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Tools for Knowledge and Learning: A guide for
development and humanitarian organisations
Ben Ramalingam, July 2006
' ... if all you have is a hammer, then every problem becomes
a nail … '
Background
The idea of capturing, storing and sharing knowledge so as to learn
lessons from the past and from elsewhere - overcoming the boundaries
posed by time and space - is far from being a new one. In recent
years, a growing movement has emphasised the improved application
of knowledge and learning as a means to improve development and
humanitarian work. The movement has led to the widespread adoption
of learning and knowledge-based strategies among the range of agencies
involved in such work, including donor agencies, multilaterals,
NGOs, research institutes, and the plethora of institutions based
in the South, including national governments, regional organisations,
and indigenous NGOs (King, K. and S. McGrath, 2004).
This guide is aimed at staff working in all such organisations.
There are 30 tools and techniques contained here, divided into five
categories: i) Strategy Development;
ii) Management Techniques; iii) Collaboration
Mechanisms; iv) Knowledge Sharing and
Learning Processes; and v) Knowledge
Capture and Storage.
Many of these tools are simple and trying them out requires nothing
more than the desire to try something new, and the drive to 'get
on and do it'. Undertaking them effectively requires effective -
sometimes advanced - facilitation and communication skills. Here,
we have aimed to provide comprehensive accounts of how to apply
such techniques, with a focus on the requirements of potential facilitators.
Other tools covered here are more complex, and call for significant
planning and resources if they are to be delivered effectively.
Here, we have attempted to provide an introduction and orientation
to a broad subject, as well as suggestions for further resources
that might prove useful for the reader.
There are a number of existing toolkits on knowledge and learning,
some of which, such as the deservedly popular UK National Health
Service knowledge management toolkit and the Learning to Fly
books, have served as inspiration for the current volume.
The aim behind this toolkit is to present entry points and references
to the wide range of tools and methods that have been used to facilitate
improved knowledge and learning in the development and humanitarian
sectors. It is hoped that our efforts here will go some way to ensuring
that the quote starting this chapter does not become a truism: users
will have access to more than just hammers, and the diverse problems
faced in this important area of work will not have to be treated
as just nails.
The RAPID programme
Knowledge and learning is at the heart of the Research and Policy
in Development (RAPID) approach on which ODI has been working for
the past five years. RAPID has worked hard to further understanding
in this area of work, through efforts to deepen awareness of what
works in practice, to explore new and innovative ways to apply this
awareness, and to undertake action and theoretical research across
a wide range of circumstances. Our interest has led us far and wide:
- RAPID has undertaken reviews of knowledge and information approaches:
a review of information systems in sustainable livelihoods, followed
by a literature
review of knowledge management and organisational learning
and a case-study
based investigation into the effectiveness of knowledge and learning.
- Valuable lessons have been learned through developing and implementing
the ODI strategy for knowledge and learning; RAPID has carried
out similar activities for a range of other organisations, including
bilateral donor agencies, multilaterals, Southern NGOs and governments.
- RAPID has evaluated and suggested improvements to ongoing initiatives,
and run training courses for recipient groups ranging from humanitarian
workers to economic researchers.
- Studies have been made of shifts in international policy on
development and humanitarian issues, including examining the contribution
of different forms of knowledge to these changes.
- RAPID has consulted with civil society organisations across
the world as to how they use knowledge to influence policy.
- RAPID has facilitated energetic regional and national debates
on how to build local capacities to utilise different kinds of
knowledge for developmental ends.
- The complementary RAPID
toolkit on communication may also be helpful for those interested
in knowledge and learning in the external environment.
In carrying out the above, we have stood on the shoulders of others,
trying as hard as possible to practise what we preach. We have learned
that, regardless of the institutional setting, organisational learning
and knowledge management initiatives that are successful are those
that focus on a number key of organisational competencies.
Why is this guide relevant?
RAPID research has shown that knowledge and learning tools, if effectively
applied, have the potential to transform the efficiency and effectiveness
of development and humanitarian agencies. However, tools and techniques
alone are not enough: a number of other factors need consideration.
Findings have indicated in particular that where knowledge tools
and processes, relationships and collaborations, organisational
contextual factors and external factors are dealt with in an integrated
and coherent manner, resulting strategies may prove more effective.
Since undertaking this research, we have applied these principles
in wide range of settings, learning more with each application.
Figure 1, developed as part of our research into this area, demonstrates
the importance of using knowledge and learning tools as part of
a holistic approach to organisational change. The diagram takes
account of the specific environment and pressures faced by development
and humanitarian agencies. The knowledge, relationships, contexts,
external factors model is one that has since been used by RAPID
to undertake research on existing initiatives and to develop new
initiatives. And as the test of any such model is in the application,
we have been gratified that it has proved useful in a range of settings.
Click on the links below for more information:
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