Typical knowledge management strategies include:
Knowledge Capture and Dissemination
Identifying agency knowledge assets and gaps and creating processes to capture and document critical knowledge and organize/manage it so it can be discovered. Support planning for how to build the necessary expertise required to implement and sustain improvements and then disseminating that information throughout the organization. Best for expertise, coordination, and change challenges.
Collaboration and Peer to Peer Learning
Facilitating collaboration and learning through establishing communities and fostering connections to experts. Best for expertise and change challenges.
Knowledge Development
Building in opportunities for learning through initiatives and as a part of routine business processes. Best for expertise challenges.
To support building the necessary expertise required to implement and sustain improvements, capture the critical knowledge within and missing from the organization. Through interviews and surveys, perform a knowledge audit to identify current knowledge resources and gaps. Capture and document specialized or unique knowledge from experts through knowledge interviews. Create a structures questionnaire for knowledge interviews and identify and train one or more individuals to conduct the interviews. Establish criteria to help identify and prioritize situations where knowledge interviews would be beneficial, such as the pending retirement of a senior engineer.
Knowledge DisseminationTo support continuous improvement in practices for data standardization, collection, analysis, and use, create a searchable repository for documenting critical knowledge and lessons learned. Promote the use of this repository during the planning stage of new initiatives.
Support collaboration and learning within groups that perform similar roles but may not normally interact in the course of day to day business by defining an agency-sanctioned process for groups to come together to brainstorm, problem solve, and share experiences. Ensure that teams embarking on improvement initiatives benefit from the experience of their peers by organizing and facilitating a work-session that brings together peers to share their experiences and knowledge with a team that needs help meeting an upcoming challenge.
Expertise DirectorySupport new initiatives and on-going business processes by developing an expertise directory to provide a way to recognize agency experts in specialized areas that can be consulted for advice or expert knowledge. Create a process for identifying these experts in selected topic areas and enlist their participation. Publish an online directory of these experts with contact information.
To support maintaining critical agency knowledge and addressing knowledge gaps, create a program to teach employees critical knowledge through seminars, training, and other methods and to acquire outside critical knowledge where gaps exist through hiring, outside help, or other means. When outside help is sought to address knowledge gaps, ensure access to the knowledge is properly maintained.