Draft framework for Public Service Learning & Knowledge Management: the gist

Reflecting DPSA Initiatives

Structure of presentation

1. Justification2. About defining KM3. Relationship between IM, RM, KM, IT4. Draft framework - purpose4.1 Public service-wide focus- pillars of framework4.2 Corporate (institution) focus5 Conclusion

JUSTIFICATION

The public service of today is premised on integration, adaptiveness, connectedness, across-department collaboration, joined-up-government principles/values for maximised & modernised service delivery, Single public service imperatives – all proving very complex (rigid bureaucracy, red tape, protocol)

Urgency to deliver services compels a conscious move beyond conceptualisation (policy formulation) to practical implementation

Urgency compels innovation & creativity (out-of-box)

Knowledge-intensivity of government jobs

Forces of globalisation and knowledge economy

Justification… continued

Calls for ‘Back to basics’, Economies of scale, ROI

Commitment to developmental imperatives

PS Reform/transformation permanent

Scope creep (Mandate): Call for us to intervene within government (nationally) and between governments (DRC, Sudan, etc.)

Justification… continued

To achieve all: greatest ingredient/driver is KNOWLEDGE within context of a learning organisation

- Special niche for our field of KM to facilitate maximum access to knowledge contained in practical solutions;

- simplifying & demystifying of complex theories into practical lessons and solutions

About defining KM

Diversity within public service as key determinant - Need to allow definitions of KM to emerge from the work that we do (in each constituency) – informed by practical challenges and related knowledge gaps and initiatives put in place

Need tapestry of definitions which all converge in a statement around ‘transferring lessons from best practices and mistakes, experiences and solutions, from one part of an organisation(government) to where it is needed when it is needed or even before it is needed (to prompt creative thinking) – creating opportunities for such to happen; packaging & repackaging for simplification

Not lock ourselves into one definition – call it what works for and in your environment

Relationship between KM, IT & IM in our context

Information management – personnel data/statistics including on utilisation of personnel; access is open but concerns for corruption and manipulation of data

RM – flow of documents & files in institutions to improve and sustain communication and movement of such between various stakeholders; a measure of secrecy and security is important in this activity with access permissions

KM – about managing what organisations know (explicit & tacit); mapping it to business processes, preventing/ minimising its loss –‘how-to’ knowledge in case studies, ideas, lessons, methodologies, models, innovations, solutions, etc. – freedom and openness around sharing and access (no censorship)

Relationship … continued

IT – a great enabler & facilitator of the above – challenge in making them all sit on one platform (system) and facilitating/entrenching leveraging of and cross-referencing between each other (data needed to beef up contexts captured in submissions, cabinet memos, etc.)

Common value – all for relevant & appropriate decision-making- Interrelatedness & interdependence between them (one not complete at exclusion of the other)- Need to separate coordination and management of each with focus on collaboration and mutual benefit between the three- Used interchangeably in various situations and environments (call it what it is when it serves your particular need)

Draft Framework: purpose

Purpose – entrench culture and practice of KM through:- providing guidelines & direction for implementation

- Suggest models for knowledge management activities (sharing, creation/generation)

- Support for institutionalisation of KM through resources, processes, drivers, etc. in public service

- Suggest pointers for institutionalisation of KM

Draft Framework: What informs it

Needs expressed and observations made across the public service:- comments and concerns raised by public servants in knowledge management workshops that were run in the nine provinces by a joint team from the DPSA and the Department of Communications in 2002/2003 & current- subsequent engagements with various departments, NGOs, academic and private sector institutions.

What informs it … continued

- Inputs from various change management initiatives in government departments that have revealed numerous factors and issues that confirm the public service & every government department as fertile ground for a sound KM programme

Organic – crafted from practical trials and inputs from practitioners, experts (learning process for us)

Pillars/levers for implementation of KM:Public service-wide focus

1. Marketing/advocating KM

Premise: Challenges of abstractness - Public service stuck in theorising & conceptualisation (pockets of progress)- Urgent need to arrive at practical understanding of its role and benefits for PS- Need to raise awareness for KM and its imperatives, e.g. enabling environment

Need to demystify, market and soliciting inputs from various stakeholders.

Need to demonstrate through practical illustrations what KM is and how it can benefit organisations

2. Coordinating & Maximising access to knowledge(experiences, solutions, lessons, etc.)

Premise 1: Endless futile search for existent but hidden knowledge/informationGlobal estimation – on average most people spend no less than three weeks per year searching for information that already exists within their organisations (public service)Challenge: to create conditions that facilitate free circulation of ‘hidden’ knowledge & information within and amongst government institutions in all spheres (break down silo’i’sation of knowledge)

Coordinating & maximising access…continued

Premise 2: Document overload (inaccessible documents)Inundation with cryptic and thick documents against backdrop of limited time-frames & urgent need for solutions and policy advice to principals- need for easy access to simple solutions and methodologies as opposed to highly conceptual documents has been identified (needto zoom into what is relevant)

Brief, simple documents – succinct, correctly packaged, 2-pagers (thickness does not necessarily depict value or depth)

Need for access to one another as colleagues facing similar challenges has been identified (learning networks) – crucial knowledge may be just a phone call away, HENCE

Coordinating & maximising access…continued

Premise 3: Opportunities for knowledge sharing & creation

- need for engaging on common challenges & frustrations and collaborative exploration of new methods- Need for continuous research on public service issues for enlightenment and evidence-based decision making & action

KNOWLEDGE PLATFORMS: Learning networks, CoPs, Learning journeys (site visits); staff parties, Tea-times; breakfast sessions, etc.); integrated conferences e.g. provincial SMS Conferences, Batho Pele Learning Networks

- Support to these is a key strategic activity for building an adaptive & learning public service- as they provide an open environment of trust for robust debate and dialogue on our performance

3. Documenting (preserving) & disseminating PS knowledge

Premise: Fate of knowledge created in knowledge platforms- previous claim that there is no ‘how-to’ information is countered by/with existence of numerous experiences, successful and failedprojects and various tried and tested solutions already developed and shared through platforms

Coordination & preservation THROUGH KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTSCase studies to be documented (sector-specific and cross-cutting) with emphasis on methodologies, models and practical lessons for replication;Journals/newsletters to be prioritised for publication of case studiesWriting support to be provided and institutionalised (knowledge sources/creators can/do not write)

Documenting (preserving) & disseminating PS knowledge… continued

Guides & manuals for simplification very popular –identification of areas of complexity with purpose to develop them (DG’s exasperation led to Machinery of Government Manual); Batho Pele Handbook (need for idiot’s guides)Knowledge databases – Projects of TransformationWeb sites & pages – posting of all the above is critical for global access. - take over of these platforms into our KM realms to ensure they go beyond communications responsibility (failing which, close collaboration)

4. External partnerships for knowledge sharing

Premise: Private, academic, Non-governmental & civil society organisations broker & sell (very high cost) our own knowledge to us- situation of public servants paying to learn from their colleagues

(perhaps!) In context of developmental public service, form appropriate cost-saving partnerships for mutual benefit to support creation of livelihoods for those sectors- negotiate lower rates for public servants where colleagues are presenting

- if sidelined (thus value/depth lost) discourage participation

5. Retention, preservation of PS tacit knowledge (most difficult!)

“Without adequate knowledge continuity between employee generations, organisational ‘forgetting’ drains intellectual capital and squanders the knowledge capital”Beazely, Hamilton (2003)

Retention, preservation of PS knowledge…continued

Premise: General & continuous exodus of experienced people from the public service- governments adopting short-term contractual staffing strategies create more rapid turnover through shortened tenure of the contingency workers- utilisation of consultants - knowledge/skills transfer not managedNone of above can be avoided (value in them as well)

“BUT THEY TAKE VALUABLE KNOWLEDGE WITH THEM”

This compromises ability to provide integrated quick and intelligent responses informed by old wisdom (to enrich young wisdom)

Retention, preservation of PS knowledge…continued

Time & space for documentingNeed to be innovative in instituting processes for identifying people nearing retirement with a wealth of knowledge & providing them with opportunities in pre-retirement months to document best practices, transfer knowledge within and prepare their successors or potential successors for continuity - may need writing support

Database of retired experts or those who have transferredWhere loss of corporate memory has already occurred in key strategic areas, create a database of key retired or transferredemployees with specific expertise to allow tracking down, for instance, for mentorship partnerships for knowledge transfer

HRM processes to be modernised – serving of notice to be addressed and decent periods observed to allow sufficient time for knowledge transfer (job shadowing, understudy, etc.)

6. Growing & furthering knowledge base

Premise: Complex nature of citizens’ needs & expanding mandate to extend into the rest of continent (Africa); our principals taking on more global roles - need to continuously expand our knowledge:- Broaden & open participation in learning sessions, conferences, etc. (as diverse a team as there are diverse areas of responsibility for institution) - Study tours as vehicle for building knowledge base - Clarity on institution’s areas for learning; partnerships with identified local and international institutions with best practices (international partners today);

Will benefit our country as well as recipients of our support (DRC, Sudan, Zimbabwe, etc.) - requires that we be knowledgeable

Corporate/institutional focus:Pillars/levers for internal KM

Not all is good in departments

Condition or expectation is that all is in order in departments for them to participate in the public service-wide programme:- Organisational cultures reportedly hinder the free sharing of knowledge (no acknowledgement) – (agility versus rigidity & protocol)

- Knowledge sources not coordinated for access – important project reports that could inform various processes and decision-making are not traceable

Not all is good (continued)

- Departments do not have grasp of their knowledge base, that is, a coordinated understanding of what their workers know:- no proper transfer of skills, - restructuring/downsizing efforts have no base,- competencies are duplicated and people are demoralised from inappropriately placement

- KM not understood as change management aspect and not pursued as such

1. An institution-wide steering committee (Drivers)

Critical mass of people who understand believe in the concept

Infusion within specific line sections (closer to business processes and procedures)

Ensuring that KM initiatives are informed by real section needs

Crucial to draw the right competencies and attributes: sophisticated thinking (abstract needs interpretation); passionate (passion of leader must be felt); persistent; innovative

2. Coordination of intellectual memory of each institution

Justification of your institution’s existence- Ncholo Reports, Presidential Review Commission (e.g. OGCIO)- understand your history to make sense of present and plot your future- number of interventions per institutions quantifiable – each time behave as if it’s the first time (where are all project reports, intervention reports, situational analyses?)

System for tracking them down and coordinating in repository (indexed)

3. Dept-wide programme of Knowledge management (leveraging tacit knowledge)

Need to build departmental ambassadors through learning- understanding own department- understanding public service transformation

Knowledge sharing platforms and products e.g. breakfast meetings, internal newsletters

knowledge databases e.g. reflecting competencies from experience, qualifications, training, hobbies, etc. (what the organisation knows)

Processes for capturing knowledge from exiting key officials before their departure beyond superficial exercise (proper exit interviews)

Conclusion

This is enshrined in the draft framework which should inform (not dictate) our sector-specific/ institution-specific initiatives

Most aspects have been tried and tested – organic

Humble achievementsAlready active referencing to the draft framework

KM Units being set up

Requests for support - taking ownership and adapting (e.g. Mpumalanga Legislature; KZN premier’s office starting a journal) –mutual benefitChallenge: internalising into ‘behaviour change’ – way of life

: Zooming into what adds value

Wisdom

“Every so often I learn of something that really excites me. Whatmakes it exciting? Well it is often when someone has defied all the odds and critics to implement an idea they feel passionate about, that has gone to have a huge impact on the world. … What’s your crazy idea?”David Gurteen. 4 November 2006. The Gurteen Khowledge-Letter, Issue 77. (On Dr MuhammadYunus of the Grameen Bank).

THANK YOU!