Learning and Knowledge Management
The Vrinda Handbook
see General Index
Managing, Evaluating and Communicating in Development
Issue 10 - Sharing knowledge and resources. Why and how development actors support each other
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Reccomandation: Collect and share knowledge resources and Good Practices
Knowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge (i.e. information, skills, or expertise) is exchanged among people, or members of a community or an organization. Development actors have recognized that knowledge constitutes a valuable asset for creating and sustaining development efforts. The sharing of knowledge constitutes a major challenge in the field of knowledge management because organizations tend to resist sharing their competitive advantage with other organizations that may compete with them in fundraising. At the same time knowledge-sharing is an essential requisite for advocacy activities and policy coherence for development Organisations need to give more importance and emphasis to collecting, compiling, organising and sharing knowledge, experiences and Good Practices. Developed training curricula, manuals, and learning materials need to be widely disseminated and shared with relevant government and other departments to encourage their mainstreaming. This activity could include, among others, codifying and demonstrating the efficacy of specific methodological approaches and providing clues and advice to prevent the repetition of unsuccessful practices.
What are the links between knowledge management, learning and institutional development?
Capitalize and utilize knowledge derived from the lessons learned evaluating the projects
Knowledge derived from the implementation and evaluation of a program that can
be used to identify strengths and weaknesses of program design and
implementation. This information is likely to be helpful in modifying and
improving program functions in the future.
Monitoring and Evaluation constitute a separate activity in each
programme/project and must b
Empowering human resources means:
On the basis of the Lessons learned output of the M&E actions we can the programme teams and partners by increasing their knowledge and understanding on programme quality, impact, accountability and learning and assisting them in developing and prioritising work plans and processes to this end.
The centrality of the “knowledge worker” in the “learning organization” approach
to programme cycle management.
As organizations are increasingly asked to operate in a competitive environment
they tend to focus on “outcome centred” management approaches. This implies the
capacity to move from centralized bureaucratic structures to interrelated but
self-governing programme/projects teams. A consequence of this shift of
managerial focus is that managers need to foster an organizational process so
that the employees learn from the programme/project results and can contribute
to sharing the information required to better plan future actions. A further
consequence is the growing need of staff, within the organization, able to
access and use organizational knowledge and to contribute to further
capitalization and sharing of new knowledge.
In knowledge-based organizations, learning is no longer restricted to the
initial start up phase of new workers, but becomes a continuous process that
moves along the implementation of tasks assigned in programme/project
implementation. On the other hand, computers and Internet make possible new ways
of capitalizing and sharing such knowledge. So the two factors of change
reinforce each other, and their combined influence is rapidly changing work and
learning environments. Learning organizations are those that have in place IT
supported systems, mechanisms and processes, that are used to continually
enhance their capabilities and those who work with it or for it, to achieve
sustainable objectives - for themselves and the communities in which they
participate.
Knowledge management (KM) comprises a range of strategies and practices used in
an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute, and enable adoption
of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge,
either embodied in individuals or embedded in organizational processes or
practice.
Knowledge management can be viewed from two perspectives:
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Capitalize and utilize knowledge
Characteristics of a "learning organization"
The Knowledge-Based Organization: Managing Its Human Resources
Training and Knowledge Management
Training as a Communication Strategy
Even if learning is meant to be a positive change, it is still a change which may have to overcome resistance and so it has to be managed carefully considering the typical dynamics of organizational and individual change.
Training programmes:
Communication for results based programme management
Integrating Web Based Training (WBT) and classroom training
Proposta SIM per Fondi Paritetici inter-professionali
Web Site Creation Strategy
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The program / project team training plan
cosa è un rapporto e perchè farlo
How to set a performance standard