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Tools for Knowledge and Learning: A guide for development and humanitarian
organisations
'This excellent handbook puts together a number of tools to
help humanitarian and development organisations around the world
... A number of these tools are adapted from the book 'Learning
to Fly' which I co-wrote with Chris Collison. I would encourage
you to use these tools and focus on getting the knowledge to flow
more effectively, so that we can improve our collective efforts
to alleviate suffering and reduce poverty. It may be the most important
task we face.' Geoff Parcell, July 2006
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.
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.
Overview of the tools
Our approach to this toolkit was inspired and has been reinforced
by the groundbreaking and highly popular work of Chris Collison
and Geoff Parcell in their Learning to Fly series. In particular,
we have found their Five Competencies Framework very useful in organising
and applying tools within knowledge management and organisational
learning initiatives. We believe that the approach addresses a fundamental
need in knowledge and learning: the need for a conceptual framework
such that the different dimensions of such an initiative can be
simply communicated and easily understood.
We have used the model presented in Figure 1 to adapt the Five
Competencies Framework, and have been encouraging organisations
to use this as a starting point for developing their own knowledge
and learning strategies. Groups and teams can easily apply the process
to work out how well they are performing in terms of the Five Competencies,
and identify their goals and priorities for improvement.
The rest of the toolkit uses the five competencies in the form
of chapters, as follows: Strategy Development; Management Techniques;
Collaboration Mechanisms; Knowledge Sharing and Learning Processes;
and Knowledge Capture and Storage.
Strategy development
This competency relates to how an organisation might start to look
at its knowledge and learning in a strategic manner. The tools presented
provide different frameworks which can be used to plan, monitor
and evaluate knowledge and learning initiatives.
- The Five Competencies Framework - The first tool in this
guide explains how to apply the Five Competencies approach, and
therefore serves as a starting point for readers, to help establish
clear rationale and entry points for using this toolkit.
- Knowledge Audit - Knowledge Audit provides a structure
for gathering data, synthesising findings and making recommendations
about the best way forward for knowledge and learning initiatives
against a background of the broader structural, operational and
policy factors affecting an organisation.
- Social Network Analysis - Social Network Analysis has
been called the most systematic way of analysing relationships
and knowledge flows between individuals and groups. Properly undertaken,
SNA can yield invaluable data about how to tailor and focus knowledge
and learning activities to organisational needs.
- Most Significant Change - Most Significant Change is
a narrative-based mechanism for planning programmes of change.
As so much of knowledge and learning is about change, and this
change takes place in a variety of different domains, the MSC
tool could prove invaluable.
- Outcome Mapping - Outcome Mapping is a participatory
planning, monitoring and evaluation methodology which focuses
on the contribution of a programme to changes in the actions and
behaviours of the 'boundary partners'. Applied to knowledge and
learning strategies, OM has a number of potential benefits.
- Scenario Testing and Visioning - Both of these tools
focus on the future of an organisation, and enable imaginative
and creative ideas to play a central role in developing and rolling
out knowledge strategies.
Management techniques
If leadership is the process of working out the right things to
do, then management is the process of doing things right. Here are
a range of simple approaches, from assessing managerial responses
to mistakes, to assessing the forces for and against stated organisational
changes, which might prove useful to managers working towards the
learning organisation.
- The SECI Approach - This approach, made popular
by Japanese management specialists Nonaka and Takeuchi, is based
on systematically managing the conversion of tacit to explicit
knowledge, through four easy-to apply-processes based on simple
principles of group dynamics.
- Blame vs Gain Behaviours - Managing a learning organisation
requires a managerial approach to mistakes which is healthy and
balanced, and which encourages staff to take certain risks and
to be honest about the consequences of their actions. This simple
process enables groups to reflect on their own approach to mistakes
and errors, and how they might go about addressing these, through
use of a series of generic 'Blame' or 'Gain' behaviours.
- Force Field Analysis - Force Field Analysis enables
teams to work out what their goals are, and systematically to
identify the forces for and against achieving them. This is the
classic change management tool developed by Kurt Lewin, pioneer
of action research, and can be an empowering and energising tool
for teams.
- Activity-based Knowledge Mapping - All activities require
different inputs and generate outputs; increasingly, these inputs
and outputs are information based. This tool, which has been drawn
from the field of 'business process re-engineering', enables the
mapping of inputs and outputs for key activities, with a view
to improving their efficiency. This provides managers with an
in-depth understanding of the different processes they are overseeing.
- Structured Innovation - This tool works by listing the
characteristics of a specific problem, and brainstorming the possible
variations. Done correctly, this tool enables groups systematically
to generate new ideas and assess their potential. This is useful
for managers who feel the need for more creativity and
- Reframing Matrix - Everyone sees problems in different
ways, and one of the key problems with knowledge strategies is
that knowledge is in the eye of the beholder. This tool enables
different perspectives to be generated, and used in management
planning processes.
Collaboration mechanisms
When working together with others, the whole of our efforts often
proves to be less than the sum of the parts. Why? Frequently, there
is not enough attention paid to facilitating effective collaborative
practices. The tools in this section can be applied to reflect on
the workings of teams, and to help strengthen relationships and
develop shared thinking.
- Teams: Virtual and Face-to-Face - This tool
enables teams to work through five stages towards a 'shared responsibility'.
Either face-to-face or virtually, teams can cross the five stages
assessing where they lie in terms of different areas, including
atmosphere and relations; goal acceptance; information sharing;
decision making; reaction to leadership; and attention to the
way the group is working.
- Communities of Practice - Communities of Practice enable
similarly minded interacting people to work towards generating
and collaborating on knowledge and learning initiatives in a variety
of ways, through a number of overlapping functions.
- Action Learning Sets - Action Learning Sets are a structured
method enabling small groups to address complicated issues by
meeting regularly and working collectively. This tool is geared
especially learning and personal development at professional and
managerial levels.
- Six Thinking Hats - This tool offers a way out of the
habitual thinking style by enabling participants to use different
approaches and perspectives to analysing decision making. This
is particularly useful in that it allows a broad and objective
view of decisions, and one which covers more options and possibilities.
- Mind Maps - Mind Maps are a graphic technique to enable
participants to implement clearer thinking in their approach to
many different tasks. It is useful both for individuals and for
groups, and provides as non-linear method of organising information.
- Social Technologies - Social Technologies cover a broad
swathe of tools, all using technology to build collaboration and
sharing of tacit knowledge. There are many different fora for
this, chiefly internet-based tools but also including telecommunications,
radio and face-to-face socialising.
Knowledge sharing and learning
So much of effective knowledge and learning is about two-way communication
which takes place in a simple and effective manner, and applying
simple techniques to try and build on past experiences to improve
activities in the future. These essential tools are covered in this
section.
- Stories - Storytelling is an approach which
can both allow for expression of tacit knowledge and increase
potential for meaningful knowledge sharing, particularly by permitting
learning to take place through the presence of a narrative structure.
- Peer Assists - This tool encourages participatory learning,
by asking those with experience in certain activities to assist
those wishing to benefit from their knowledge, through a systematic
process, towards strengthened mutual learning.
- Challenge Sessions - Challenge Sessions are a structure
framework geared towards solving problems by allowing participants
to supplement their habitual thinking with new methods, centred
around working towards dealing with problems that are made up
of conflicting requirements or challenges.
- After Action Reviews and Retrospects - The After Action
Review facilitates continuous assessment of organisational performance,
looking at successes and failures, ensuring that learning takes
place to support continuous improvement in organisational learning
and change.
- Intranet Strategies - Intranets can have a great impact
on knowledge management, particularly in the fields of information
collection, collaboration and communication, and task completion.
Following the necessary approach, this tool can substantially
increase the likelihood of an effective, useful system within
an organisation.
- Email Guidelines - Email is one of the most commonly
used communication tools in the modern business environment; there
is an increased need nowadays to manage this tool to reduce the
risk of overload. This tool helps to control this tool and therefore
increase its effectiveness as a communication tool.
Knowledge capture and storage
Knowledge and information can leak in all sorts of ways and at all
sorts of times. To make sure that essential knowledge is retained
by an organisation requires, a range of techniques can be applied,
from traditional information management tools such as shared drives,
as well as more modern techniques such as blogs and knowledge based
exit interviews.
- Taxonomies for Documents and Folders - This
tool has been in existence for many decades in the form of classification
schemes and indexing systems, and still can have a great deal
to offer in terms of structuring information for easier management
and retrieval.
- Exit Interviews - Exit Interviews represent a specific
learning process, not just a way to leave a company, and one which
highlights the importance of capturing and storing know-how. This
can minimise the loss of useful knowledge through staff turnover
and ease the learning curve of new staff, benefiting both the
organisation and the leaving staff.
- How To Guides - This tool enables the capture, documentation
and dissemination of know-how of staff within an organisation,
to help them make better and wider use of existing knowledge.
The ultimate goal is to capture an effective sequence or process
with enough accuracy so that it can be repeated with the same
good results.
- Staff Profile Pages - Using this tool, an electronic
directory storing information about staff in a given organisation,
can facilitate connections among people through systematising
organisational knowledge and learning initiatives.
- Blogs - A Weblog in its various forms enable groups
of people to discuss electronically areas of interest in different
ways, and to review different opinions and information surrounding
such subjects.
- Shared Network Drives - Shared Network Drives work in
most organisations to store and categorise information. If used
correctly, and under systematised good practices, they can enable
better retrieval of knowledge and improved information sharing
across an organisation.
These tools are available via the online
toolkit.
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