, and help southern organisations
engage in international development debates and decision-making
processes.
A detailed study of knowledge and learning systems in 13 development
agencies, from heavily resourced multilateral organizations to non-governmental
organisations working on 'shoestring' budgets, found a wide range
of approaches being used with a variable degree of success. All
organizations felt they could be doing it better, and even in the
most accomplished of initiatives there remains a sense of dissatisfaction,
due to the drive for continuous improvement that is at the heart
of knowledge strategies. The study found this ambition, rather than
specific tools and processes, is crucial to establishing a successful
learning organization. There are many internal obstacles to change
and it is vital to work within existing resource constraints towards
specific, realistic and measurable goals.
ODI's own experience has been similar. A knowledge audit within
ODI revealed a strong internal demand to improve knowledge management
and learning systems and processes, and a number of obstacles and
barriers. These include lack of time; internal processes that discourage
knowledge sharing, a lack of incentives; the specialised nature
of much of the work, which is often not considered to be of organisation-wide
interest; the immediate pressure to complete assignments compared
to the delayed returns on knowledge sharing activities; funding
structures; and the incremental nature of change within ODI and
the development sector as a whole. A strategy
has been developed, and work is underway on a number of processes
and internal systems. Work is also underway with African
Humanitarian Action to help them establish better knowledge
and learning practices
Further resources
Click on the following links for further information and resources
Relevant projects
Click on the following links for information about specific
projects on knowledge management and learning
- Knowledge
Management in ODI. Effective use of information, knowledge
and learning is central to ODI's mission to lock together high-quality
applied research, practical policy advice, and policy-focused
dissemination and debate. ODI has recently developed, and started
to implement a strategy to improve internal knowledge and learning
processes and systems.
- Knowledge
and learning in African Humanitarian Action. A collaborative
project with African Humanitarian Action is underway to help to
establish knowledge and learning practices. The project will assist
AHA to develop a framework for improving knowledge management
and learning across its country offices. It is expected that through
the application of knowledge management principles, AHA would
be able to make better use of its existing knowledge base, as
well as develop simple processes and procedures that foster knowledge
creation and learning.
- Support for On-Farm Biodiversity:
Developing and information strategy and web site for this DEFRA-funded
project (April 2002 - October 2003).
- TRISP Literature Review:
An initial literature review as part of a knowledge demand assessment
for the WB/DFID Transport and Rural Infrastructure Services Project.
(May 2002)
- Strategic Programme for
Information on Sustainable Livelihoods: A six month project
to help FAO develop a strategic programme to improve the effectiveness
of FAO's information systems in influencing poor people's livelihoods.
(June - December 2001)
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