KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT, INITIATIVES,

AND IMPLEMENTATION FRAMEWORK

THE FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE OF ETHIOPIA

FINAL REPORT

FEBRUARY 2021
 Assessment & Report by:
1. Lead Consultant
Gemechu Waktola, PhD,
Assistant Professor, Addis Ababa University

2. Senior Consultant
Hanna Yeshinegus, PhD
Senior Consultant
 PROLOGUE --- 5
CONTENTS:
Foreword

About the Report --- 6

PART 7
About Federal Civil Service Commission ---
About the Knowledge Management Assessment --- 8

ONE CHAPTER ONE

1.1
CONCEPTUAL BACKGROUND
Brief Concept of Knowledge Management
--- 10
--- 10
1.2 KM Practices in Public Service & Government --- 14
1.3 Key Challenges and Barriers to KM Implementation in Public Sector --- 17
1.4 KM Framework for Public Sector --- 20
1.5 KM System and Organizational Success Factors in Public Institution --- 22
1.6 Key Takeaways and Success Factors --- 27
CHAPTER TWO ASSESSMENT APPROACH --- 29
2.1 Assessment Framework --- 29
2.2 Assessment Phases, Methods and Data Sources --- 30
2.3 Analysis Approach --- 31
CHAPTER THREE ASSESSMENT FINDINGS --- 32
3.1 Best Practices and Benchmarks --- 32
3.2 Review of FCSC Documents --- 64
3.3 Findings from Questionnaires, Interviews and FGDs --- 68
ASSESSMENT SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS &
CHAPTER FOUR RECOMMENDATIONS --- 93
CONTENTS:
PROPOSED KM INITIATIVES & IMPLEMENTATION
CHAPTER FIVE FRAMEWORK
--- 99
5.1 --- 99
PART
Introduction

5.2 From Defining Requirement to Result Chart of the KM Assessment --- 100
5.3 Proposed KMS Initiatives & Practices --- 101

TWO CHAPTER SIX IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT RESOURCES --- 110

Guide 1 Organizational Structure & Clarification of Essential Roles --- 111
Guide 2 Awareness Creation Training /Workshop for Employees --- 117
Guide 3 Communicating Document Contents and Policy Changes to Employees --- 117
Guide 4 Developing a KM Strategy --- 119
Guide 5 Contents of a KM Implementation Manual --- 120
Guide 6 Measuring KM Performance --- 120
Guide 7 KM Skill Development for KM Team and Leadership --- 121
Guide 8 Knowledge Audit --- 121
Guide 9 Knowledge Management Policy Development --- 122
Guide 10 Internal Communication Strategy --- 122
Guide 11 Setting KM Pilot Initiatives --- 123
Guide 12 Building a Knowledge Sharing Culture --- 124
Guide 13 Knowledge Management and Incentives --- 126
Guide 14 Developing a KM Portal --- 128
Guide 15 Social Media and Knowledge Management --- 129
Guide 16 Features of an Effective Intranet Platform --- 130
FOREWORD

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 5

ABOUT THE REPORT
To facilitate understanding and future use of the results from the
assessment by the Commission and other stakeholders, the report is
divided and presented in two separate parts.

Part 1 presents sections related to the assessment & findings from the
assessment while Part 2 presents proposed KM initiatives and strategies for
FCSC.

Therefore, it will give the opportunity for readers to specifically focus on

the part that is of interest to them. This gives FCSC the flexibility to decide
which part of the document to share with which stakeholder.

The First part of the report is divided into different chapters as presented
below:
 Chapter 1 gives a background to Knowledge management. It
discusses the concept behind KM, it’s benefits and functions, it’s
importance and challenges in the public sector and introduces
how KM can be implemented through systems theory.

 Chapter 2 discusses the framework used for the assessment,

phases of the project, sources of data input, and analysis
approach applied in the study.

 Chapter 3 extensively presents the findings from the best

practices and benchmarking and lessons learned, findings from
the review of FCSC documents and reflections, findings from
questionnaire responses, in-depth interviews and Focus Group
Discussions (FGDs) and their summaries.

 Chapter 4 summarizes the results from the assessment, conclusion

of findings and recommendations forwarded to improve the
state and implementation of KM at FCSC.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 6
ABOUT FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

The Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC) is a newly established federal g) Review and decide on the appropriateness of the internal
institution as of 2010 E.C with the duties and responsibilities of capacity organizational structures of federal government offices; provide
building of the civil servant, through administering and transferring, utilizing necessary support in conducting reform studies; conduct studies
the existing organizational knowledge. The mission of the Commission is to and make recommendations to the government on mandate,
enable government institutions to effectively fulfill their mission and accountability and structure of federal government institutions;
efficiently bring about their policies and strategies, to efficiently manage h) Ensure that federal government offices establish and implement
human resource development and administration, to support, monitor, service delivery standards, complaint submission and handling
coordinate and oversee the effective implementation of change and procedures for customers;
service delivery programs.”
i) Ensure the development and implementation of uniform
FCSC wants to see an ethical, free, independent and competent civil information system on human resource management of the public
service in Ethiopia. The Federal Negarit Gazette of FDRE (Proclamation service and serve as a central information clearing house;
No.1097/2018) had defined the powers and duties of the Commission as j) Decide on requests for authorization of retention of public servants
presented below: in service beyond retirement age as per the relevant laws;
a) Adopt strategies for continuous human resource development and k) Give final decisions on the issue of fact on appeals of public service
deployment activities of executive organs of the government; employees on the basis of public service laws;
b) Adopt strategies for continuous improvement of service delivery in l) Follow up and supervise the proper execution of kaizen based
the public sector; coordinate public sector capacity building reform activities conducted at the federal level.
activities; monitor and evaluate the implementation of same;
c) Ensure that the recruitment and selection of the federal civil servants
is primarily based on merit;
d) Adopt strategies for building competent and effective leadership
and public service; establish systems to ensure competence and
follow up the implementation of same;
e) Establish competence and performance based pay and reward
system for the public service; evaluate its effectiveness and make
necessary adjustments;
f) Follow up and ensure the proper enforcement of federal public
servants‘ administration laws; establish a system to monitor ethics of
federal public servants', and follow up the implementation of same;

7
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
ABOUT THE KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT

The FCSC needed to implement Knowledge Management on federal

and regional government offices in order to speed up access to
information and knowledge, improve decision-making processes,
promote innovation and cultural change, and improve the efficiency of
the organization’s operating units and business processes.

In support of the national initiative, DFID, UNDP and the FCSC have jointly
designed a Capacity Development Project that aimed at supporting the
national reform that the country is undertaking towards professionalizing
the civil service.

The national initiative is intended to have a competent, effective and

efficient civil servant acquainted with the desired standards of
knowledge, skills and attitude to serve the public’s interest impartially and
in an ethical and professional manner. It is expected to improve systems,
processes and standards in order to underpin better performance,
accountability and meritocracy within the civil service.

Accordingly, FCSC wanted to assess the current KM maturity of

Knowledge Management at the Commission. This encompasses
examining the current KM practice of the Commission, identifying major
gaps and drawbacks as well ass produce a research document on KM
system to be implemented in the Commission with the support of DFID
and UNDP.

In the future, the learnings to be gained from implementing KM System at

the Commission will be used to expand KM implementation at the
national level. It is anticipated that the Commission will use the results of
this study to create awareness, build capability to effectively implement
KM system at the Commission level prior to scaling up to the scope and
rolling out to other institutions and regions.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 8

PART 1
ASSESSMENT
 1.1. Brief Concept of Knowledge Management
In modern society, knowledge is key for sustainable and competitive economic development. Hiring
employees who have specific knowledge, skills or abilities in one area of expertise is not enough to gain
competitive advantage and strategic effectiveness but also transferring knowledge from the expert who
has it to novices who need to know is equally important. Knowledge management makes the workers
more effective and productive in their work by letting them acquire, organize and communicate their
knowledge.

CHAPTER
1
CONCEPTUAL
“ Knowledge management is a discipline that promotes an integrated
approach to identifying, capturing, evaluating, retrieving, and
sharing all of an enterprise's information assets. These assets may
include databases, documents, policies, procedures, and previously
uncaptured expertise and experience in individual workers
“
Duhon, 1998
BACKGROUND “
“ KM is the process through which organizations generate
value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets.

Levinson, 2007

This Chapter gives a background to

Knowledge management. It discusses
the concept behind KM, it’s benefits
and functions, it’s importance and
challenges in the public sector and
introduces how KM can be
implemented through systems theory.
One of the challenges of KM is a tendency of silo working behavior of different organizational units and as
an outcome, the wheel is regularly reinvented. Another challenge is the difficulty of collaboration across
boundaries and easy access to lessons learned, interlinked content and specialist knowledge.
A further challenge is the establishment of a knowledge sharing culture where knowledge management is
part of the business processes and where there is a clear knowledge management governance
supported by roles and responsibilities regarding knowledge management and knowledge sharing.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 10

The core objective of knowledge management is getting the right
information to the right people at the right times to help people share
experiences and insights, and to improve the productivity of teams.
Knowledge is the most complete and relevant form of content
exchanged within a company; but it is also the most difficult to capture.
Data only becomes information and eventually knowledge through
insight and experience. Today, organizations struggle with many of the
same issues associated with data, information and knowledge. Figure 1
shows how data develops into knowledge. [1]
Figure 1 : Data to Knowledge, Deloitte 2015
Benefits of Implementing KM
Investing in knowledge management has proven to have numerous
benefits to an organization's ability to operate. Repetitive implementation
of Knowledge Management in organizations around the world indicate
that improved knowledge management has the following impacts:
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Stimulates collaboration – through knowledge forums and platforms
and a desire to share the most up to date information
 Increases efficiency – via a reduction in search times and duplication
of effort
 Prevents outflow of knowledge – as the knowledge is documented
and remains accessible to the entire company
 Improves decision making – knowledge is accessible and decision
making based on available facts and up to date data
 Improves policy making – due to accessibility of information, subject
matter experts and insights
 Fosters innovation – increased efficiency leads to innovation as the
capacity of staff increases and time is available to consider multiple
solutions to a given task or problem
 Improves reputation – consistency of advice and ability to respond in
short timeframes improves the overall reputation of an organization
 Increases personal satisfaction – availability of information leads to
lower levels of frustration, and increased job satisfaction as staff are
more readily able to contribute and add value to existing data and
insights [1]
Knowledge Management is:
Getting the right information
to the right people at the A way to support achievement of strategic goals
right time
Customized to an organizational structure, products,
services and needs
Sharing experiences and
insights
A change in employee’s behaviour and attitudes
To maximise people
expertise and improve
Identifying and sharing ‘business’ critical knowledge
productivity
Getting the most from the intellectual capital of an
entire team
Integrated in daily activities and processes
Figure 2 : Knowledge Management Definition, Deloitte 2015
11
Functions of KM Systems
As widely agreed, there are two types of knowledge. The relationships
between the two are very well expressed by the Knowledge Tree
concept on figure 3. Tacit or implicit knowledge is symbolized by the
roots of a tree, comprising the values, and the organizational and
country or regional cultures in which behavior is ‘rooted’. On an
individual level, tacit knowledge represents often unconscious personal
experience. It comprises subjective insights and is difficult to describe
(e.g. ‘I am able to establish a good working relationship with jobseekers,
but I cannot tell you in detail how I do it.’). It is based on education,
values and the socialization of the individual person. The behavior of
employees based on a specific organizational culture (i.e. the unwritten
rules) is tacit knowledge.
Tacit knowledge in organizations is mainly passed on by socialization
processes (observe, imitate, get feedback, reflect, adapt behavior).
Mentorships and management as role models for desired behavior are
therefore important if an organization wants to enhance client
orientation or integrate new staff.
Figure 3: Knowledge Tree, ENPES 2020
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Explicit knowledge relates to the capture and storage of physical data
and information in specific formats, files and composition. Explicit
knowledge needs to be managed via effective document
management systems that allow people to find back easily the
knowledge they are looking for. [2]
Based on the type of knowledge, KM systems perform four functions
according to the SECI model developed by Nonaka and Takeuchi in
1995:
1.Socialization (tacit to tacit): is a direct transfer of tacit
knowledge from person(s) to person(s) through social interaction
and experience sharing, thereby creating new tacit knowledge
(for e.g.: exchanging insights during talks by the water-cooler)
2.Externalization (tacit to explicit): is a process of converting tacit
knowledge to explicit knowledge (for e.g.: writing an article or
giving a presentation using an individual’s experience)
3.Combination (explicit to explicit): is a process of bringing
together different bodies of explicit knowledge to create new
knowledge (for e.g.: formal training in schools, using information
from various websites to draft a technical paper)
4.Internalization (explicit to tacit): is a process of internalizing
explicit knowledge of others into individual’s tacit knowledge,
which is actually the learning process or learning by doing (for
e.g.: practicing storytelling technique after reading KM book,
understanding how to run the machine after reading an
instruction manual) [3]
Figure 4: SECI Model – Model of Knowledge Conversion, APO 2013
12
The Knowledge Management Process Historical Development of KM

Pre-Computers
 KM was mostly manifested through apprenticeships.
This is the initial crucial stage of the knowledge process where the critical Before

Identify
knowledge needed to build the core competencies of the organization is
identified. The knowledge gaps and the types of knowledge required in the 1990s
various areas of the organization are defined.

Creation is addressing the knowledge gaps through knowledge conversion

and generation of new knowledge. There are many ways to create new  Data bases and online libraries

ICT Approach
Create

knowledge. At the individual and team level by training, learning by doing,  Evolves into Information Management
joint problem solving or brainstorming activities. At the department or Early  Also called the ‘stock’ concept because it aims at storing
organizational level new knowledge is created for products, services, 1990s information
internal processes and procedures. Often, new solutions, great ideas are
not recorded either for learning or reuse. Hence these are lost by the
organization and remain as individual knowledge.

Knowledge storage involves collection and preservation of organizational  “Knowledge is in People”

HRD Approach
knowledge. This preserved knowledge is organized so that it can be  Focuses on the development of personal capacities, as
Store

retrieved quickly and easily by the users. It is not easy to document all
knowledge, for example individual experience and expertise (tacit
knowledge). It is therefore important to know and retain those who have
these expertise.
Late individuals are seen as the main carrier of knowledge
1990s  Comprises methods such as technical, management and
personal trainings, appraisal talks, formulating personal goals

Sharing occurs when there is regular and sustained exchange of  Organizational Approach
Share

Organizational
knowledge among the members of the organization. The objective is to  Focus on people interacting in an environment

Approach
foster continuous learning to achieve business goals. Mutual trust and  Help individuals develop within their surroundings to create
benefit help foster a culture of sharing. Technology can be used to 2000s an optimal working environment for the knowledge worker
enhance sharing. Coaching and mentoring are other means of sharing.  Also focuses on capacity building of stakeholders

Application is the use and re-use of knowledge in the organization. It

Apply

translates knowledge into action. A lot of knowledge remains under-utilised.  Optimizing knowledge ecosystems
Knowledge only adds value when it is used to improve products and  Based on the principles of systems thinking (theory)
services. [3]  Closely related to concepts like organizational learning and

Approach
Integral
innovation systems
2010s  Example:
o Deloitte’s KM Framework
o APO’s Knowledge Management Framework
o Global Knowledge Management Framework
Figure 5: Historical Development of KM,
13
A short history of knowledge management by Laureene Reeves Ndagire
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
1.2. KM Practices in Public Service & Government
Importance of KM to the Public Sector
In today's global economic climate, public service organizations are
seeking to become more operationally efficient, and more effective in
achieving their objectives through increased productivity, higher quality,
and more knowledge-driven work processes and practices. Citizens are
demanding the highest possible value for public money and all
organizations, especially public-sector organizations, are looking to
significantly reduce costs, improve decision making, and find innovative
ways to develop and grow. Furthermore, public-sector agencies
involved in health, education, disaster management, and humanitarian
services, for example, are looking for innovative ways to harness and
apply critical knowledge captured elsewhere.
However, the greatest challenge to public-sector organizations lies in
their natural inheritance of a mindset of compliance in administration. In
addition, organizations must bear the periodic discontinuity of leadership
in public-sector term appointments. Government and all public-sector
organizations need to change, adapt and even, in some instances,
reinvent themselves and review their governance.
The main objective of Knowledge Management (KM) in public sector is
to improve the effectiveness and viability of the knowledge domain of a
Public Organization. Government organizations worldwide are facing
challenges as legislative, executive, and judicial bodies continue to
evolve into an electronic work environment pushed by paperwork and
cost reduction mandates, requirements to handle increased workloads
with fewer personnel, and the rapid addition of electronic
communication channels for use by taxpayers and citizens.
Governments are often at the forefront of needing to adopt new
approaches to electronic information management.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Knowledge management tools have increasingly been recognized by
most governments in the world as strategic resources within the public
sector. Some of the common challenges that affect the public sectors
worldwide include:
 enhancing efficiencies across all public agencies,
 improving accountability,
 making informed decisions,
 enhancing collaboration and strategic partnerships with
stakeholders,
 capturing knowledge of an aging workforce as well as
 improving operational excellence.
It is also noted that knowledge management plays an imperative role in
providing strategies and techniques to manage e-government content
to make knowledge more usable and accessible.
The term ’public sector’ refers to the functioning agencies and units at
all federal, state, country, municipal, and local levels of government. The
sector includes all agencies, government corporations, the military, and
departments that perform some form of public service. Some authors
argue that there are characteristics that differ between the public and
private sectors. For instance, there seems to be varying degrees of
executive control among the employees of these two sectors. Other
differences include organizing principles, structures, performance
metrics, relationship with end users, nature of employees, supply chain,
sources of knowledge, ownership, performance expectations, and
incentives, among others. In private sector organizations, due to multiple
levels of control, efficiency is paramount. While economic efficiency is
essential to operations in the private sector, the same may not be true
for the public sector. [3]
14

Figure 6: Elements of Public Administration Knowledge Management Practice, Wiig 2000[4]
Public-sector organizations focus on enactment of public policies,
whereas profit, revenues, and growth are the organizing principles of the
private sector. Even before the advent of knowledge economy, citizens
were expecting the same level of service and standard from government
agencies, similar to the private sector. Making the government ‘customer
friendly’ is one of the many challenges facing public administrators. All
too often, citizens complain that they wait too long in lines, get bounced
around from office to office, and find government offices closed during
the hours most convenient to the public. Improving government services
and providing accurate information are the objectives of most
governments. They are expected, rightly or wrongly, to be a model of
efficiency, innovation and service quality. KM is seen as an effective
solution that can support public administrative activities of modernizing
government.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Knowledge management provides the overall strategy to manage the
content of e-government by providing knowledge organization tools and
techniques, monitoring knowledge contents are updated accordingly,
and availing all necessary information to citizens. Among the benefits of
knowledge management are enhancement of governments’
competence, raising governments’ service quality, and promotion of
healthy development of e-government.
Decision making is an intrinsic aspect of public-sector activities. Ill-
informed decisions can have far reaching consequences. Knowledge is
raw material, work in process, and deliverable in any decision. Sound
decisions and effective action rely on having the right knowledge in the
right place at the right time. ’Right’ knowledge may be different for every
decision. Some decisions require only surface knowledge, some require
more investigation and evidence-based, some use tacit expertise, and
others, creative insight, intuition, and judgment. Knowledge
management practices are well placed to improve decision making.
Based on the survey findings by the Organization for Economic Co-
operation and Development (OECD) in 2003, the factors motivating the
establishment of knowledge management in the public sector are as
follows:
 Concerns for efficiency and productivity stood out as the main
motivators for establishing knowledge management practices
as well as to minimize the duplication of efforts between
divisions and directorates
 Improving transparency and outward sharing of information as
well as improving working relations and trust within organizations
 Promoting life-long learning, making organizations more
attractive to job seekers and improving work relations, and
sharing knowledge with other ministries.
15
In particular, governments seem to face four critical issues.
 First, drive efficiencies across all public services, for instance, by
connecting silos of information across different levels of
government and across borders.
 Second, develop new or consolidating outdated systems to
improve overall performance, and capitalize on a broader,
more integrated, and more accessible knowledge base.
 Third, improve accountability and mitigate risk by making
informed decisions and resolving issues faster, supported by
access to integrated, transparent information across all
organizational boundaries.
 Fourth, deliver better and more cost-effective constituent
services such as enhancing partnership with, and
responsiveness to, the public, thereby clearly demonstrating
higher returns on taxpayers’ money. [3]
By their nature, most public-sector organizations are knowledge-based.
They need to accumulate and manage vast amounts of information
and knowledge to effectively discharge governmental functions.
Knowledge productivity, i.e., how knowledge is acquired and utilized, is
becoming a key success factor in achieving public-sector goals. An
improvement in knowledge productivity in the public sector would make
an enormous contribution to a country’s development. [5]
KM: Public Sector vs. Private Sector
Asian Productivity Organization (APO) defines public sector as part of the
economy that provides public and government services. This is in
contrast to the private sector that provides goods and services for profit,
according to market demand. In reality, the boundary between the
private and public sectors is not always clear, as many services could be
provided by either public or private organizations.[5]
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Comparison of KM in the public sector with that of the private sector
cannot be avoided when discussing KM in the public sector. One
popular view is that like many other managerial innovations, KM appears
to have been adopted firstly by manufacturing firms. The public sector is
only beginning to recognize the importance of KM, as it is traditionally
slower to embrace innovative management practices. Both private and
public organizations perceive KM benefits similarly: as improved quality,
more efficiency, enhanced management learning, better products and
services, and reduced operating cost.
The major differences between the private sector and the public sector
are that the latter is stakeholder dependent, while the private sector is
shareholder dependent. The government has a variety of stakeholders:
local government, the public at large, private companies and the state.
When the government has to make policy decisions and deliver services,
it has to consider the interest of these stakeholders. The private sector, on
the other hand, only provides their shareholders with their profits and
investment. Moreover, the private sector is competition based, while the
public sector is dependent more on factors such as service delivery,
information provision, and knowledge identification, sharing and
utilization. Due to the survival issue, private sector is always on its toes to
gain competitive advantage by adapting to new management tools,
techniques and philosophies such as KM.
From the above, it is clear that it is easier for KM practices to succeed in
the private sector than the public sector. The private sector is solely
concerned with making profit; while the public sector is concerned with
a variety of issues that affect the wellbeing of every citizen. Grange
(2006) carried out a literature review to find out whether KM has any
relevancy in government/public sector and whether the measurement
models used in the private sector can be applicable In government. The
study concludes that KM has clear value for the public sector. It argues
that government has two KM imperatives: organizational and national.
Organizational KM imperatives ensure improved performance and
service delivery in the public sector, while the national imperative
ensures national competitiveness in the new knowledge economy.[6]
16
1.3. Key Challenges and Barriers to KM Implementation in Public Sector
No matter what type of organization one belongs to, successful KM, by
necessity, requires behavioral and mindset change of staff. Rome
wasn’t built in a day; KM takes time in implementing proper procedures.
Many KM practitioners, both in private and public sectors, have shared
that their KM journeys were largely about managing the process of
behavioral and mindset change of their staff.
Too often, KM initiatives go wrong because the importance of
behavioral and mindset change is undervalued. For instance, if staff in
an organization have the tendency to think that ’knowledge is power’,
and they lose their advantage by sharing their knowledge with others, it
becomes unnecessary for them to do so. Whatever sophisticated
knowledge repository is built will simply become an empty box. Even if
knowledge sharing is made mandatory, the most likely scenario that
unfolds is staff pretending to share knowledge, or they rarely share what
they think is their more significant or valuable knowledge.
The staff is not wrong; they are just behaving intelligently and rationally.
The success of a KM journey depends on whether staff are convinced, According to Asian Productivity Organization (APO), key challenges of
demonstrated, and encouraged in adapting this new expected public sector Knowledge Management are categorized into four:
behavior (sharing knowledge, collaborating beyond organizational 1.
silos, etc.), which benefit both themselves and the organization[3]
2.
Major characteristic of managing knowledge in the public
organizations is the existence of additional information sources and
transformers of information. For instance of utmost importance in the
public organizations is the knowledge that is being accumulated, stored 3.
and processed within the relationship of the administrative authorities
and the political actors with whom the public managers are in direct
dependence. Usually this type of knowledge is highly unstructured and
hard to systemize and automate. The specific of the administrator-
policy maker relationship is such that in most of the cases the 4.
knowledge is being created at individual level, which makes it difficult
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
for codification, standardization and linkage to other sources and
transformers of knowledge in the public organizations.
Next peculiarity of the public sector organizations that is in a cause and
effect connection with the political bias over the implementation of the
public policies, is the cyclic nature of the public organizations
management. Underlying factor in the cyclic development is the
political establishment and process. Although the legal framework of
the civil service which stipulates for an impartial and merit-based civil
service, there is strong unilateral influence of the political sector in the
functioning of the public organizations. This reflects directly on the
process of accumulation and management of the knowledge in the
public administration. Personal, legal and procedural changes caused
by the political dynamics often cause interruption in the process of
knowledge management and downgrade the process to expert level
process as opposed to the need to elevate this aspect of the
organizational administration at managerial level. [7]
Creating a Collaborative Culture: Breaking silos often becomes
one of the key challenges of KM in the public sector.
Accelerating Innovation: The lack of innovative mindset is the
enemy of KM because the goals of knowledge sharing and
creation are usually tied to innovation, or at least, to the
improvement of service or process quality.
Improving Service Quality and Service-oriented Mindset:
governments at all levels face various pressures to reduce
spending, and maintain, or increase the level of services provided
to citizens. A service-oriented KM approach is one potential way to
address these challenges.
Overcoming Bureaucracy: the bigger obstacles that KM often
faces in the public sector are rigid, inflexible organizational
structures, work processes, procedure, rules, and systems that are
usually the hotbed of bureaucracy. [3]
17
Furthermore, the key challenges and implications for managing
knowledge in the public sector can be summarized as presented in the
following table:
Figure 7: Challenge and Implications for Managing Knowledge in Public Sector, Klaus
North 2018 [8]
Organizations invest heavily in knowledge management (KM) with the
aim to build a knowledge capability and use it to achieve a
competitive advantage. Research has shown, however, that not all
knowledge management projects succeed. Some studies report that
about 84%[9] of knowledge management projects fail. The high failure
rate of KM can be explained by the gaps that exist between users and
management in terms of KM perceptions and objectives.
Several inter-related barriers impede KM initiatives and make it difficult
to realize the full value of those efforts. The first involves the
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
organizational areas of planning, enabling and motivating. The second
type of barriers is more personal, and relate to the distinct attitudes and
behaviours held by users when adopting knowledge management
systems.
Common factors to the failed KM projects based on the literature and
the cases studies are explained accordingly:
1. Focusing on the supply side of knowledge at the expense of the
demand side
 Focusing on the supply side of knowledge, i.e. storing and
making knowledge widely available; makes organizations
pay less attention to the planning process including
articulating useful KM goals, e.g. supporting strategy,
achieving economic or industry value; and accounting for
such destructive factors as conflicts among KM
development teams and organizational politics.
 Focusing on the supply side of knowledge also leads
companies to assume that it suffices to make knowledge
available using cutting-edge information technology and
people will come to use and share available knowledge.
As a result they tend to marginalize the role of KM’s
customers, i.e. individuals in the KM endeavour.
 As the the main focus was on capturing and storing
knowledge, many organizations do not pay attention to
designing motivational practices that would stimulate
individuals to contribute to KM initiatives. Consequently,
prospective users reject or under-utilise the implemented
KM systems as they found them lacking usefulness.
2.
Not letting KM recipients determine knowledge to be captured and
shared
 Excluding KM recipients from the KM development process
is a key failure factor. In most cases, individuals other than
the end-users of the KM systems decide about the type of
content, medium, technology and knowledge
management applications that would improve end-users
activities.
18
 Individuals, for whom KM applications have been
implemented, should be at the heart of the KM 3. Personal Barriers
initiatives.
 It is the KM recipients who are well positioned to know Users’ perceived lack
the type of knowledge that could be useful to other Users’ perceived of incentives to share
activities within the work process. Consequently, senior lack of usefulness knowledge
managers should create a space within which people
from different functions can come together to forge
knowledge across each business process. 2. Organizational
Barriers
3. Not putting in place a formal process for knowledge transfer
and control
 A critical failure factor in most cases was the lack of
any process that enables individuals to transfer and Planning. Motivating
report their knowledge. In the absence of a reporting e.g. e.g.
mechanism individuals tend to • Lack of KM 1. Supply • Lack of
o report all the possible knowledge they have Goals driven Leadership
using all the mediums they could have access • Not involving approach • Failure to
to; which gives rise to information overload, or end-users of KM communicate
o not reporting their knowledge which results in • Storing all KM goals
considerable loss of operational knowledge. knowledge • Difficulty to
change
4. Not designing motivational practices to entice end-users to culture
Enabling.
KM
e.g.
 Because knowledge is bound up with people’s ego
• IT-driven
and occupational meanings, it does not emerge or
approach to
flow easily across role or functional boundaries. The
KM
presence of motivation to create, share, and use
• Unrealistic
knowledge is paramount to KM success. [10]
expectations
about KM
Technology Users’ perceived lack
of time to devote to
KM activities

Figure 8: Barriers to Knowledge Management, BenMoussa 2009

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 19

 1.4. KM Framework for Public Sector
KM Frameworks have been defined by many respected organizations
and for various organizational types. For this assessment we have
reviewed the framework developed by Asian Productivity Organization
(APO) for the public sector.[5] The framework was designed based on the
practical experience of organizations from several countries in Asia, and
includes best practices from the USA, Australia, and Europe. It starts with
an understanding of the mandate, mission, and vision of the
organization and consists of three levels: accelerators, knowledge
processes, and outcomes. The framework ensures that no important
aspect of KM will be overlooked while reducing the variety and
complexity of KM to manageable tasks.
Mandate, Mission, Vision
The starting point of any KM initiative is to understand the mandate,
mission, and vision, that provide the strategic direction of the public-
sector organization. The mission broadly states the basic purpose of the
public-sector organization and what it is mandated for. The mandate of
a public-sector organization provides the legal basis for its existence and
the authority to perform its functions. The vision is an expressed
statement of the desired future state of the organization. Clear
understanding of the mandate, mission and vision facilitates the
identification of core competencies to achieve the organizational
objectives and outcomes providing insights for designing the KM
programs, roadmap, and action plan for the organization.
Four Accelerators
The Accelerators comprise both KM drivers and enablers. They propel
and speed up, or “accelerate” the KM initiative in an organization. There
are four accelerators: Leadership, Technology, People, and Processes.
Leadership is the driver, while technology, people, and processes are
enablers.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
1. Leadership: The leadership, which resides in the top
management, is the driver of the KM initiative in the organization.
Leadership ensures alignment of KM strategies and projects with
the mandate, mission, and vision of the organization.
2. Technology: Technology accelerates the knowledge process by
providing effective tools and techniques, which assist in the
creation, storing, sharing, and application of knowledge.
3. People: People play important roles in key knowledge processes,
namely creation, sharing, and application. In an organization,
staff are considered users as well as generators of knowledge and
are important knowledge assets as repositories of tacit
knowledge, even explicit knowledge, before it is documented.
4. Processes: Systematic and effectively designed processes can
contribute to improving organizational productivity, value for
citizens, quality, and sustainability.
Outcomes
The knowledge process enables learning and innovation at all levels
and areas in the organization. Learning includes discovering new
insights, affirming what is already known, and realizing the need to
unlearn.
 Individual capability: The learning and innovation that arises
from the knowledge process increases the knowledge and skills
of individuals, resulting in enhanced performance and higher
productivity.
 Team capability: When individuals in a team are constantly
learning and sharing knowledge with each other, team
capability is enhanced and, through this exchange of different
perspectives, it is also possible for new knowledge to be
created.
20
 Organizational capability: To improve internal processes
and systems and core competencies and design
innovative strategies to achieve organizational
effectiveness and sustained relevance, public-sector
organizations need to leverage on individual and team
capabilities, and collaborate with external stakeholders
such as citizens, clients, external providers, and other
actors.
 Societal Capacity: Networking and collaboration can
stimulate the creative potential of individuals and
organizations to seize the enormous opportunities in
society for inclusive growth and sustainable development.
 Productivity: Higher productivity can be achieved through
the collective capabilities of individuals and teams,
technology, improved work processes and systems,
enhanced collaboration, and better decision-making
based on knowledge.
 Quality: Improvement in quality is the result of knowledge
application, learning, and innovation.
 Value for Citizens: Effective KM can provide a wide variety
of benefits to citizens as a result of higher efficiency and
savings for the public sector and businesses, but, more
importantly, in terms of increased transparency and
accountability of public-sector organizations through
greater participation and engagement of citizens in
policymaking and decision-making.
Figure 9: KM Framework for Public Sector, APO 2018
 Growth: Effective public service and the trust-based
relationship between citizens and public-sector
organizations concerning citizens’ information places the
public sector in a unique position to offer customized and
targeted services to particular communities, regions,
provinces, and groups within society.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 21

 1.5. KM System and Organizational Success Factors in Public Institutions
There are several theories that explain an organization’s effectiveness in
it’s environment. Two of them that are believed to be important for this
study are discussed as follows.
Systems Approach
When systemic changes become institutionalized it is very difficult to turn
back to the ‘old way of doing things’. Meaningful measurement and
feedback mechanisms are the cornerstones of successful systems
change. In policy making there is often a gap between policy design
and implementation, especially when addressing complex problems.[11]

A system is made of different subsystems: internal and external. These

Governments are confronted by uncertain and complex challenges subsystems are interconnected and influence each other and the system
whose scale and nature call for new approaches to problem solving. as a whole. Each of the subsystem interacts with the adjacent subsystem
Some of them have started to use systems approaches in policy making and they work in synergy for the betterment of the entire system.
and service delivery to tackle complex or “wicked” problems in areas
ranging from education to ageing, healthcare and mobility. Systems The success ratio of any organization depends on the management
approaches refer to a set of processes, methods and practices that aim approach taken. The organization should function as a unit to achieve
to effect system change. the set goals.
Changing entire systems in the public sector is difficult, in part because The systems approach to management is a concept which views a
they cannot be turned off, redesigned and restarted; public services company as an interconnected purposive system that consists of several
must be continuously available. Systems approaches can help navigate business sections. The entire system can be broken into three parts
this difficult transition by allowing new practices to be rolled out while namely – input, process and output.
core processes are still running. Furthermore, systems approaches can
help organizations better manage complexity by striking a balance
between simplification (focusing on the intended outcome) and
complexification (tackling multiple factors within a system at the same
time). Changing the system also requires building internal skills in
organizations to help face and adapt to new circumstances.
Process
To initiate and sustain systems change over time, individuals at the top of
organisations need to be involved, especially when trying to change
long-established and complex systems. However, leadership is not
enough: a critical mass of actors in different positions and roles, who
understand the need for change and also are willing to act on it, is Environment
crucial for achieving results. Systems approaches require working across
organizational boundaries and government levels.
Figure 10: System Theory, Author

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 22

The response or feedback in a system focuses on the information and data
which is utilized for executing certain operations. These inputs aid in Key Work Area Description
correcting the errors found in the processes. Structure Basis of specialization and co-ordination
influenced primarily by strategy, size, and diversity
Balance and Coordination of organization.
Systems Formal and informal procedures that support the
An integral approach to Knowledge Management involves balancing strategy and structure.
different dimensions of an organization’s ecosystem for successful Styles / Culture Consisting of two components.
implementation. According to McKinsey & Company there are seven key • Organizational Culture: the dominant values,
factors that are responsible for enabling organizations to reach their desired beliefs, and norms which develop over time
goals. Only when all these seven key areas work in a coordinated manner, and become relatively enduring features of
will the company progress. organizational life.
• Management style: more a matter of what
managers do than what they say; how do
company managers spend their time; what
are they focusing on.
Staff The people / human resource management-
processes used to develop managers, socialization
processes, and ways of introducing young recruits
to the company.
Skills The distinctive competences. It is what the
company does best.
Strategy Actions a company plans in response to changes
in its external environment.
Shared Values Guiding concepts, fundamental ideas around
which an organization is built. It must be simple,
usually stated at abstract level, have great
meaning inside the organization even though
outsiders may not see or understand them.
Figure 12: McKinsey’s 7s described [12]

Figure 11: McKinsey’s 7s

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 23

Components of KM System
For this assessment, we used Deloitte’s Knowledge Management Framework[1]. According to them, all six dimensions of a knowledge management
framework must be addressed in order to create a sustainable knowledge sharing culture within a organization. Improvements of knowledge
management are facilitated through a combination of processes, tools and behaviors, enabling better connections and motivating people to share
expertise, insights, learnings and best practices.

Tools must be in place

to facilitate the
knowledge
Focus on the management process
identification, capture of capturing,
Processes provide a and management of organizing, searching,
Creation of a structure that allows core knowledge maintaining and
knowledge for consistency and “assets" in order to disseminating the
management standardization in better access and knowledge
A governance the capture,
structure with clear culture is essential for exploit intellectual
a successful organization, capital
roles and
responsibilities is execution of the KM maintenance and TECHNOLOGY
strategy. Stimulation dissemination of
essential to defining, knowledge
driving, controlling of the behaviors of CONTENT &
people in terms of
and overseeing the CONTEXT
Success requires implementation of knowledge sharing.
knowledge PROCESS &
knowledge
management management ORGANIZATION
initiatives that PEOPLE &
contribute to FCSC’s CULTURE
strategy & goals LEADERSHIP &
GOVERNANCE
STRATEGIC
ALIGNMENT

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 24

Key KM Methods, Activities and Tools
To facilitate the implementation of Knowledge Management , various
techniques and tools have been developed in organizations around the
world. We have listed the important once along with their definition.[13]
A. Non–IT Methods and Tools
 Brainstorming: Brainstorming is a simple way of helping a group
of people to generate new and unusual ideas. The process is
actually split into two phrases: divergence and convergence.
During the divergent phase, everyone agrees to delay their
judgment. In other words, all ideas will be treated as valid.
During the convergent phrase, the participants use their
judgment but do so in a 'positive' manner—that is, they look for
what they like about the ideas before finding flaws.
 Learning and Idea Capture: A key aspect of knowledge
management (KM), at the personal and team levels, is to more
'collectively and systematically' capture the learning and ideas
that are taking place. Learning and idea capture is a guide on
how to do this.
 Peer Assist: It is a technique used by a project team to solicit
assistance from peers and subject matter experts regarding a
significant issue the team is facing.
 Learning Review: it is a technique used by a project team to aid
team and individual learning during the work process.
 After Action Review (AAR) is a technique to evaluate and
capture lessons learned upon completion of a project. It allows
project team members to discover for themselves what
happened, why it happened, and how to sustain strengths and
improve on weaknesses.
 Storytelling: Storytelling is conveying of events in words, images,
and sounds often by improvisation or embellishment. Stories or
narratives have been shared in every culture and in every land
as a means of entertainment, education, preservation of
culture, and in order to instill moral values.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Collaborative Physical Workspace: Physical workspace, in this
context, literally means the settings in which we actually work—
or simply the physical aspects of our office.
 APO Knowledge Management Assessment Tool: It is a survey
questionnaire designed to help organizations conduct an initial
and rapid assessment of its readiness for Knowledge
Management (KM).
 Knowledge Café: A Knowledge Café is a way to have a group
discussion, to reflect, and to develop and share any thoughts
and insights that will emerge, in a very non-confrontational way.
A Knowledge Café suspends all judgment and normally leads to
developing deeper insights and sharing than usual.
 Communities of Practice: COPs are groups of people who share
a concern or a passion for something they do, and learn how to
do it better as they interact regularly. In the context of KM, COPs
are formed—intentionally or spontaneously—to share and
create common skills, knowledge, and expertise among
employees.
 Taxonomy: a taxonomy is a technique that provides the
structure to organize information, documents, and libraries in a
consistent way. This structure assists people to efficiently
navigate, store, and retrieve needed data and information
across the organization. It builds a natural workflow and
knowledge needs in an intuitive structure.
B. IT Methods and Tools
 Document Libraries Leading to a Document Management
System: From the Information Management science, and from
the Library sciences, we have always been interested in better
information and document management. Efficient and
effective access to documents is the antidote to 'information
overload'. Maintaining a 'document repository' with good
categorization and/or taxonomy and metadata (link to these
later) is paramount to filing and, subsequently, searching and
finding the right information at the right time.
25
 Knowledge Bases (Wikis, etc.): are collaborative and this new way—create, innovate, and disseminate new
participative databases that are structured to answer, for a knowledge. A Knowledge Cluster may be viewed as a type of
given knowledge topic, the 'what, why, where, when, who, and Community of Practice (COP). A Knowledge Cluster is a more
how' (the six components of knowledge). a knowledge base will focused COP, normally with the aim of combining knowledge
typically develop knowledge are create new knowledge for a resources to create new innovative products and services
topic, expand the knowledge by discussions and feedback, and/or organize and compete in new ways to win larger
new learning and ideas, edit the expanded knowledge into business contracts.
better new knowledge, maintain history of revisions.  Expertise Locator / Who's Who: Expertise Locator (Expert Locator,
 Blogs: A Blog is a very simple 'journal style' website that contains Who’s Who) is an information technology (IT) tool to enable
a list of entries, usually in reverse chronological order. The entries effective and efficient use and/or share of existing knowledge
are typically short articles or stories, often relating to current by connecting people who need particular knowledge and
events. However, the entries do not have to be just plain text. people who own the knowledge.
They could also be photographs, videos, audio recordings, or a  Collaborative Virtual Workspaces: is that it enables people to
mixture of all the types. work together, irrespective of where they are physically located.
 Social Network Services: social network is a group of people In practical terms, this means that it has to involve a
who share a common area of interest. Social network services combination of document sharing, collaborative editing, and
are online systems that support social networking. The core audio/video conferencing.
services they offer usually include, finding people who have
similar interests or needs; aggregating people into groups, or
subgroups, and being able to communicate with those groups;
and sharing content, such as documents links to relevant
websites, or even streaming and video.
 Voice and VOIP: In very simple terms, the internet is now
capable of sending both audio and video signals between
computers, using nothing more than a broadband connection
and some low-cost equipment, such as a webcam and a
headset. This capability is often referred to as Voice-over-
Internet Protocol (VOIP).
 Advanced Search Tools: Almost everyone who has used the
World Wide Web will, at some point, have used a search engine.
However, very few users take advantage of the advanced
search tools that are offered by most of the search engines.
Understanding these tools can result in a significant
improvement in the quality of search results.
Figure 13: Screenshot of Global Consulting and Accounting Firm rDeloitte’s Intranet
 Building Knowledge Clusters: The term 'Knowledge Cluster' is a
term given to a group that—as a result of coming together in

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 26

1.6. Key Takeaways & Success Factors
Key Takeaways
 KM makes workers more effective and productive in by letting them
acquire, organize and communicate their knowledge.
 The core objective of KM is to get the right information to the right
people at the right time to help people share experience and insights
and to improve the productivity of teams.
 A well implemented KM stimulates collaboration, increases efficiency,
prevents outflow of knowledge, improves decision and policy making,
fosters innovation, improves reputation and increases personal
satisfaction among other benefits.
 There are two types of Knowledge. Tacit knowledge often represents
unconscious personal experiences. Explicit knowledge relates to the
capture and storage of physical data and information in specific
formats, files and composition.
 Tacit knowledge needs to be and can be converted into explicit
knowledge through externalization.
 The KM process involves identifying, creating, storing, sharing &
applying knowledge.
 By their nature, most public-sector organizations are knowledge-
based. They need to accumulate and manage vast amounts of
information and knowledge to effectively discharge governmental
functions
 Some of the common challenges in the public service are enhancing
efficiencies across all public agencies, improving accountability,
making informed decisions, enhancing collaboration & strategic
partnerships with stakeholders, capturing knowledge of an aging
workforce as well as and improving operational excellence.
 General KM Challenges in Public Administration includes hierarchical
leadership & few incentives to transfer knowledge, ICT and IT systems
outdated, underused, shortage of personnel & resources, pressure to
increase efficiency & demonstrate added value of public service.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 The common factors for KM projects failures include focusing on the
supply side of knowledge at the expense of the demand side; not
letting KM recipients determine knowledge to be captured and
shared; not putting in place a formal process for knowledge transfer
and control; and not designing motivational practices to entice end-
users to KM.
 The starting point of any KM initiative is to understand the mandate,
mission, and vision, that provide the strategic direction of the public-
sector organization.
 The Accelerators comprise both KM drivers and enablers. They propel
and speed up, or “accelerate” the KM initiative in an organization.
There are four accelerators: Leadership, Technology, People, and
Processes. Leadership is the driver, while technology, people, and
processes are enablers.
 In this time and age, KM should be approached through integrating
and optimizing knowledge ecosystems. That necessitates employing
the principles of systems thinking theory.
 System approaches refer to a set of processes, methods and practices
that aim to effect system change.
 To initiate and sustain systems change over time, individuals at the top
of organisations need to be involved, especially when trying to
change long-established and complex systems.
 There are seven key factors that are responsible for enabling
organizations to reach their desired goals. They are Structure, Systems,
Styles, Staff, Skills and Strategy.
 There are several IT and Non-IT methods, activities and tools
organizations can use to facilitate KM successfully.
 The six components of a KM system are Strategic Alignment,
Leadership & Governance, People & Culture, Process & Organization,
Content & Context, and Technology.
27
KM Success Factors
An organization needs to consider the following factors to ensure the
success of the implementation of Knowledge Management system
 A defined organizational need. Without this, a system is doomed
to failure. It must meet a real organizational need.
 Strong support from top management. This is necessary to secure
funds and other resources to build and maintain the system. It is
also necessary to create the environment for the necessary shift in
organizational culture. Continued involvement of top
management also helps.
 User and management involvement in the development and
operational phases, including Communities of Practice (CoP) of
users providing and using the knowledge. Involvement leads to
user buy in, which leads to the change in organizational culture.
 Sound, reliable technology. If the technology is inappropriate or
prone to failure, encouraging users is difficult, if not impossible.
 System ease of use. This encourages users to adopt the system.
 Proper user training. Users must be properly trained or the system Figure 14: KM Success Model according to Massey, Montoya-Weiss, and O’Driscoll, 2002
will not be trusted and fall into disuse.
 Reward structure for knowledge contributions and use.
Knowledge sharing and use become part of everyone’s job.
 Successfully demonstrated pilot program to encourage system
development and use.
 Demonstrated financial payoff. This encourages continued
funding and use. Successful KMS pay for themselves many times
over per year once they are deployed[14]

KM success is based on understanding a process-oriented KM strategy

and its effects on the organization, its knowledge users, and how they use
knowledge. It recognizes that KM is an organizational change process
and that KM success cannot separate itself from the organizational
change success with the result that the KM success essentially is defined as
improving organizational or process performance. [15]

Figure 15: Lindsey KM Effectiveness Model, 2002

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 28

 2.1. Assessment Framework
The framework for the assessment is designed based of the key takeaways and success factors highlighted in
the previous chapter as foundations. Accordingly, the following issues stood out to be very essential elements
which are integrated to design a framework for the assessment. These elements include existing and popular
KM frameworks (such as Deloitte’s KM Framework), concept of system approach, and organizational
effectiveness factors (such as McKinsey’s 7s), and other KM success factors.

01 • Shared Values/Culture
Context

CHAPTER
•
• Leadership & Governance
• Strategy Alignment
• Structure
Management Style

2
•
• Stored Knowledge /
Explicit Knowledge
ENVIRONMENT • Knowledge Base/
Repository
ASSESSMENT • Staff/People and
SYSTEM • Information Asset
(Decision Making,

APPROACH
Skills Onboarding,
02 • Technology Optimized Training
INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
• Content Retention)

FEEDBACK

This Chapter discusses the framework ENVIRONMENT

used, phases, sources of data, and

analysis approach applied in the
assessment. • Defining & Developing Content
• Processing and Organizing

Figure 16: Assessment Design Framework, Consultants

Impact: Learning Organization

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 29

2.2. Assessment Phases, Methods, and Data Sources
Assessment Phases
UNDERSTAND
01 Assessed and
03
understood the current
KM practices in FCSC.
Understood and shape
expectations, purpose &
objectives of the project,
the need to conduct
the research, scope,
stakeholders, team 04
members, risks involved
and challenges
DESIGN
02 Determined the nature
of sampling frame and
size of samples based
on target population.
Designed most
effective survey and
research tools.
Designed data
collection framework,
05
timetable and
personnel deployment.
Identified major gaps
and drawbacks
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Methods & Data Sources
Best Practice Review & Benchmarking. Examinied the literature for
the background of KM; Examining the literature for developing
EXECUTE and designing assessment methodology; Examining the literature
Deployed data
for bench marking and to assess KM best practices around the
world.
collectors, FCSC Document Review. Review of various documents related
distributed tools, Desk with FCSC’s practice of KM including Proclamation, Strategy
conducted Review Document, KM Manual, KM Annual & Implementation Plan,
interviews, and Sample Job Descriptions (JDs), Performance Evaluation Format,
FGDs. etc
Major Topics on the Survey were: Department & Education Level
ANALYZE of the Respondent; Assessment of KM Capabilities including all
the KM Dimensions; Adequacy and Frequency of Knowledge
Analyzed
collected data Management IT Tools at FCSC; Adequacy and Frequency of
Questionnaire Knowledge Management Activities and Techniques
and summarized
Participants of the Survey included: Senior Management
69
results;
summarized Middle Management; Experts; Staff working in various
offices and departments
findings from best
practices and Interviewees including: Commissioner of FCSC, Head of
benchmarks; Strategic Management, Director of Change Management
documented Directorate, Senior Advisor of the Commissioner, Head of
reflections on Corporate Resource Management, Head of IT Directorate, Head
FCSC documents. In-depth of Knowledge Management Department, Head of Service
Interview Standards Directorate, Head of Law Services , Head of
DELIVER
Produced reports on
12 Communication, Head of HR Information and Statistics
2 Focus Group Discussions
the assessment with
• Team 1: Consisting of Senior Management’
conclusions and on
• Team 2: Consisting of Directors and Experts
the proposed KM
initiatives & strategies
for FCSC. FGD
2
30
2.3. Analysis Approach
This section describes the approach employed to analyze the data collected using tools & methods discussed Interview Summary
in the previous section. Accordingly, the analysis and presentation of the findings focused on review of best
practices & benchmarking, review of FCSC documents and analysis of data from questionnaires, in-depth
interviews and FGDs.

S.N Assessment Methodology Analysis Approach

1 Desk Review • Review of best practices in KM in public institutions Data Entry

around the world.
• Systematically examined cases from selected
countries and institutions
• Extracted KM challenges, implementations, results
and lessons learned

2 FCSC Documents Review • Collected and thoroughly examined relevant

documents from FCSC to assess current status of KM Preparation of Charts
practices & implementation at the Commission. and Graphs
• Summarized and captured key reflections

3 Questionnaire, FGD and Interview
• Encoded survey responses, entered the data for
processing
• Defined a framework for the presentation of results
in the form of charts and graphs.
• Categorized results into the different dimensions of FGD Summary
KM
• Elicited key learnings from the developed charts
and graphs
• Transcribed interview and FGD discussion points.
• Captured the key findings and triangulated them
with results from the questionnaire responses

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 31

 3.1. Best Practices and Benchmarks
Findings from Best Practices & Benchmarking
Based on analysis of a number of various KM implementation cases in both public & private
institutions, some of them are selected and presented in this section. Lessons that are believed to be
useful for FCSC to learn from are extracted from these cases of best practices & benchmarks.
Generally, the case studies are categorized into three sub-sections as global, African, and local case
studies from public and private institutions as shown below.

African Case Ethiopian Case

CHAPTER
Global Case Studies
Studies Studies
Emirates Identity
South Africa Public Indigenous And
Authority (UAE)
Sector Informal

3
International Enterprise Knowledge
Singapore (Singapore) African Management
Development Bank Practice
Bharat Electronics
Limited (India) United Nations Health Professionals
ASSESSMENT Korea Customs
Economic
Commission for
In Public Hospitals
Located In Mekelle
Authority (South Korea)
FINDINGS
Africa
Ethiopian Airlines
Taphan Hin Crown Tanzania Public
Prince Hospital (TCPH) Sector
(Thailand) Commercial Bank
Uganda Revenue of Ethiopia
This Chapter extensively presents the Malaysian Agricultural Authority
findings from the best practices and Research And National Bank of
benchmarking, findings from the review Development Institute Summary of Ethiopia
of FCSC documents and findings from (Malaysia) Manufacturing Firms
questionnaire responses, in-depth in (Kenya)
Kuwait National
interviews and Focus Group Discussions
Petroleum Company
(FGDs)
(Kuwait)

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 32

Global Case Studies
The Emirates Identity Authority (also
referred to as Emirates ID) is a federal
government organization in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE).
It is responsible for registering all of the
country’s population, both citizens and
legal residents, and issue smart identity
cards to them with digital credentials for
use in electronic environments. At present,
it has more than 60 service centers across
the country with more than 1,400
employees. At present, and compared to
its international peers, the Emirates ID is
considered one of the most successful
implementations of identity systems in the
world and a benchmark for best practices.
The Emirates ID was recognized in 2012 as
the best government authority in the UAE.
The ID Authority argues that its use of
knowledge management practices and
strategies helped to achieve strategic
insights and specific experiences that
supported overall organizational
development and maturity.
EMIRATES IDENTITY AUTHORITY [16]
A. KM Approach and was linked to organizational dimensions of
improvements of processes and services, business
The figure below depicts the knowledge performance, relationships with customers, and
management approach followed at the Emirates organizational and strategic targets and as a
Identity Authority. It basically depicts the activities means of superiority, excellence, and
in four main components. The first stage describes competitiveness.
what the organization aims to achieve with
knowledge management. The second stage
represents the players who participated in the
journey. The third stage represents how the
organization handled the execution part and set
the foundational work at the operational level. The
why stage represented the actual results that were
gained from the knowledge management
exercise.
Figure 18: KM concept the Emirates ID, Al-Khouri, 2014
Instead of starting from scratch, the Emirates ID
decided to follow the European Framework for
Quality Management and use it as guiding
principles to develop organizational excellence.
The framework supported the organization in
consolidating its knowledge base according to the
different dimensions of the framework.
Figure 17: Knowledge management approach at the Emirates ID, Al-
Khouri, 2014
Direction Setting
The interest of higher management in
organizational knowledge prompted them to think
about how to manage knowledge for the
organization’s benefit. Knowledge management
was viewed as a strategic resource and capability
Figure 19 : EFQM Model, Al-Khouri, 2014
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
33
Strategy Development / Alignment
Emirates ID recognizes that the creation of knowledge is only brought
about through the recognition of gaps in an organization’s KM practices.
This triggered a move to revise its organizational strategy and develop a
specific strategy to deal with how the organization will tackle KM and
drive innovation. The strategy ensured that KM initiatives were aligned
with broader organizational directions, overall strategy, and objectives.
Figure 20: Knowledge management strategy development process, Al-Khouri, 2014
Engaging Stakeholders
The Emirates ID took on many initiatives to engage all key players in its
knowledge management journey: employees, partners, customers, Board
of Trustees, etc. It organized many workshops and brainstorming sessions
to get feedback on how well the organization was doing.
Human Capital Development
As an integral part of its KM strategy, the Emirates IDs revised its human
resource management strategies annually to ensure that they enabled
the organization and its service centers to manage their managerial
activities by coordinating employee-related processes.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
B. Knowledge Management Preparation & Practices
 Organizational Re-Structure: The Emirates ID embarked on several
organizational re-structuring initiatives and paid particular
attention to the element of knowledge ownership. The different
organizational structures adopted were designed to ensure the
provision of an environment for organizational learning.
 Policies and Procedures: The Authority developed a set of
umbrella policies and procedures to guide decision making and
dealing with operational know-how (and know-why). They
therefore went through different iterative review cycles to
capture both implicit and explicit knowledge to enhance
knowledge retention.
 Performance Management System: The Authority tested different
performance management systems and it finally decided to
follow the balance scorecard (BSC) to measure and monitor
performance at individual, departmental, and institutional levels.
The Authority was able to measure its performance by giving
knowledge a value. This, in turn, got management to focus on
who used such aggregated knowledge to refine their
performance measures contained in their scorecard. This then
created more knowledge and so the cycle continued.
 Work Environment: The Emirates ID, as part of its organizational
transformation, embarked on an initiative to redesign its
workplace environments to make employee collaboration and
communication easier and heighten productivity. The new work
environments featured open spaces, flexible layouts, and
functional furniture. The office designs not only promoted
transparency but also improved employee satisfaction, utilized
space better, and increased overall customer satisfaction.
Additional features were added to the centers such coffee
shops, open-access Internet Wi-Fi, parking spaces, etc.
34
  Knowledge Management and Business Intelligence Systems: KM Function Description How ECOL contributes to KM
The Emirates ID employed numerous information IT implementation at Emirates ID
management systems to enable key business functions. The Intermediation Knowledge transfer • Finding, gathering, filtering, and
Emirates ID decided to implement business intelligence between knowledge mapping knowledge to be
applications to provide analytical representations of business producers and transferred.
knowledge consumers. • Identifying relations among
operations and produce information to help management Simply it is matchmaking building blocks of knowledge.
and employees understand, improve, and optimize business between providers and • Identifying the knowledge flow
operations. The decision support systems embedded seekers in order to have routes throughout the Emirates ID
knowledge management principles that were necessary to efficient transfer. and with its stakeholders.
achieve intra-organizational knowledge bases as the use of Externalization Transform implicit • Emirates ID have almost covered
corporate data to derive and create higher-level information knowledge into explicit this function. ECOL conducts
and knowledge. knowledge (as indicated health checks to ensure that the
earlier), which can help Explicit Knowledge Portal is being
 Business Process Reengineering: Using both tacit knowledge
in continuous maintained, updated, and
of employees through their involvement in the design phases, improvement, open revised.
and available explicit knowledge in documents and innovation, and market
procedures, the Emirates ID was able to direct the intelligence.
organizational knowledge towards the standardization and Internalization It is a kind of reversal • Developing new knowledge
thereafter to the automation of processes. process for the previous through abstracting relevant
function where knowledge that matters to
knowledge is extracted Emirates ID and its stakeholders.
C. Supporting Institutional Development of Knowledge from various sources and • Ensures understanding and
Management Capacity communicated to the learning through awareness
knowledge seekers. campaign and professional
formal training.
The Emirates ID also implemented various approaches and activities
to support the development of institutional capacity for knowledge Cognition Exploitation of • Enables and monitors the actions
knowledge in making and decisions being made using
management. Some of the important ones are captured and
informed decisions. the available knowledge.
described in the following subsections. • Adding its analysis and value to
A. Emirates Centre for Organizational Learning (ECOL): It was information to create knowledge.
established to support the building of institutional
Measurement Measuring all activities • Provides instruments to measure
knowledge and creativity. The center considers knowledge and investments that knowledge provision,
management a cornerstone for organizational learning. The have been put into consumption, utilization, and
adjacent table explains ECOL’s activities. managing the other four effectiveness.
B. Knowledge Libraries: The Emirates ID also supports functions.
knowledge management by creating physical knowledge Figure 21: Knowledge management strategy development process, Al-Khouri, 2014
repositories; i.e., libraries that store knowledge and
information in a documentary form.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 35

 These libraries basically store all explicit knowledge generated
within the organization (structured internal knowledge), such as
policies and procedures, reports, memos, guidelines, minutes of
meetings, etc., and other types of knowledge acquired from
external sources (competitive intelligence), including books,
journal articles databases, external reports, government
information, etc. These libraries are also equipped with digital
discussion databases that store “know-how” representing
informal, internal, and tacit knowledge.
C. Web Portal (Massive Knowledge Repository): The Emirates ID has
put in place a web-based, single-window platform to disseminate
knowledge, a knowledge portal hosted on internal networks
(Intranet), and a web portal accessible by public (Internet). These
two content management-based channels also embed tools to
enable employees and customers to broadcast their suggestions
and/or problems. The Emirates ID actively shares information on its
portals and Intranet sites and encourages people to actively
contribute to its knowledge base. In general, data are organized
in categories to facilitate knowledge storage and easy access to
the content, and an advanced search engine facilitates
knowledge mining within the databases.
D. Gamification of Knowledge Transfer: The Emirates ID introduced
gamification on different levels on the assumption that people will
be motivated to advance or “win” in the context of the game.
This had a significant impact on the overall performance of staff
that pushed employees to collaborate and learn from each other
how to improve their individual performances. Gamification
examples at EID will be annexed at the end of this report.
E. Knowledge Documentation: Part of its overall efforts to develop
more a conductive work environment that is based on the
principles of effective knowledge creation, transfer, and use, the
Emirates ID paid considerable attention to raising the awareness
of knowledge management by documenting and sharing
knowledge. It launched internal competitions and awards for
contributions to the organization’s structured knowledge base.
This resulted in a large database of documented knowledge
including lessons learned and best practices.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
F. Research and Development: The Emirates ID recognized the
relationship between knowledge capital and research and
development (R&D) and as a process to foster knowledge for
developing innovation. It thus supported its staff to engage in
research activities through different incentive schemes.
G. Supporting Knowledge Societies: The Emirates ID has been
actively participating in the organization of international
conferences and workshops to support the development of
knowledge societies. These events promoted the establishment of
a network of organizations in the industry and supported the flow
of, and access to, data, information, best practices, and new
knowledge.
H. Benchmarking and Knowledge Sharing: Benchmarking is a
business practice that stimulates process improvement by
determining best practices across organizations through
performance measurement, thereby helping understand these
factors that enable the higher performance of leading
organizations. The Emirates ID uses benchmarking approach to
continuously assess its state of knowledge and to focus on
necessary improvements.
I. Following Standards: To avoid re-inventing the wheel, the Emirates
ID decided to adopt international standards and codes of
practice in different technical and management fields. This was
based on its management belief that adherence to such
standards would ensure that its functional processes meet the
requirements and are consistent with the industry codes of
practice. These standards and systems helped the Emirates ID in
the collection and maintenance of knowledge through a
standardization process.
J. International Awards for Innovation and Best Practices: The
Emirates ID instituted several awards for excellence in
organizational learning as well as for innovation. These awards go
a long way in promoting organizational excellence and serve as
major motivational factors and accord recognition to the
achievers. The awards typically invite ideas and research papers
in different fields of practice (in identity management and
corporate excellence). Received articles are then added to the
knowledge repository. Reported gains were multifold as they
were used to challenge existing approaches and thereby
improving them.
36
D. Key Results Gained
 Strategy Fulfillment: The overall strategic framework and the use
of knowledge management at the Emirates ID have enabled it
to cultivate enormous productivity and achieve its strategic
targets. The Emirates ID achieved 97% of its strategic objectives
and targets for its strategy cycle in 2010–2013. The Authority is
recognized as the best federal organization in the UAE and is
considered as a benchmark for best practices on national and
global scales.
 Employees Productivity and Satisfaction: Enhancing knowledge
and talent management at the Emirates ID has widened its
scope for productivity gains with respect to the Authority’s
targeted goals and tasks. The overall environment at the
Emirates ID encouraged teamwork and collaboration. Through
the use of knowledge management practices, the Emirates ID
managed to usher in a new form of employee motivation that
focused on developing knowledge workers. Employee’s
satisfaction showed a growing trend, up from 52% in 2009 to
77.52% in 2013.
 Customers Satisfaction (Service Quality, Efficiency, and
Effectiveness): Knowledge management practices enhanced
customer knowledge at the Emirates ID. For example, it played
a key role in improving contact center and customer service
Figure 22: Employee satisfaction survey results (2019–2013), Figure 23: Customers’ satisfaction results (2010–2013)
Al-Khouri, 2014 Al-Khouri, 2014
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
interactions. The different knowledge management
technologies supported the development of multiple interaction
channels with employees and customers. This, in turn, improved
service efficiency as well as the quality and consistency of
communications. As more and more customers opted for
electronic channels, this greatly impacted overall customer
satisfaction and lowered operational costs. There is an
increasing trend of customer satisfaction from 2009 to 2013
peaking at 91%.
 Financial Results: Knowledge management had a direct impact
on the financial performance of the organization. Savings
exceeded hundreds of millions and supported the Authority to
become self-sufficient in terms of financing its annual budget,
despite the fact that the annual budget went up three-fold in
the second year of operation. The business process
reengineering initiative saved more ($136) million in less than
three years in operational costs
 Organizational learning and Innovation: The Emirate ID
supported the development of a learning-oriented culture in its
efforts to modernize and transform the organization. Emirates ID
observed a correlation between organizational learning culture,
job satisfaction, and innovativeness.
Figure 24: Interrelationship between organizational learning,
job satisfaction, and innovation (2010–2013) Al-Khouri, 2014
37
E. Lessons Learned
1. Rather than building formal systems to manage knowledge, the
focus of organizations needs to shift towards building social
environments and practices necessary to facilitate the share of tacit
understanding
2. To create value, organizations need to focus on how knowledge is
used to build critical capabilities
3. Organizational transformation was brought about by a clear
communicated strategy. Knowledge concepts came from the vision
and mission that was carefully defined for the organization. A clear,
well-formulated strategy laid the foundations of knowledge
management needs in the organization.
4. A corporate-aligned IT strategy ensured that information was
managed to provide data visualization and provided a decision
support system for the organization. Knowledge gained from
sustained operations was applied in areas enhancing operational
efficiencies.
5. As continuous learning resulted in organizational transformation,
service delivery transformation and e-service development were
achieved through knowledge application.
6. Strong leadership was identified as the major enabler. Leadership for
the organization meant empowerment, decentralization, and
ownership.
7. A major accelerating factor was in enabling tacit knowledge to be
converted diligently to explicit knowledge.
8. It is important to
 View KM as a strategic resource and capability and link it to
organizational dimensions of improvements of processes and
services, business performance, relationships with customers,
and organizational and strategic targets and as a means of
superiority, excellence, and competitiveness.
 Align KM with broader organizational directions, overall
strategy, and objectives.
 Engage all key players in KM journey: employees, partners,
customers, Board of Trustees, etc. It is possible to organize
workshops and brainstorming sessions to get feedback.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Give knowledge value while measuring performance of
employees.
 Redesign workplace environments to make employee
collaboration and communication easier and heighten
productivity.
 Reengineer business processes based on tacit and explicit
knowledge available.
 Maintain, update, and revise knowledge portals regularly.
 Gamify knowledge transfer endeavors since it enables
employees to be motivated to advance or ‘Win” improving
their overall performance.
 Recognize the relationship between knowledge capital and
research by incentivizing research activities.
 Adopt international standards and code of practices or
develop internal, organizational standards to avoid reinventing
of the wheel.
 Award innovation and best practices.
 Record and assess the level of employee and customer
satisfactions regularly.
 Use physical libraries and online Web Portal (Knowledge
Repository) to store all
o explicit knowledge (policies and procedures, reports,
memos, guidelines, minutes of meeting, books, journal
articles, databases, external reports, government
information
o Implicit knowledge (know-hows)
o Suggestions and comments receiving function should
be incorporated
o input by users to the knowledge base should be
enabled
o Categorization should be enabled
o Advanced search engine should enabled
38

International Enterprise (IE) Singapore is the
government agency driving Singapore’s
external economy. It spearheads the overseas
growth of Singapore-based companies and
promotes international trade. With its global
network in over 35 locations spanning many
emerging markets, the agency connects
businesses with relevant Singapore-based
companies for their business expansion.
Heightened global competition and
opportunities drive IE Singapore to focus on
helping Singapore’s larger companies
compete in the global arena as well as
providing assistance to smaller firms to expand
quickly and eventually be able to compete
globally.
To achieve its strategy, IE Singapore undertook
a fundamental review of its organizational
structure and the capabilities needed,
particularly in understanding customer needs
and challenges during the process of
internationalizing. Officers needed to do things
differently. The agency’s structure was
reorganized with growing market specialization
in mind, enabling staff to develop deeper
knowledge of the markets that their customers
are going to operate in, and provide more
value-added assistance in their
internationalization plans.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
A. KM Implementation
The Knowledge Management Division (KMD) was
tasked to address IE Singapore’s knowledge
needs and oversee the management of IE
Singapore’s knowledge assets. The following are
three initiatives that KMD has carried out to
support IE’s strategy.
1. Knowledge Centers - To encourage
expertise building and knowledge sharing, IE
Singapore developed an in-house intranet,
IEX (Integrated Employee Exchange) in 2003
with a dedicated portal (Knowledge
Center) to capture market and industry
intelligence. The Knowledge Center is an
information warehouse that provides access
to information about missions, study trips and
strategy papers. It taps into the wealth and
depth of knowledge that have been built
over the years. Through staff contribution,
key knowledge documents on various
markets, industries, and capabilities have
been created and captured in the portal.
Many of these documents contain in-depth
ground level insights into international
business environments. It also documents
and integrates officers learning in a central
knowledge database that is readily
accessible across the organization.
2. Storytelling – To gain knowledge from
experienced business men who returned
from abroad, the institute started storytelling
programs.
INTERNATIONAL ENTERPRISE SINGAPORE [3]
This included understanding the living
conditions of the countries, business
challenges, and etiquette as well as survival
skills in these countries. There was a growing
recognition of the need to capture and
share some of this tacit knowledge to the
new and younger officers who will be
posted in these countries. To promote
greater knowledge sharing, tea sessions
called the Passport Series, provided staff
with the opportunity to listen firsthand to the
Regional or Center Directors’ experiences,
and accelerate knowledge acquisition in an
informal setting.
3. The RACK (Retention of All Critical
Knowledge) - A knowledge audit,
conducted in 2010, revealed that IE
Singapore needed to focus more on its
valuable tacit knowledge, which was lost
due to staff rotation, secondment to other
government bodies, and natural attrition.
The objectives of RACK were three-fold:
 Minimize knowledge loss when a
staff transfers to another
department or leaves the
organization
 Share captured knowledge with
other employees
 Shorten employees’ learning curve
The RACK is a tool designed to help
supervisors retain knowledge within their
team even after their officers with critical
expertise have moved to another division, or
left the organization.
39
Captured knowledge is shared with other employees, thereby
shortening their learning curves and minimizing knowledge loss.
One of the challenges in formulating the RACK initiative is that there is
no standard methodology and approach practiced in the industry. KMD
studied various industry practices and designed a simple process to kick- 5.
start the program. The methodology involved identifying the participant,
scoping the critical topics to be discussed, interviewing the officers,
transcribing the shared session into a readable article, and sharing it
with the team and the organization. The RACK experience is stored in
the Knowledge Center and is made available to all staff.
B. Key Lessons Learned
1. One of the key lessons is the importance of leadership support and
buy-in. IE Singapore was fortunate that it’s CEO was very
supportive, and recognized the importance of KM in supporting
and accelerating continuous learning within the organization,
preserving the organization’s memory, and building employees’
capabilities to help companies internationalize.
2. Another lesson is the importance of understanding the business
knowledge of IE Singapore. Knowing the knowledge required to
perform key business activities allowed KMD to understand and
focus on the key areas of knowledge to be captured. This ensures
that only useful business knowledge is captured and allows
employees acquire the right knowledge to help companies
internationalize.
3. Engagement with employees has also been found to be important.
Knowing and understanding what employees need allowed KMD
to formulate an effective plan or initiative that will be well-received
by staff.
4. It is a good practice to start small by doing a pilot on initiatives. By
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
getting ‘KM-oriented’ departments to be involved in the pilot, it
allows KMD to run the initiative and assess the outcome. If the
outcome is successful, KMD will produce a case study and use it as
an example to others on how the initiative benefits the previous
group.
It is important to
 Review organizational structure and capabilities based on
knowledge needs (strategy).
 Build an in-house intranet to encourage expertise building
and knowledge sharing.
 Institute storytelling programs so that experienced
employees or alumnus share their expertise and
knowledge to new, young and inexperienced staff.
 Conduct regular knowledge audits to know the gaps in KM
efforts.
 Initiate tools like “the RACK” to retain all critical knowledge
and minimize knowledge loss from employees including
employees who are leaving.
 Engage employees while designing KM initiatives.
 Start small by working on pilot initiatives.
Figure 25: Screenshot of Knowledge Center, APO 2013
40

BEL is an enterprise by the Government of
India, under the Ministry of Defence. BEL is a
premier, professional electronics company in
the country, engaged in the design,
development and manufacture of a variety
of communications equipment, radar
equipment, systems, and electronic
components. The customer profile is broad,
which includes the army, navy, air force,
paramilitary forces, police, BSNL and MTNL,
the oil sector, port trusts, All India Radio,
public-service broadcaster, VSNL, ISRO, DSIR,
DRDO, various institutions, laboratories, and
industries.
BEL was selected by Asian Productivity
Organization (APO) for their APO Productivity
Demonstration Program which works on an
enterprise-wide productivity movement that
achieves business expansion, increases
profits and customer satisfaction, reduces
waste, enables energy savings, which leads
to better knowledge sharing, and the
creation of a learning culture mutually
beneficial to management and workers.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
A. KM Implementation
In their endeavor to implement KM at BEL, the first
task was to identify possible obstacles to the
success of the KM Demonstration Project. They
were identified by the KM Team as follows:
 Mindset [people’s attitudes to
knowledge management. It was
perceived as ‘yet another initiative’,
‘extra to my work’, or ‘a quite important
part of work’, or discerned as the ideal,
‘KM is my work’]
 Seen as extra work
 Time consuming
 People are unaware of KM
 Willingness to share?
 ‘What’s in it for me?’
 Resistance to change
 Technology – availability, awareness, skills
 Environment [was the work environment
conducive to effective knowledge
sharing?]
 A busy period (unavailability of people)
 Unless knowledge is captured, it will be
lost
 Senior management support
Next, Knowledge Gaps at the institute were
identified and the Information Systems and
Technology capabilities were assessed. A one-
year Knowledge Management Demonstration
Project was implemented in October 2008. There
were three distinct stages:
BHARAT ELECTRONICS LIMITED (BEL)[3]
 Planning: The planning stage consisted of
diagnosing KM implementation-related
issues and challenges faced by the
company, and setting the overall
direction and specific goals to be
achieved.
 Implementation: The implementation
stage involved execution of the KM
implementation plans in BEL.
 Dissemination: The dissemination stage
evaluated the improvement efforts and
initiatives implemented, and extracted
the main lessons learnt to provide a
practical guide, and encourage other
enterprises to emulate them in the future.
B. Key Results Gained
After designing, developing, testing, and
implementing the Knowledge Portal in July 2009,
significant work was carried out in improving
communications, collaboration, learning, and
managing knowledge. The following benefits were
achieved:
 Created and implemented an Expert
Locator System
 Created active discussion forums and
communities pertaining to project
knowledge
 Portal linked to quality manuals, SAP
systems, business excellence, suggestion
scheme, human resource
41
  Antenna, a separate unit, joined and linked staff’s knowledge
work within the portal
 New learnings were collectively and systematically captured in the
portal, as evidenced month by month, resulting in improved Radar
Display Testing knowledge
 Blogs were implemented
 A knowledge base for knowledge management was created
 A knowledge base for Radar Testing was created
C. Key Lessons Learned
 Direct business improvement is difficult to measure exclusively as a
result of KM. The key improvement was the ‘visible change in
mindset in the KM core team especially, and in the radar testing
pilot group.
 The culture was changing more toward a ‘knowledge sharing
culture’
 BEL Ghaziabad used the KM pilot work as evidence for their recent
visit and assessment for their annual Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) Business Excellence Assessment
 The year end for BEL (first quarter of 2009) was a busy period to
implement the pilot. BEL has recognized to conduct pilots outside
the busy time frame, and April is the ideal time
 BEL reported that in the beginning of the project, comparative
case studies of other organizations using KM tools and their
performance is necessary
 The KM approach agreed in the planning phase was ‘middle out’,
but
 BEL realized that in India, the common organizational culture is still
too ‘top driven’ or hierarchical
 It is important to
o Involve employees to identify the barriers and challenges
of KM at the institution.
o Realize the demonstration of KM at an organization can be
tackled in three different phases: Planning, Implementation
and Dissemination.
o Use Expert Locator Systems for finding experts on particular
subjects, allowing individuals to enter details about what
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
they know and can do, and allowing others to search for
all people having desired skills, experience, or knowledge;
and systems for asking questions of experts and getting the
answers.
o Change the knowledge sharing culture in an organization
through time by implementing different KM activities.
KOREA CUSTOMS SERVICE (KCS)[3]
The Korea Customs Service (KCS) was established on 27
August 1970 as an independent organization. Its broad goals
include the imposition and collection of customs duties, and
overseeing the clearance of imports and exports; regulation
of imports and exports for promoting national prosperity; and
securing fiscal revenues to contribute to economic
development.
The KCS is pressed with the need to adapt to the shifting
environment, address new global challenges, and provide
more effective customs services. The concept of KM implies
sensitivity to the changing environment, active utilization of
new information for updating traditional work practices,
utilization of technologies for enhanced efficiency, and
usage of innovative techniques for increasing the
effectiveness of customs services. Knowledge management
is not a choice, but a necessity, and requires organizational
internalization.
42
A. KM Implementation
KCS implemented the following KM Programs:
a) The Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Customs Automation
System: This is the result of customs processes innovation,
namely, the construction of a customs integration system for
declaration and information sharing between logistics agents
through non-paper based Electronic Data Interchange (EDI).
b) The operation of 3A (Anytime, Anywhere, Any device)
service, and Internet customs portal: This facilitates import-
export declarations from anywhere in the country without
time or location restrictions.
c) One–Stop Customs Service, Single-Window Customs: This
allows for handling customs procedures in a single clearing
through the Single Window system. Also, data can
automatically be sent to agencies that require inspections or
quarantine information.
d) The KCS Integrated Information System: The system provides a
convenient online analytical processing (OLAP) tool for
employees to quickly and accurately process information.
e) Knowledge Management Portal System: The operation of this
system integrates and shares all of the internally and
externally amassed information. It aims to enhance
workplace productivity through the systematic accumulation
and sharing of work knowledge and know-how, and seeks to
establish a widespread culture of knowledge management to
employees.
B. Knowledge Management Strategies
KCS achieves goals through introduction of knowledge management
innovation techniques using the following four major programs:
1. Systematic Management of Customer Relations
2. Six Sigma: Innovative Problem Solving
3. Strategic Performance Management
4. Nurturing of Future-Oriented Personnel: Comprehensive
Human Resources Management
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
C. Key Results Gained
a) The establishment of an advanced customs and logistics
system in line with G-20 standards resulted in an increase in
RFID-based airline cargo clearance.
b) Protection of public health and security
c) International and national awards and recognitions
D. Key Lessons Learned
 International Recognition: The KCS was ranked top in customs
administration by the World Bank. This was the result of the use of
leading-edge information technology for document digitization
and networking; the construction of an Internet based import-
export customs environment, leading to the reduction of trade
costs; and the sophistication of the traveler customs systems,
customer focused management, etc., thus, attaining top rank in
several customs service areas.
 Increase in exports (Uni-Pass system): The Uni-Pass system is an
automated initiative through online, Internet or other non-paper
electronic processing of product declarations customs inspection,
tax payments during import-export, and other clearance
procedures.
 Simple ideas lead to knowledge management: Improvement of
internal work efficiency through the database performance
management optimization for strategy clarification and decision
making;
 Improving the quality of knowledge through sustainable
management programs: Fair knowledge evaluation was pursued
through the process and outcome evaluations of KM system;
educational training of the KM evaluator; and operation of the
Poor Knowledge Report Center. Useful knowledge was substantially
increased by improving knowledge mileage policy and
implementing continuous knowledge monitoring.
 Shift in ways of thinking, and establishment of creative
organizational cultures such as conserving energy, decreasing
pollution, or enhancing national image
43
 Customer satisfied customs administration service: The various
programs and initiatives have improved external customers’ satisfaction
toward customs administration. The KCS has received various domestic
and international positive evaluations as well as awards.
 It is important to:
o Monitor the quality of stored knowledge since not all
knowledge is useful.
o Realize KM improves external customers’ satisfaction.
o Automate business operations that are possible to automate
to conserve energy and minimizes waste.
E. Next Steps
The agenda of the Korea Customs Service (KCS) is to realize the goal of
the ‘World’s Best Customs Administration’. The broad plans consist of
establishing of new 10-year knowledge management master plan in
2020.
TAPHAN HIN CROWN PRINCE HOSPITAL (TCPH)[3]
Taphanhin Crown Prince Hospital (TCPH) is located in Taphanhin District, Pichit
Province, a small and peaceful province 300 km north of Bangkok, where most
local people earn their living as farmers for generations. They are traditional
Thai rural agriculture-based communities, close-knitted and family oriented. In
2012, the hospital has grown into a 90-bed community hospital, serving 70,000
people.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
It is understood that knowledge and skills of medical professions are very tacit
in nature and grow with personal experiences. Those with experience can
make a difference in service outcomes, particularly in difficult or emergency
situations.
There was an urgent need to systematically transfer knowledge and skills from
older to younger generations, and retain it for long-term use to continuously
improve performance, thus increasing patients’ or stakeholders’ satisfaction.
A. KM Objectives
Aware that their existing knowledge-sharing activities were ineffective
and inefficient to cope with urgent needs, TCPH senior management
decided to embrace and integrate KM into their management system
to achieve the following objectives:
 Stimulate and encourage sharing of knowledge and skills
throughout the hospital using various KM tools and techniques
 Transform individual knowledge, particularly senior staff, into
organizational knowledge by sharing and codifying tacit
knowledge, and collecting them in a knowledge repository
for easy access to employees
 Encourage the use of knowledge gained from sharing, or
from knowledge repository to improve processes, and thus,
enhance hospital performance
B. KM Implementation
With these objectives, TCPH informally started KM in 2006 by
implementing communities of practice (CoPs) and storytelling in some
nursing units without good understanding about KM. Some of the KM
activities were:
 Transition and Behavior Management: Senior management
reviewed the mission statement and strategies, and set KM
as one of the organization’s strategies for enhancing the
organization’s and employees’ capabilities.
44
 The KM objectives were aligned with the organizational direction
and goals through KM strategy. The KM committee was reorganized
to consist of senior leaders from all functional units to oversee
planning and implementation of KM throughout the hospital.
Considering that supportive culture was critical to KM success,
therefore, senior leaders strengthened their core values through
creating a supportive environment for openness by adopting the
policy of “No Blame” to errors and failures, and setting up more
improvement cross functional teams from key and supportive
functions.
 Communication: The hospital director and senior leaders used two-
way communication to get buy-in through meetings with all
employees three times a year. The key messages conveyed were on
KM benefits to the employees ‘what’s in it for me’, ensuring the ease
of implementation (not too complicated to implement), and how
they could participate in KM. All employees were given the
opportunity to ask and discuss about any issues until consensus was
reached.
 Selection of Appropriate KM Tools: Appropriate KM tools were
selected for use in various KM activities based on the type of
knowledge (explicit or tacit knowledge) dealt with, and fitness to
employees’ behavior and learning capability. All selected tools were
tested, evaluated, and simplified to fit with the learning capability of
each employee group. Examples of tools used included CoPs, After
Action Review (AAR), storytelling, capturing of lessons learned,
coaching, mentoring, job rotation, KM web, etc. To ensure
employees’ accessibility to the KM web, all departments were
equipped with sufficient number of computers, and wireless internet
was set up throughout the hospital.
 Training and Learning: Various training courses on KM concepts and
the use of simplified tools were organized in line with training plans at
organizational and departmental levels. In addition, KM was
included in the Individual Development Program (IDP). E-learning on
KM courses was also available to support those working in the
afternoon or night shifts. Upon completion of training, the KM team
followed-up and assisted employees on how to use the tools,
whenever the need arises.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
In addition to in-house training, employees also learned KM good
practices through site visits to other organizations, and attending KM
seminar and public training courses.
 KM Measurement: To enable senior leaders to monitor the progress
of KM implementation, and to provide employees with
management’s expectation on their KM participation, measures
were set up at organizational level, department level and individual
level.
 Rewards and Recognitions: Numerous rewards and recognition
programs were set up including “Learning Champion” in which,
employees could accumulate points based on their participation in
any KM activities such as training as trainers or trainees, CoPs, AAR,
OJT, book briefing, etc. Points were exchangeable for cash, in
addition to it being part of their performance. Monetary rewards
and recognitions were also given to employees’ suggestions, lessons
learned and captured, written work instructions, and best
improvement projects.
In line with KM objectives and expected outcomes, various KM initiatives
were implemented using appropriate knowledge-based tools. Two of the
most important were:
a) PDCA + KM process: To enhance the effectiveness of PDCA
(Plan-Do-Check-Act) process, KM was integrated into various
steps of PDCA process, starting with identification of
improvement initiative in which, process owners identified
knowledge gaps by asking a series of questions.
b) Sharing of Lessons Learned: Sharing of lessons learned from errors
and failures received full cooperation from employees. As in the
TCPH culture, senior leaders never asked “who” but “why” when
problems crop up. Employees were asked to write lessons
learned with analysis of root cause and prevention measures, in
addition to incident reports before sending them to Quality
Promotion Center.
45
C. Key Lessons Learned
It is important to:
 Align KM objectives with organizational objectives as a strategy
to enhance the organization’s and employees capabilities.
 Supportive culture is critical to successful KM. Create a
supportive environment for openness by adopting the policy of
“No Blame” to errors and failures, and setting up more
improvement cross functional teams from key and supportive
functions.
 Get buy-in from employees by running meetings that lay out
the benefits of KM and describe what’s in it for employees to
regularly share their knowledge.
 Appropriate KM tools must be selected, tested, evaluated and
simplified to fit with the learning capability of each employee
group.
 Organizing training courses on KM concepts for all employees
simplifies the process of implementing KM.
 Senior leaders should regularly measure the progress of the
implementation of KM and their expectation.
 Set up rewards and recognitions to employees who are
regularly involved in KM activities.
 It is vital to share lessons learned from errors and failures. Senior
leaders should always ask “why?” than “who?”. Employees can
also be asked to share written analysis of root causes of
problems and suggested solutions.
MALAYSIAN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE (MARDI)[3]
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI)
was established in 1969. It is a statutory body under the Ministry of
Agriculture and agro-based industry of Malaysia, which has been
mandated to conduct research in agriculture, food, and agro-based
industries. Among its objectives is to lead in agricultural technology and
food processing toward the goal of increasing agricultural productivity.
Retirement of MARDI’s staff and frequent transfer of knowledge workers
across government departments created challenges for the retention of
knowledge, preservation of institutional memory, and training new staff.
There is also competition for talent in various fields related to agriculture,
science and engineering.
MARDI has embedded KM initiatives in the business process since its
establishment. However, it was indirectly managed by departments or
individuals. MARDI has its Strategic Plan 2006 2015 and the development
of KM in the organization can be seen in the context of MARDI’s
development.
A. KM Implementation
Knowledge management in MARDI has taken into consideration
the needs of the public, entrepreneur, scientist, and its staff. The
strategy is to manage as much as possible, both explicit and tacit
knowledge. Furthermore, the MARDI’s staffs are encouraged to
write in various publication such as Journal of Tropical Agriculture
and Science (JTAFS), Economic and Technology Management
Review (ETMR), Corps Technology Bulletin, Food Technology
Bulletin, Poultry Technology Bulletin, technology manuals, books,
and monographs.
In MARDI, various platforms are created to encourage tapping into
tacit knowledge such as:
 Brainstorming session: for policy and planning
 Coaching and mentoring: for human resource
development
 Innovative and Creative Circle: for improvement in work
process
 Forum: to exchange ideas and perspectives
46
  Public lecture: to share research findings
 Structured interview: to gauge knowledge in specific area
 Assignment analysis: to benchmark work process
B. Key Results Gained
 MARDI research endeavors of more than 40 years have generated
many new crop varieties and clones, animal breeds, and
management practices.
 The knowledge and technology that were created in MARDI should
be applied by farmers and entrepreneurs in improving their
productivity.
 As an organization doing research in science and technology as its
core business, the MARDI provides a pool of experts in relevant
fields, and contributes significantly to the global knowledge corpus.
The knowledge processes, in accordance to the APO KM
Framework, to identify, create, store, share, and apply are being
implemented in various ways.
 MARDI was also awarded numerous quality awards and research
awards. It won nine awards, namely Project Management Quality
Award, Malaysia Toray Scientific Foundation Science & Technology
Award, Public Sector Innovation Award, and Public-Private Sector
Innovation Award.
C. Lessons Learned
It is important to:
 Use coaching and mentoring to develop human resources.
 Use assignment analysis to benchmark work process.
 Use public lectures to share research findings.
 Use structured interviews to gauge knowledge in specific areas.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
KUWAIT NATIONAL PETROLEUM COMPANY (KNPC)[17]
Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC) is a subsidiary of Kuwait
Petroleum Corporation (KPC). KNPC was established in 1960 as a
shareholder company owned by the government and private sector. In
1968, the company commissioned its first refinery and in the May of that
year the first shipment of refined petroleum products was exported. In 1975,
KNPC became a wholly owned state company. After the establishment of
KPC in 1980, KNPC became wholly owned by KPC, which itself is owned by
the state of Kuwait. KNPC was specifically entrusted with the responsibilities
of oil refining and gas liquefaction as well as with the distribution of
petroleum products to the local economy. KNPC now has three refineries in
addition to a liquid petroleum gas plant.
As an ongoing policy, KNPC seeks to maximize its employment of Kuwaiti
nationals among its approximately 6,000 employees. Each year it hires
approximately 100 recently graduated engineers to replace retirees,
account for expansion, and continue local employment Kuwaiti nationals.
In 1999, faced with the challenges of increasing productivity,
maintaining international safety and quality standards, and reducing
turnover among the skilled workforce, KNPC conducted a large scale
analysis to determine the skills and competencies of engineers in
selected departments. Moreover, at the time there were a large
number of foreign engineers working at the different plants and KNPC
wanted a way to transfer the knowledge and skill of the foreign workers
to Kuwaiti nationals.
47
Among other things the findings the analysis emphasized the need for a
consistent and a structured way of developing engineers along with the African Case Studies
necessity of a documented competency inventory to identify the
expectations of newly-hired engineers. Hence, in 2001, KNPC selected
SOUTH AFRICA PUBLIC SECTOR [18][19][20]
S-OJT (Structured On-the Job Training) as basis for addressing these
issues in the way that new-hire engineers were developed.

S-OJT
S-OJT was originally introduced in the 1980s to help organizations
respond to new demands for greater levels of quality and productivity.
It is defined as the planned process of having experienced employees
train novice employees on units of work in the actual work setting. S-OJT
benefits from providing a greater degree of predictability in the training
outcomes, and from being conducted mostly by experienced
employees. Since S-OJT is conducted in the work setting, or a setting
that approximates the features of the work setting, and managers or
supervisors often serve as trainers, the need to address transfer of
training as a specific issue appears to be less critical. Facilitating the
understanding of S-OJT is to view it as a type of training system. The S-
OJT system shows that the inputs are comprised of the novice
employee, or trainee, who is expected to have the motivation and
readiness for the training. The experienced employee serves as the
trainer and who is expected to have sufficient knowledge of the task
and is qualified by the organization to deliver the training. The processes
include the activities that are done for the trainer to get ready to train,
the training events used by the trainer when actually delivering the
training, and the means used, such as performance ratings, follow-up
observations, and periodic feedback, to ensure that the trainee has
learned the content. The outputs of the S-OJT system are the results that
occur in terms of accomplishing the training objectives, the impacts on
the work, and the contribution that the training makes to the
individual’s own development progress.
Lessons Learned
Organizations can leverage tools such as S-OJT to transfer tacit
knowledge from experienced employees to new-hires on-the-job
utilizing documented training modules (explicit knowledge).
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
The Department of Public and Service Administration (DPSA) is the national
coordinator of KM in the South African Public Service. The responsibility was
borne by the Research, Learning and Knowledge Management (RLKM) sub
directorate which falls under the Service Delivery and Implementation
directorate. The research, Learning and Knowledge Management sub
directorate is staffed by the Chief Director, Director, an events manager, a
librarian and an assistant as well as a web administrator.
Towards the end of 2002 various activities promoting knowledge and
information management in government were perceived to progress without
an adequate measure of coordination or overall direction-setting. In January
2003 the Government IT Officers Council resolved to establish a Knowledge
and Information Management Work Group. After some meetings and
discussions during the following months, the group arranged a conference
and workshop on November 2003. The event provided important input for the
first draft of a National Knowledge Management Strategy Framework.
A. KM Implementation
The need for knowledge management was realised for service
delivery to be implemented. KM was to be used as a vehicle to
facilitate ‘Batho Pele’, a Sotho word for ‘People first’ which was to be
the mantra for transformation in the South African Public sector, which
is also a responsibility of the DPSA.
48
The DPSA then agreed with the Department of Communications (DoC)
in 2002 ‘to introduce and market the benefits of Knowledge
Management countrywide’. The Learning and Knowledge
Management Network was then launched in 2003.
The DPSA has successfully introduced the following programmes:
1. The DPSA produces a newsletter/ journal called Services
Delivery Review. A learning Journal for Public Service
Managers which is free and distributed all over South Africa. It
is also e-mailed to participants who are on the DPSA mailing
list. The journal is also obtainable on the DPSA website. The
contents are case studies, success stories (best practices),
failures and information on all programmes undertaken by
different departments, provinces, municipalities and other
bodies in South Africa. International case studies and stories
are also included.
2. The annual conference on KM in the public service is also a
prominent feature on the DPSA calendar. Speakers from
different organizations, both internationally and nationally are
invited to present on different topics relating to KM. A
workshop is also held on the last day of the conference
where specific topics of interest are attended to.
3. There is also a research colloquium which has been held
since 2005 where researchers in different organizations and
fields meet annually to discuss issues relating to research and
development in the public service. This is in a quest to
promote learning networks and introduce the need for
communities of practice. Other learning networks include the
Learning network on ‘batho pele’ and another one on
monitoring and evaluation.
4. The learning academy which is called ‘The Annual Service
Delivery learning Academy’ is held in different provinces. The
learning academy attracts the majority of public servants. This
is a great step in achieving learning networks as learning and
knowledge sharing is encouraged.
5. The DPSA has an internal newsletter called ‘Rutanang’ which
is a Sotho word for ‘educate each other’. This newsletter is
aimed at the DPSA and is based on the sharing of knowledge
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
and learning among the DPSA staff. Rutanang sessions are
also held periodically where speakers are invited to present
on and about topics of interest and significance to the DPSA
staff.
6. A programme called Integrated Provincial Support
Programme (IPSP) has been introduced to Kwa-Zulu
Natal(KZN), Free State (FS), and Western Cape (WC) where
KM champions were identified to drive KM in the different
provinces. Some provinces like the Free State and Kwan-Zulu
Natal have implemented.
7. DPSA has also managed to publish guides and audio visual
material.
8. The DPSA also has plans to build a database of all projects
that are taking place in South Africa where everybody can
gain access and learn. This way duplication of efforts can be
easily eliminated.
9. Moreover, the DPSA conducted a Public Service Knowledge
Management Maturity Assessment in 2018. The Knowledge
Management Maturity Assessment aimed at determining the
status of KM practices within the Public Sector. The KM
Maturity Assessment tool was sent to One Hundred and
Eleven (111) Provincial and Forty seven (47) National
Departments with a request to populate and submit to the
DPSA a duly signed off document by the respective Heads of
Departments. The results of the assessment suggest that most
national departments that responded were still within the
initiation phase and a few in reaction phase, meaning that,
although there is acknowledgement of the need to manage
knowledge, the integration of KM activities into work
processes is happening at a very minimal scale.
10. In March 2019, DPSA released a National Knowledge
Management Strategy Framework (NKMSF). The vision of the
document is managing knowledge to ensure a highly
professional, productive and responsive public service aimed
at improving the lives of all citizens. The mission of the strategy
framework includes
49
  Establishing a National Knowledge Management
Framework to ensure that the state machinery uses
knowledge to deliver services more effectively and
efficiently.
 Developing a consistent approach to the understanding
and importance of Knowledge Management.
 Establishing National, Provincial and District Knowledge
Management to ensure alignment of KM
 Institutionalizing KM practices in order to ensure that all
public servants use knowledge to increase innovation
and productivity.
 Contribute towards improved public Administration at
National, Provincial and Municipal levels through
dialogue and sharing of best practices.
B. Summary of the results of the 2018 Maturity
Assessment
National Departments
 A selected number of national departments have knowledge
management strategy in place which may suggest awareness
by managers of the need for KM in the departments. However,
the business case for KM is not clearly defined in most instances
and as a result the responsibility and accountability on the
function is left at junior management level.
 The absence of government-wide guidelines on the
implementation of knowledge management in the public
service resulted in inconsistencies which has since been
addressed with the approval and introduction of the National
Knowledge Management Strategic Framework.
 KM is not viewed as a strategic management function in many
government organisations, as a result, critical organisational
knowledge needed for planning and decision making for the
advancement of organisational strategic goals is not identified
or utilised. Lack and/or inadequate alignment of KM to the
business needs and processes result in little and/or no impact on
improving ways of working or supporting innovations for service
improvement.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Provincial Departments
 Organisational cultures of information hoarding or poor
dissemination of organisational decisions perpetuates silos and
thus inhibits knowledge flow and impact.
 Assessments from most Provincial departments that participated
suggest that, inconsistencies of governance and leadership and
business alignment perpetuates silos between departments with
limited exchange of information and feedback to a central co-
ordinating point. The fragmented approach of working in
departments also has a bearing on the organisational culture of
knowledge sharing.
 Inadequate support and/or recognition for informal knowledge
sharing platforms by most senior managers result in constraints
on knowledge transfer between peers and low participation in
activities that could assist with the harvesting of the
organisation's intellectual capital.
 Although the technological systems that support the functioning
of government departments seems to be available, however,
there is still a need to provide innovative knowledge sharing e-
platforms that will promote collaboration and knowledge
exchange within and between government departments.
C. Lessons Learned
It is important to:
 To produce and disseminate journals and newsletters (online
and offline), to showcase case studies, success stories, failures
and information on programmes undertaken by different
departments, regions and other bodies in the Public Sector.
International best practices and other related contents can
also be included.
 Organize workshops and conferences on KM to bring people
together to discuss on best practices in the public sector.
 Publish guides and audio-visual material.
 Develop a database of projects taking place in the public
sector to eliminate duplication of efforts.
 Conduct a KM Maturity assessment among public offices to
gauge the level of development of KM.
50

The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group
was established in 1964, and its mission is to
mobilize resources for Africa’s economic and
social development. With this objective in
mind, the institution aims at assisting African
countries – individually and collectively - in
their efforts to achieve sustainable economic
development and social progress.
To achieve its development objectives, the
Bank seeks to stimulate and mobilize internal
and external resources to promote
investments as well as provide its regional
member countries with technical and
financial assistance. The Bank’s Headquarters
is in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, but since 2003 it
has been temporarily relocated to Tunis,
Tunisia, with 30 Field Offices and two Regional
Offices throughout Africa. The AfDB Group
comprises of 78 shareholders, including all the
53 African countries (Regional Member
Countries), in addition to 25 non-regional
member countries from the Americas,
Europe, and Asia.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK[21]
A. KM Implementation intervention. The first objective requires that the
KM is integral to the objectives of the AfDB’s Bank takes steps to transform itself into an
mandate as Africa’s premier development institution where knowledge can be effectively
finance institution. The bank has recognized the produced and used for improving quality at entry
need to implement an enterprise-wide KM and achieving results on the ground. The strategy
strategy as a conscious and consistent long term has identified four knowledge pillars related to
vision to gather, store and retrieve knowledge 1. Knowledge generation for
and then help disseminate such information and development effectiveness;
knowledge in a timely manner to those who 2. Leveraging knowledge through
need it. partnerships;
3. Enhancing knowledge dissemination
Since 2005 the Bank has approved and and sharing; and
implemented two KM strategies. An initial 4. Enhancing the application of
strategy for strengthening the Bank’s role as a knowledge to strengthen operational
“knowledge bank” was approved by the Board effectiveness
of Directors in March 2005, and covered the
period until 2007. The implementation of the first B. Information and Knowledge
strategy gained momentum following the Repositories
establishment in 2006 of the Office of the Chief The Bank has a number of robust online
Economist with the specific responsibility of repositories that store data, knowledge and
improving KM and initiating the process of information resources, often in documentary
making the AfDB a knowledge bank. The second formats. The information in these repositories falls
KM strategy, covering the period from 2008 to into three categories: some resources are open
2012, was approved by the Board of Directors
to all users, including external users; some can
after taking account of the lessons learned from only be accessed within the Bank intranet site;
the implementation of the previous strategy. and others can be accessed by external users
who request login authorization.
The overarching goal of the current strategy is to The repositories include:
enhance the development effectiveness of the  those which provide Bank staff with
Bank as the leading knowledge bank in Africa, access to external knowledge and
and seeks to achieve two key strategic purposes: business intelligence subscription
to establish and entrench a knowledge culture databases;
within the Bank; and to enhance the operational
effectiveness of the Bank’s development
51
  those that store internal knowledge, such as the Board of
Directors’ documents, annual reports and other official Bank
publications and flagship knowledge products;
o the AfDB Statistical Data Portal;
o the AfDB Internet Website; and,
o AfDB internal workflow and human resources
applications.
C. The Role of the African Development Institute
In 2010 the Board of Directors of the Bank Group approved the
establishment of the Information and Knowledge Management Division
as a new division within the Office of the Chief Economist complex. The
role of the new division is to provide and manage knowledge and
information services to support the operations, research and
management activities of the Bank with the ultimate objective of serving
as a global last-resort provider of information relevant to African
economic and social development issues. The Division will also act as an
important tool in the implementation of the Bank strategies for Capacity
Development, Knowledge Management and Knowledge Dissemination.
Extending the reach and range of development knowledge is a key
feature of the Division’s objective, whose principal activities are to:
 develop and maintain balanced collections of information
resources in print and digital formats that will be accessed via
an online information portal of digital resources. These include
strategic business intelligence databases, statistical portals,
electronic research journals, full text documents and digital
libraries from external sources;
 provide information searching and retrieval assistance face-to-
face and remotely;
 facilitate the circulation of information material, including
newsprint services, to senior management and Board members;
 provide computing facilities for consultants and external visitors;
 organize awareness services to inform users of new resources
and services via email alerts, newsletters and promotional
events; and
 organize information searching skills, training seminars and
workshops for staff, including those who are deployed in the
Field and Regional Offices;
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 coordinate editing, printing and publishing Bank flagship
knowledge products, including books, journals, research
papers, conference proceedings and publicity materials, as
well as e-learning and distance learning materials and
electronic publishing on the Web;
 coordinate and organize activities aimed at the dissemination
of Bank flagship knowledge products internally and externally
via mail, E-mail, and knowledge dissemination stands as side
events during Bank Annual Meetings, conferences and other
professional gatherings;
 coordinate innovative KM approaches such as communities of
practice, staff profile pages, networks of practice, story telling,
after action review seminars and other KM strategies, as new
Bank KM tools; and
 assist in the organization and management of learning events
including conferences, seminars, workshops and meetings.
The African Development Bank, in spite of the relatively recent
emergence of the concept of knowledge management, appears to be
progressing well along the way to harnessing innovative KM-learning
approaches as business processes. It is indeed taking major steps to
develop consistent approaches to identifying, transforming and putting
into action knowledge. There is now a wide consensus within the Bank
that financial interventions alone are not sufficient to win the battle
against poverty in Africa. More important is the buy-in and clear
commitment from AfDB Management to develop and leverage formal
knowledge sharing and transfer approaches that have proven impacts
in combating complex development challenges.
C. Lessons Learned
It is important to:
 Categorize documents based on access authorization.
 Limit access to documents in repositories based on
authorization.
52

The United Nations Economic
Commission for Africa was established in
1958 by the United Nations Economic
and Social Council to encourage
economic cooperation among its
member states (the nations of the African
continent) following a recommendation
of the United Nations General Assembly.
It is one of five regional Commissions.
The ECA has 54 member states
corresponding to the 54 member states
of the United Nations that lie within the
continent of Africa or in oceans nearby
the continent.
UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA (UNECA) [22]
A. KM Implementation
Knowledge Management as a means to enhance
organizational effectiveness is a relatively recent
trend for the UN Agencies, beginning only around
2000. It was initially identified as a means for persons
to share best practices and tap into documentary
knowledge generated through monitoring and
evaluation reports, so that Agencies did not
“reinvent the wheel” in their ongoing work. The
concept of a “knowledge organization” also gained
currency over that time, distinguishing the
organizations – including many UN Agencies – that
gained their relevance and influence through
research and advisory services, capacity
development and normative standard-setting rather
than through financial resources or the supply of
material goods.
As Knowledge Management awareness spread,
many knowledge organizations of the UN System,
unfortunately, took to KM as software platform and
not to the knowledge organization business model.
The Economic Commission for Africa – one of the
more prototypical UN knowledge organizations – first
looked at the concept in a consultancy report
Commissioned in 2000 on “A Comprehensive ICT
Strategy for ECA”. The report acknowledged that
ECA was in the knowledge generation and delivery
business and, among other things, stressed a need to
leverage new technologies – software platforms – to
become more effective. Since that time, ECA
Knowledge Management efforts have focused
primarily on knowledge networking and sharing with
partners through technology platforms.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
For example, the Africa Knowledge Networks Forum,
established in 2001 to facilitate knowledge-sharing
and research partnerships with professional networks
and key knowledge end-users, included among
other things the use of a website which participants
were requested to visit regularly, supplemented with
an email discussion list. The site was not effectively
utilized and ceased activities with the change of
leadership at ECA in 2005. The Knowledge
Management Strategy developed in 2006 intended
to “gradually transform the internal and external
operations of the Commission in order to achieve its
goal to be a knowledge-based organization”. It was
to be implemented through a web-based
knowledge sharing platform, used by Communities
of Practice.
A 2012-2013 reprofiling exercise, introduced for ECA
to effectively support Africa’s transformative
agenda, created a Division for Public Information
and Knowledge Management, bringing together
four Sections with strategic responsibilities for
improving ECA’s visibility and impact –
communications, publication, ICT, and knowledge
and library services. One of the Division’s challenges,
to be addressed by its Knowledge and Library
Services Section, is to ensure that knowledge flows
are consistently incorporated into the business of the
organization, so that ECA can successfully achieve
its aspirations.
53
Supporting this intention, the Knowledge Networking Strategy Task B. Lessons Learned
Force, one of the 10 charged with proposing new ways of doing  It is crucial not to take KM solely as a software platform but as
business, recommended a Knowledge Management Strategy, to a component of organization business model.
rationalize how ECA acquires, shares and applies knowledge.  KM can be used for professional development of employees.

ECA has attempted KM strategies in the past, but these were primarily TANZANIA PUBLIC SECTOR[23]
focused on knowledge-sharing platforms, and produced mixed results.
As a knowledge organization, ECA’s strategy should focus on how
knowledge flows through its business model. In this regard, the reprofiled
ECA incorporates a very dynamic model for knowledge flows, whereby
the “back office” units generate policy ideas, and the “front office”
units deliver these ideas to national, subregional and regional
policymakers, and feeds back new areas for work to the policy
generating units. With this new, promising alignment, the vision
proposed for knowledge management in ECA is to ensure that it
becomes and remains Africa’s premier think tank, consistently
generating top quality, thoroughly researched products reflecting the
latest thinking on issues relating to Africa’s transformative agenda. For Several barriers existed in effectively harnessing knowledge
this to occur, all of ECA’s operations, research, products and advice management as an enabler towards change in Tanzanian government.
should systematically incorporate the most reliable, relevant, up-to-date  There is little understanding of knowledge management at the
and comprehensive knowledge available from the continent and policymaking level of government.
beyond.  KM is often equated simply with computerization and hence
there is a misapprehension that by adopting an ICT policy, KM
Based on the above vision and mission, the following principles are is automatically covered.
intended to guide resource, staffing and work planning decisions for  Limited emphasis is on research and development in the
ECA’s knowledge management efforts. public sector.
1. ECA’s knowledge management strategy should not be about  Research and development is not linked to development
the software platform. work.
2. ECA’s knowledge sharing activities, in the context of the KM  Knowledge management circles are ‘islands’, i.e., limited to
strategy, should be purpose-driven. academic or think tanks.
3. ECA should feature knowledge facilitation as a service to its
professional Communities. A lack of a coherent and coordinated approach to knowledge
4. ECA’s internal processes should incorporate its knowledge management has meant that public institutions often duplicate efforts,
into its business processes. initiatives become expensive and unsustainable and are mostly donor
5. How well ECA staff both share and apply knowledge should driven.
benefit their careers.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 54

It was this frustration that led to the creation of the Public Service
Knowledge Management Secretariat. However this institution does not
have any mandate to sanction transgressors and while the Agency for
Registration Insolvency and Trusteeship (RITA) is well positioned as a
hub for coordinating knowledge transfers to citizens, implementation
of actions has been more difficult owing to the ‘silo culture’ in public
institutions.
There was a pilot project in Tanzania where thousands of people
afflicted with HIV were treated with a herbal medicine. Initially
administered in the form of tea, the study showed excellent results in
reducing appetite and weight losses. More studies were conducted on
learning more about the herb and inexpensive ways to administer it to
people. African storytelling is important in preserving indigenous
knowledge on medicaments. Thus, it is crucial to find ways to link doers
and donors to encourage this sort of knowledge sharing in other
intervention areas.
Lessons Learned
 KM tools and techniques can be used to preserve and apply
indigenous knowledge to solve modern problems.
 KM efforts should be coherent and coordinated so that public
institutions don’t duplicate efforts.
UGANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY[24]
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
The Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) is a government revenue collection
agency established by the Parliament of Uganda. Operating under the
Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the URA is
responsible for enforcing, assessing, collecting, and accounting for the
various taxes imposed in Uganda..
The dominant foundations of knowledge management practices in
URA include
 advanced technology for communication,
 appointment of staff based on job competences,
 regular performance management system,
 direct person to person contacts (socialization) which
reduce negative effects of labor mobility and task
duplication.
The dominant factors affecting effectiveness of Knowledge
Management at URA were
 organization leadership,
 communication practices/ channels,
 employee’s induction and mentorship process,
 URA's culture,
 clear policy on training and development,
 existing ICT systems,
 employee’s commitment,
 Staff engagement on promotion and
 job security.
However, staff agreed that workload and prioritizing of ICT over
people driven technology were the dominant challenges of KM
practices.
The study recommends that URA should prioritize staff over ICT and
encourage them to
 embrace advanced technology,
 regularly provide progressive on job training to staff
concerning KM ,
55
  prioritizing promotion of staff based on innovative applicable
knowledge generated instead of mere qualification,
 source latest advanced ICT infrastructures and
 staff team work to induce knowledge information sharing to
achieve the organization vision.
Lessons Learned
It is important to ensure KM activities don’t add to the workload of
employees and ICT is not prioritized over people.
MANUFACTURING FIRMS IN KENYA[25]
A survey conducted with a sample of 60 senior managers in three
selected manufacturing enterprises in Kenya revealed that there are
two critical factors that influence institutionalization of knowledge
management. These factors are organizational practices and
technological infrastructure.
The study established that a majority of the respondents understood
knowledge management as a mechanism of developing and utilizing
knowledge to increase organizational performance and to meet
strategic goals.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
The study established that there are number of reasons as to why
organizations are embracing knowledge management in their operations.
The major reasons given by respondents are: growth of business and
retention of market share, improving quality in production, creation and
sustenance of strategic competitive advantage, nurturing creativity and
innovation, retaining and capturing employee knowledge, dynamic
business environment and markets, knowledge creation and knowledge
transfer in that order.
The study demonstrated that there are two critical factors that influence
institutionalization of knowledge management. These factors are
organizational practices and technological infrastructure. The predictors
under organizational factors were:
 Evaluation and compensation for contribution to organization
knowledge
 Explicit recognition and reward system
 Environment to share ideas
 Ways to link knowledge to financial results or performance
 Allocation of resources towards efforts that measurably increase
knowledge base
 Management awareness and promotion
 Climate of openness
 Teamwork and trust exists among employees
 Tacit knowledge is valued and transferred by use of community of
practice
 Effective internal procedures for best practices transfer
 Encouragement of employees to use knowledge repositories of
best practice
 Formalization of the process of transfer of lessons learned
 Recognition of knowledge as a key element in strategic planning
exercises
 Encouraging knowledge sharing among employees
56
The explanatory variables under technological infrastructure were: A. KM Practices
 Computers,
 Document management system, Ethiopian Airlines didn’t have a clearly defined KM Policy and strategy,
 Social media, which as a result hindered the development of KM to ascertain
 Knowledge Management software, implementations. EAL is known for willingness to invest in high technologies
 Library or resource centre, and hence its ICT platform is ready to support KM. Due to increased
 Intranet, reliance on technology for core activities of the industry, ICT in EAL
 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and evolved to manage level which ascertains that the progress is beyond
 Data warehousing operational support. Intranet (company portal), e-mail (outlook service),
website and some KM embedded applications like SAP have high
Lessons Learned contributions to raise the bar.
 Knowledge should be linked to financial results or
performance. Compensation for contribution to In the study, the following learning points were identified:
organizational knowledge should also be instated.  Good collaboration and partnership with key external parties in
 Climate of openness, trust and teamwork are important the industry
factors that influence institutionalization of KM.  They have created active virtual communities
 There are instances of encouraging knowledge sharing schemes,
best practices, coaching, experience sharing and exposure
Ethiopian Case Studies  Due to prevalence of high competition in the industry,
investment in human capital and technology infrastructures are
dramatically growing over the years
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES[26][27]  The existence of relative institutional autonomy enabled the
organization to develop professionalism practices
 Some documents related with lessons learned, best practices,
and trainings do not be regularly maintained in a structured
manner.

B. Lessons Learned
 Firm level learning needs to catch-up with global dynamism in
Ethiopian Airlines is wholly owned by the country's government. EAL was
the industry
founded on 21 December 1945 and commenced operations on 8 April
 Relative good practice of maintaining institutional memory and
1946, expanding to international flights in 1951. The firm became a share
institutional continuity exists
company in 1965 and changed its name from Ethiopian Air Lines to
Ethiopian Airlines. The airline has been a member of the International Air  Improving organizational capability and process due to high
Transport Association since 1959 and of the African Airlines Association competition pressure is vital
(AFRAA) since 1968. Ethiopian is a Star Alliance member, having joined in  Continuous process improvement is critical
December 2011. The company slogan is The New Spirit of Africa.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 57

  Growing investment in diverse technological capabilities helps
stay competitive.
 It is important to utilize already existing technological
infrastructure for KM.
Lesson Learned
COMMERCIAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA[28][29]
Even though the government run CBE is the largest commercial bank in
Ethiopia, the current business environment in the CBE has been in a poor
condition concerning KM regardless of an interest to establish KM practices
within the bank. Some activities similar to KM were observed but they are
results of traditional human resource management and business
management practices. In the CBE, some of the knowledge resources,
stored in an explicit form, are job descriptions, manuals, research
documents, guidelines, and policy and strategy documents. They are not
well organized to support best practices of knowledge sharing, accessing
and retrieval. The CBE has an intranet dedicated to the KM activities and
library services, although it has not been actively utilized properly by the
workers to widen the KM practices. CBE has also a library which serves the
employees for referring some technical and business knowledge. The
organizational culture is also found to be not suitable for knowledge
sharing and capturing activities. Most employees feel that it is not their job
to be engaged in KM practices. Furthermore, the following are identified as
key learnings
 The practice of knowledge sharing is not formalized.
 There is a growing use of Technology and IT solutions in banking
sector due to growing competition.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Formalized system to capture tacit knowledge is very
limited.
 There exists no structural unit dedicated to KM.
 It is critical to structure KM efforts and activities that are
practiced in ad hoc manner.
NATIONAL BANK OF ETHIOPIA
The National Bank of Ethiopia (NBE) is the central bank of Ethiopia.
Its headquarters are in the capital city of Addis Ababa. Regarding
KM, our analysis shows that,
 NBE has strong platform, web server access wider
ranges of issues related to financial sector
 It’s open access web site enables users to download
essential information easily.
 It’s repository contains news briefs, history, performance,
status and operation updates, directives, circulars,
proclamations and regulations that govern financial
institutions in the country. In addition it has market
information updates, macro economic statistical data ,
Statistical Data series ; publications (quarterly bulletin,
annual reports of several years , staff working paper);
guidelines, and other miscellaneous documents
 The online resource pool developed by NBE is a good
learning point as part of KM system development.
58
Lesson Learned randomly selected healthcare professionals who were the employee of
 Making documents and files of interest to the public available public Hospitals in Mekelle city at the time of data collection. The
online is a good practice. purpose of the study was to investigate the knowledge sharing practice
using cross sectional study design. The findings of the study are
summarized below:
HEALTH PROFESSIONALS IN PUBLIC HOSPITALS LOCATED
IN MEKELLE[30] The professional practices of documenting health cases was a good
platform to facilitate knowledge sharing practices among health
professionals.

The major factors identified to discourage or encourage knowledge

sharing were:
 Lack of reward and recognition system
 Lack of time to share knowledge (associated with reward or
alternative use of time)
 Limited interaction among staff members
 Inconvenience of physical working environment and office
layout
 Interpersonal communication skill limitation

Lesson Learned
Healthcare organizations should have the culture of knowledge sharing  It’s essential to develop employee’s interpersonal skills through
practices to make better use of the knowhow, experiences and skills of trainings because it can affect the prevalence and quality of
their healthcare professionals. As a result, the healthcare workers knowledge sharing.
enable to implement their best practices and generate new ideas and
better healthcare quality service can be delivered.
INDIGENOUS AND INFORMAL KNOWLEDGE
The number of healthcare professionals is increased from time to time in MANAGEMENT PRACTICE IN ETHIOPIA[31][32]
Ethiopia. However there is also high turn over because of different
factors. Therefore, to introduce knowledge-sharing practices in formal
way knowing the situation and factors affecting is mandatory for the
improvement of quality healthcare services

A study was conducted on March 2013 in public Hospitals of Mekelle

city Tigray Regional State about 773 Km far from Addis Ababa. The
source population was all healthcare professionals who were working
for the public Hospitals in Mekelle city. The study population was

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 59

Indigenous Knowledge (IK) is one form of knowledge that refers to the Lessons from IK Practices
traditional knowledge that people in a given community have  Informal and indigenous KM has not yet sufficiently and
developed over time based on tested experience and use. IK is systematical captured, documented, and organized and
characterized as being developed outside the formal educational shared for practical use. Most of KM practice in Ethiopia are
system or scientific labs, being embedded in culture, and being unique characterized by lack of appropriate storage and retrieving
to a given society. system.
 Systematic capturing of knowledge will add to pools of
Review of literature on informal and Indigenous KM practices in Ethiopia institutional memory.
indicates the following:  Only few published materials discuss study culture and
 Indigenous knowledge management in Ethiopia covers wider indigenous knowledge.
ranges of domains that include agriculture, animal husbandry,  Storytelling can be a powerful way to disseminate knowledge
child rising, educational system, medicine, and natural in an organization and society.
resource management.
 Ethiopia owns manuscripts for over 500 years old.
 Ethiopia is endowed with hundreds and thousands of tangible
and intangible cultural heritages. Different forms of indigenous
and informal knowledge management has been practiced
for several hundreds of years in different part of the country.
For instance, Geda system among Oromo nations, Dagu,
information sharing platforms among Afar; informal and formal
education among Ethiopian clergy in Orthodox Churches in
Northern parts of the country have long established practices
of parts of knowledge management aspects.
 Ethiopia, known for its ancient civilizations, possesses a 1,700-
year tradition of elite education linked to the Orthodox Church.
Among the different indigenous schools, there is a special
category called the Qinea (Poetry) School where students
learn to instantly create knowledge. A Qinea poem must have
double meanings called wax and gold, where the hidden
meaning (i.e., gold) is covered with a layer of explicit meaning
(i.e., wax). It is always new and is composed instantly using
different techniques. Individuals acquainted with these
indigenous techniques are capable of instantly generating
convincing solutions and replies to questions.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 60

Summary of Lessons Learned from Best Practices & Benchmarks
Below the summary of lessons learned from the discussions in the previous sections are presented by categorizing them into the different
dimensions of the assessment framework.

Strategic Alignment Leadership and Governance

It is important to It is important to
 Have a clearly and well-defined KM strategy that  To structure KM efforts and activities that are practiced in ad
includes specific KM goals determines success. hoc manner.
 Clearly define need for KM implementation,  Have a leadership support and buy-in, commitment, personal
communicate it and create shared understanding of the involvement in KM activities and encouragement of employees
need among employees. to engage in KM activities through introducing proper
 Align KM with broader organizational directions, overall incentives, recognition and reward system
strategy, and objectives.  Start KM Initiatives small by doing pilot activities.
 Review organizational structure and capabilities based  Regularly measure the progress of the implementation of KM
on knowledge needs (strategy). and their expectation.
 View KM as a strategic resource and capability and link it  It is important to ensure KM activities don’t add to the workload
to organizational dimensions of improvements of of employees and ICT is not prioritized over people.
processes and services, business performance,
relationships with customers, and organizational and People and Culture
strategic targets and as a means of superiority,
It is important to
excellence, and competitiveness.
 Give knowledge value while measuring performance of
 Engage all key players in KM journey: employees,
employees.
partners, customers, Board of Trustees, etc. It is possible to
 Gamify knowledge transfer endeavors since it enables
organize workshops and brainstorming sessions to get
employees to be motivated to advance or ‘Win” improving
feedback.
their overall performance.
 Get buy-in from employees by running meetings that lay
 Award innovation and best practices
out the benefits of KM and describe what’s in it for
 Change the knowledge sharing culture in an organization
employees to regularly share their knowledge.
through time by implementing different KM activities.
 Involve employees in identifying the barriers and
 Have supportive culture. Create a supportive environment for
challenges of KM at the institution.
openness by adopting policy of “No Blame” to errors and
 Realize that one way to demonstrate KM at an
failures, and set up more improvement cross functional teams
organization three different phases: Planning,
from key and supportive functions.
Implementation and Dissemination.
 Not take KM solely as a software platform but as a
component of organizational business model.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 61

  Organize training courses on KM concepts for all employees
to simplify the process of implementing KM.
 Set up rewards and recognitions to employees who are
regularly involved in KM activities.
 Share lessons learned from errors and failures. Senior leaders
should always ask “why?” than “who?”. Employees can also
be asked to share written analysis of root causes of problems
and suggested solutions
 Stop organisational cultures of information hoarding or poor
dissemination of organisational information since they
perpetuate silos and thus inhibit knowledge flow and impact.
 Use KM for professional development of employees.
 Link KM to financial results or performance. Compensation for
contribution to organizational knowledge could also be
instated.
 Develop climate of openness, trust and teamwork since they
are important factors that influence institutionalization of KM.
 Develop employee’s interpersonal skills through trainings
because it can affect the prevalence and quality of
knowledge sharing.
Process and Organization
It is important to
 Put in place a formal process for knowledge transfer, report
and control.
 Design and apply clear procedure for knowledge capturing
and documentation.
 Focus on building social environment and practices necessary
to facilitate the sharing of tacit knowledge among employees
 Redesign workplace environments to make employee
collaboration and communication easier and heighten
productivity.
 Recognize the relationship between knowledge capital and
research by incentivizing research activities.
 Institute storytelling programs so that experienced employees
or alumnus share their expertise and knowledge to new,
young and inexperienced staff.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Conduct regular knowledge audits to know the gaps in KM efforts.
 Initiate tools to retain all critical knowledge and minimize
knowledge loss from employees including employees who are
leaving
 Use Expert Locator Systems to find experts on particular subjects,
allowing individuals to enter details about what they know and
can do, and allowing others to search for all people having
desired skills, experience, or knowledge; and systems for asking
questions of experts and getting the answers.
 Select, test, evaluate and simplify appropriate KM tools to fit with
the learning capability of each employee group.
 Use coaching and mentoring to develop human resources.
 Use assignment analysis to benchmark work process.
 Use public lectures to share research findings.
 Use structured interviews to gauge knowledge in specific areas.
 Use storytelling to disseminate knowledge in an organization and
society.
 Use tools such as S-OJT to transfer tacit knowledge from
experienced employees to new-hires on-the-job utilizing
documented training modules
Content and Context
It is important to
 Maintain, update, and revise knowledge portals regularly.
 Adopt international standards and code of practices or develop
internal, organizational standards to avoid reinventing of the
wheel.
 Use physical libraries and online Web Portal (Knowledge
Repository) to store all
o explicit knowledge (policies and procedures, reports,
memos, guidelines, minutes of meeting, books, journal
articles, databases, external reports, government
information
o Implicit knowledge (know-hows)
o Suggestions and comments receiving function should be
incorporated
o input by users to the knowledge base should be enabled
62
 o Categorization should be enabled
o Advanced search engine should enabled
 Monitor the quality of stored knowledge since not all
knowledge is useful.
 Publish guides and audio-visual material.
 Categorize Documents based on access authorization in
repositories and limit access based on authorization.
 Make documents and files of interest to the public available
online.
Technology
It is important to
 Install technological tools that are aligned with overall KM
process and are adequate enough to help realize intended
KM goals.
 Upgrade the status of IT infrastructure; acquire and use right
KM technologies that may help to achieve your KM goals
 Invest to build robust online repositories that store data,
knowledge and information resources, often in document
formats with open access and request login authorization.
 Build an in-house intranet to encourage expertise building
and knowledge sharing.
 Continually develop staff’s competency to properly apply
and use KM technologies.
 Automate business operations that are possible to automate
 Utilize already existing technological infrastructure for KM.
 Integrate corporate IT strategy with KM strategy. Make
strategic and well concerted investment on ICT and KM
technologies.
Other Learnings
It is important to
 Reengineer business processes based on tacit and
explicit knowledge available.
 Record and assess the level of employee and customer
satisfactions regularly.
 Realize KM is a powerful way to improve external
customers’ satisfaction.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Produce and disseminate journals and newsletters (online and
offline), to showcase case studies, success stories, failures and
information on programmes undertaken by different
departments, regions and other bodies in the Public Sector.
International best practices and other related contents can also
be included.
 Organize workshops and conferences on KM to bring people
together to discuss on best practices in the public sector.
 Build a database of projects taking place in the public sector to
eliminate duplication of efforts.
 Conduct a KM Maturity assessment among public offices to
gauge the level of development of KM.
 Improve service delivery in public sector by developing a national
KM Framework Strategy.
 Use KM techniques and tools to preserve and apply indigenous
knowledge to solve modern problems.
 Make KM efforts coherent and coordinated so that public
institutions don’t duplicate efforts.
Informal and indigenous KM practices are not yet sufficiently and
systematically captured, documented, and organized and shared for
practical use. Most KM practices in Ethiopia are characterized by lack of
appropriate storage and retrieval system.
Our desk review shows that KM practice is strong globally, with many
competent and effective organizations installing a KM system that is aligned
with their strategy and has a measurable impact on their effectiveness and
efficiency. In Africa, even though many organizations understand the benefits
of KM, they fail in setting it up in a systemic manner that could impact their
learning and organizational memory. Meanwhile, the state of KM in Ethiopia
in both private and public organizations is weak. It is a new concept for many
and a lot of work has to be done in raising awareness and communicating
with organizations on how KM can help them reach their strategic goals
quickly and effectively. Failing to do so has major national consequences
since the culture of learning cannot flourish without it.
63
3.2. Review of FCSC Documents
Findings from FCSC Documents
Proclamation No. 8 1995
According to Federal Civil Service Establishment Proclamation No. 8 1995
and amended proclamation in 2011 FCSC is mandated to, among other
things to :
 Create a meritorious, efficient, and productive civil service, in
accordance with the law.
 Supervise, oversee diverse aspects of human resources , public
service and governance.
 Modernize the public sector service delivery and assist to
improve the governance status of the public sector in the
country.
 Introduce reform and oversee its implantation and undertake
supervision among public sector organization in Ethiopia.
In this regard, as government needs to continually learn in order to
remain relevant to it’s constituents/the public they serve, KM is a key
initiative recognized as central to information sharing and access
between public sector agencies and between public sector and the
citizens they serve. Accordingly, in addition to having legal mandate,
the senior management of FCSC has recognized the greater
importance of developing KMS in FCSC that is expected to scale up to
other public service providing organization in the country.
Five Year Strategy Document
Civil Service Commission Sector five year strategy (2013-2017)
document :
 Recognizes the gains from earlier implemented reform,
drawback and challenges encountered and the need for
continuous improvement.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Recognizes that public outcry for quality public service and
flaws in governance still persists; the motivation and capacity of
public servant employees still demands for further capacity
building plans; establishing responsive, flexible and pragmatic
system has proved a challenge.
 Most reform initiatives fail to adequately capture contextual
realities of public sector in in the country.
The focus priorities and set future direction of FCSC are:
 Continuous capacity building programs for public servants.
 Encouraging an increased use of technology.
 Strong intention to move towards e-governance digitalization.
For instance, there are national level comprehensive projects
in progress focused on building Integrated Civil Service
Management Information System (ICSMIS).
 Establishing modern information sharing platforms assisted by
technology.
 Synchronization of Job evaluation and grading and developing
competency scheme for public servants in the country.
Knowledge Management Strategy and KM
Implementation Manual
Based on review of KM implementation manual the following remarks
are identified:
 FCSC has not developed knowledge management strategy
yet.
 First edition KM implementation manual was developed by
internal experts from KMD. The document is yet to be officially
verified and authorized for practical use.
64
  The manual tends to be theoretical. It has enough content to
give insight on KM processes and it postulates theoretical
insights on the roles of parties involved in KM implementation.
However, the manual requires additional refinement to serve
as a practical guide.
KMD Annual Plan and Implementation
Report
Based on review of annual plan document of the year 2019/20 and its
implementation report, the following issues are captured:
A. Annual Plan (2019/20- 2020/ 21)
Major planned tasks in 2019/ 20 in FCSC KMD were:
 Establishing team learning platforms
 Assisting self-development learning plans
 Organizing gap filling training
 Developing KM implementation manual
 Conducting knowledge audit for public sector organizations
 Establishing knowledge bank (resource pool)
 Organizing forum, training on KM implementation manual for
other public service organizations
 Implementing system for capturing best practices
Major Planned KM activities in 2020/21 are :
 Organizing awareness raising and capacity building trainings
 Capturing and documenting best practices
 Developing knowledge bank
 Encouraging the use of existing KM sharing technologies
 Developing team for knowledge sharing platform
 Collecting documents research outputs related to change
management, institutional reform, public service delivery, HR
and HRD
 Encouraging self-development plans
 Knowledge audit for other/external public service institutions
 Providing KM trainings to other/external public organizations
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Encouraging other public organizations to develop digital
library
 Capturing best practices of indigenous knowledge
Implementation Report on 2019/ 2020 Annual Plan:
 Draft KM implementation manual is developed
 Digital library established and activities of knowledge capturing
and documenting in PDF and video formats has began.
 Initiatives to introduce knowledge café were started but
unfortunately disrupted by COVID 19
 Team and self learning platforms were established
 Awareness raising training were conducted on KM
Selected Job Descriptions and Performance
Evaluation Form
A. Sample JDs
Two randomly selected job descriptions (JD) were examined on whether
job duties address KM activities explicitly or implicitly. Thus, the JD for the
position of Strategic Management Executive Director states the following
duties directly related to KM:
 Job holder is expected to coach, share, document best
practices, organize documents and introduce new initiatives.
Similarly, JD for the position of Director, Strategic Management and
Partnership explicitly contains the following duties related to KM:
 Identify , capture, document, share and apply best practices
from within and outside of the organization that are believed to
improve the performance of the public sector
 Organize and contribute towards capacity building training and
initiatives within public sector institutions
 Facilitate and support establishment and expansion of digital
libraries in public institutions in the country.
 Create and enhance strategic alliance & networking initiatives
that foster knowledge sharing and using.
 Staff capacity building and coaching in order to bridge
employee’s competency gap
65
B. Performance Evaluation Form  Conducting and disseminating research activities that are
The performance evaluation criteria which is currently in use has ten related to the domain of public sector nation wide
principles with different weights including:  Establishing a system to engage and utilize competencies of
1.Responsibility of sharing experiences, know-hows and skills to veteran civil service professionals and monitor its effectiveness;
others employees in need has 10%
2.Responsibility of generating and implementing new ideas that Integrated Civil Service Management
make a difference has 7%
3.Efforts to build capacity by planning and implementing Information System (ICSMIS)
capacity building activities has 9%
The ICSMIS serving as the intranet for FCSC has been reviewed. The
Hence, reviews of samples JDs confirm duties related to KM are system was developed to modernize HR operations in government
included. Whereas, performance evaluation criteria in use also include institutions and serve as a knowledge base for HR.
KM related issues.
The portal has the following sections:
Organizational Structure Draft Document • Manuals, Plans, Reports, Discussion Board, News and Events, Ebooks,
Library System, Help Desk System, Attendacnce Montoring,
2018/19 Documentation, Fleet Management and others.
According to the document the mandates of KM department are:
 Undertaking KM audit in FCSC and other public sector
institutions.
 Establishing a formal system to identify and store knowledge
captured from important professionals & retired professionals.
 Sharing pertinent knowledge, experience and best practices
for all public sector institutions in the country.
 Establishing and implementing knowledge transfer system
working in collaboration with national and international
experts working on projects involving public sector service
development.
 Establishing a system for exchanging and expanding
experience between institutions and monitoring its
implementation.
 Creating an environment conducive to national and regional
human resources development studies focusing on indigenous
knowledge and values.
 Establishing and expanding digital libraries in civil service Figure 26: Screenshot of the homepage of the ICSMIS

institutions to facilitate knowledge transfer.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 66

Reflections on FCSC Documents
The following reflections are presented after reviewing: It is necessary to develop standardized formats, procedures,
I. Proclamation on the establishment of FCSC, templates and checklists to capture, document, validate, verify, and
II. Five year strategic plan of FCSC, facilitate knowledge sharing within FCSC.
III. Job Descriptions Knowledge management department (KMD) under FCSC has clearly
IV. Annual Plan of KMD for 2019-2021, and stated mandates for undertaking multiple KM activities d that also
V. KM Implementation Manual includes coordinating related indigenous knowledge and research
VI. Organizational Structure Document activities relevant to the public sector.
The ICSMIS has trried to incorporate various useful functions. But most
FCSC has the legal mandate to introduce, supervise and oversee the of the functions are neither active nor working. Most of the
formalized practice of KM system development at the Commission documents in the system are outdated. The interface and design of
and various other public sector organizations in Ethiopia. It is high the system look old.
time to introduce KM System. The attempts by the researchers to access the official website of FCSC
KMD at FCSC has not yet adequately developed its internal and the KM Portal has been unsuccessfull because both the website
knowledge management capability. For instance, KM and the portals were down during th e period of the review.
implementation manual developed is insightful yet it is not adequate
enough to serve as practical guide of knowledge management
implementation in the public service sector. Besides the details, staff
requirements and structure placement issues need to be further
discussed.
Review of sample JDs confirm duties related to KM are included
whereas performance evaluation criteria in use has also included KM
related issues.
Annual plan of KMD at FCSC is not guided by strategic document. It
has no clear indicators or link on how it is aligned with overall plan,
mandate, objectives and strategic direction of FCSC.
Strengthening existing team learning platforms, self-development
learning initiatives, and ongoing practice of capturing, organizing and
storing knowledge are moves in the right direction.
Gap filling training has to be carefully coordinated with other internal
training plans to avoid redundancy
The current initiatives of establishing digital library, collecting training
materials from various trainees after attending training programs,
documenting senior and retired public servants experiences
supported by video recordings are great beginnings but are at an
early stage and they require significant improvement.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 67
3.3. Findings from Questionnaires, Interviews and FGDs
This section discusses the assessment results extracted from the
questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and in-depth interviews
with employees of Federal Civil Service Commission in this section. Both
quantitative and qualitative descriptions have been captured to exhibit
the as-is status of Knowledge Management at the Commission. The
result will be used to recommend possible intervention areas in the next
chapter of the report.

The presentation of the results will be structured in 6 sub-units

representing the dimensions of Knowledge Management as defined in
the Methodology and Approaches section. Agreement percentage of
best performance indicators in each of the six dimensions, extracted
from the surveys, will be presented graphically. The responses are also
enriched by qualitative information captured from the interviews and
Focus Group Discussions we conducted with senior management and
employees at FCSC.

The six Knowledge Management dimensions for assessment are:

I. Strategic Alignment
II. Leadership and Governance
III. People and Culture
IV. Process and Organization
V. Content and Context
VI. Technology

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 68

 Findings

I. Strategic Alignment
Success requires knowledge management initiatives that contribute to FCSC’s mandate, strategy & goals. Accordingly respondents were asked how
they assess different areas of the existing KM practices in FCSC from their strategic alignment perspective.

Questionnaire Results (in Percentages)

1) The importance of managing knowledge in fulfilling 2) FCSC’s top management commitment to create
FCSC’s mission, vision and strategies? efficient knowledge management system? 3) The inclusion of KM initiatives in FCSC’s strategy?

80 71 80 80

60 60 60

42 41
40 40 40
30 28
16 18
20 12 11 20 12 20 13
6
0 0 0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know
Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate

6) The way KM strategy, roadmap, policy or manual is

4) The identification of needs for KM at FCSC? 5) The quality of KM strategy, roadmap, policy or
communicated to all employees to make sure everyone
manual developed at FCSC?
is aware of it’s contents?
80 80 80

60 60 60
48

40 40 40
30 30
19 21 19 21 19 19
20 20 20 14
10 10

0 0 0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know
Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 69

 7) The way KM practices at FCSC are integrated with 8) The funding or financial allocation 9) The tendency of hiring new staff based
organizational excellence practices (i.e. service for the purpose of KM? on the current knowledge and skills needs
quality, continuous improvement programs, of your department, office or section?
performance management, …)?

80 80 80

60 60 60

40 41
40 35 40 40
30
23 23 25
19 19 16 15
20 20 20 14

0 0 0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know
Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate

Summary
Regarding strategic alignment, the majority of the staff at FCSC believe :
 Even though KM is important for realization of the organization’s
mission, there is no clarity of goals on what KM implementation
aspires to achieve.
 The implementation of KM is not perceived to be integrated
with service quality, performance management and continuous
improvement initiatives.
 They are not adequately communicated on the use of
implementing KM as system.
FGD and Interview Results
Regarding strategic alignment, the following reflections are captured
from FCSC employees with in-depth interviews and FGDs :
 There is a strong support from top management and modest
resource commitment for the initiative
 FCSC has the mandate to introduce reform initiatives and scale it
up to other federal level institutions
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 There is a strong desire to ensure success of KMS implementation
at FCSC, furthermore, to expand the practices to other public
service providing institutions
 FCSC has interest to introduce e-government projects and
initiatives
 FCSC is in the process of developing Integrated Civil Service
Management Information System (ICSMIS) as national level
project
 The importance of KM is not yet adequately appreciated among
employees at FCSC. There are variations in level of awareness on
KMS development status, its importance and use among
employees.
 Senior managers have more knowledge and support for the KMS
initiatives than that of the middle level managers
 Younger employees are more willing and comfortable in using
digital technologies & platform, than that of the senior
employees.
 KMD is established through the redeployment of employee,
without critical assessing and regarding their competency for the
job positions.
70
 II. Leadership and Governance
A governance Structure with clear role and responsibilities is essential to defining, driving, controlling and overseeing the Implementation of KM .
Accordingly, respondents were asked for their opinion on how they assess different areas of the existing KM system in FCSC from the perspectives of
leadership and governance.

Questionnaire Results (in Percentages)

1) The performance of the department/office 2) The accountability of KM officers for KM results at 3) The allocation of resources for
tasked with designing and implementing of KM FCSC? developing knowledge assets at FCSC
strategies and approaches at FCSC
80 80 80

60 60 60

39 34
40 33 32 40 40 33
25 29
22 20
20 20 20 13
10 10

0 0 0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t know Less than Adequate More than I don’t know Less than Adequate More than I don’t know
Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate

4) The representation and involvement of FCSC 5) The capacity (knowledge and 6) The frequency of identification, assessment,
staff in the design of KM approaches? experience) of the KM department at benchmarking, analysis and communication of
FCSC knowledge flow successes and problems at FCSC?
80 80 80
68
60 60 60
48
41
40 40 40
25
20
20
16 16 17 17
20
20 12 11
9
0 0
0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t know Less than Adequate More than I don’t know Less than Adequate More than I don’t know
Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate Adequate

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 71

 7) The availability of training programs on KM 8) The identification and handling of barriers to
approaches and methods to all employees at FCSC? knowledge sharing and use at FCSC?

80 70 80
65
60 60

40 40

14 20 10 12 13
20 9 7
0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
Adequate Adequate know Adequate Adequate know

Summary FGD and Interview Results

Regarding leadership and governance, most staff at FCSC believe:
 KM governance structure, roles & responsibilities are not
clearly defined. The KM department lacks the capacity to
successfully implement KM system. Besides, the
management’s support, commitment and resource
allocation is not adequate and also not guided by clear KM
strategy.
 No clear mechanism of KM governance, monitoring,
evaluation and follow up have put in place at FCSC.
 They are not adequately consulted, communicated and
engaged in the due course of KM implementation. In
addition, training programs that are aimed to bridge their KM
awareness and capacity gaps and implementation are not
adequately available.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Regarding leadership and governance, the following reflections are
captured from FCSC employees with in-depth interviews and FGDs :
 Knowledge Management Directorate (KMD) was established
almost a year ago with internally redeployed employees.
Currently, it has 16 employees, of which 7 employees are
serving at various positions as experts with a clearly defined job
description.
 KMS development is a relatively new concept & initiative at
FCSC, thus it is almost considered to be at an infant stage.
Moreover, some of its initiative have been disrupted because
of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
 The KMD is learning to conceptualize KM, assist others
employees to understand & appreciate its importance. Whilst,
developing a well functioning system.
 Some of the initiatives at the KMD include: development of 1st
edition KMS implementation manual/ guide, organizing
awareness creation training on KM for all employees,
introduced Knowledge café, digital library, online repository
and knowledge storing and sharing platform.
 Currently, KMD depends on technical & expertise support from
ICT and Communication Directorate.
 No clear mechanism of KM governance, monitoring,
evaluation and follow up have put in place at FCSC.
72
 III. People and Culture
Creation of a knowledge management culture is essential for a successful for a successful execution of the KM Strategy, Stimulation of the
behaviors of people in terms of knowledge sharing. Accordingly, Accordingly, respondents were asked for their opinion on how they assess different
areas of the existing KM system in FCSC from the perspectives of people and culture.
Questionnaire Results (in Percentages)
1) The general knowledge management 2) The way knowledge is recognized as a 3) The implicit or explicit recognition of
understanding of staff at FCSC? key resource by staff at FCSC? knowledge sharing as a corporate value at
FCSC?
80 80 80

57
60 60 60
45 48

40 40 33 40

20 22 22
13 17
20 13 20 20
6 4
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know
adequate Adequate adequate Adequate adequate Adequate

4) The way knowledge sharing practices are 5) The way formal recognitions are given to staff for 6) The way the values of learning and innovation
encouraged across department boundaries by participation in KM efforts and successes at FCSC? are communicated at FCSC?
managers and leaders at FCSC?
80 80 75
80 70 80

60 60 60

40 40 40

12 16 20 10
20 20
9 9 9 6
2 2
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know
adequate Adequate adequate Adequate adequate Adequate

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 73

 7) The incentives given to individuals to work together 8) The way FCSC staff are encouraged to develop 9) The way FCSC staff are encouraged to propose
and share information at FCSC? their knowledge and experience in the critical improvements in the way work is done, and
knowledge areas important to them? contribute to improved practices at FCSC?

80 80 80
64 64 65
60 60 60

40 40 40

13 16 17 13
20 20 12 20 10 12
7 7
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate Know adequate Adequate Know adequate Adequate Know

10) The existence of climate of openness and trust at 11) The tendency to see failure as an opportunity to
FCSC? learn at FCSC?
80 80

59 61
60 60

40 40

14 14 13 17
20 20 10 12

0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate Know adequate Adequate Know

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 74

Summary
Regarding people and culture, the majority of the staff at FCSC believe:
 Knowledge is not adequately recognized as asset; not
adequately shared; and there is no formalized system of
recognition, reward and benefits.
 They are not encouraged to propose any work related
improvement suggestions on the way work is done (their
suggestion for improvement is not valued / recognized). Besides,
failure is not regarded as an opportunity to learn.
 Climate of trust and openness is not encouraging knowledge
sharing practice
 Overall, staff engagement in the KM system design,
implementation and other related initiatives is very limited.
FGD and Interview Results
Regarding people and culture, the following reflections are captured
from FCSC employees with in-depth interviews and FGDs :
 There has been a trend of knowledge sharing, through monthly
organized peer-to-peer learning on selected issues
 Knowledge sharing in FCSC is largely dominated by gap filling
informal training/coaching of experienced employees, at their
own goodwill.
 Top management has recently been engaged in sharing new
information, knowledge and relevant experiences through using
email to various management position employees.
 KMD is encouraging peer learning platforms through identifying
different topics/areas, introducing knowledge café, monthly
presentation events on prioritized topics, informing the
availabilities of online materials on the newly established KM
digital platform.
 A nurturing culture of trust and openness to facilitate knowledge
sharing is a nascent practice. Some of the resourceful
experienced employees are disinterested to actively engage in
knowledge sharing and coaching practices.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Patronage system still tends to dominate the public service
ecosystem at FCSC.
 Experienced employees with critical knowledge leave the
organization, without their knowledge being properly captured
and documented.
 Critical project experiences and knowledge's are usually held by
limited resourceful employees, without a proper system, put in
place to systematically capture, document, and share the
knowledge acquired over the years.
 Systematic capturing of learning points from critical projects has
been a largely overlooked practice.
 There is a limited culture of capturing, documenting, organizing,
and sharing knowledge & best practices at FCSC systematically.
 There is no systematically institutionalized incentive system put in
place to encourage knowledge sharing practices at FCSC.
 The quality of knowledge management manual developed has
not been reviewed.
 Generally, there is very limited culture of reading, analyzing and
sharing knowledge acquired from learning and experiences.
 ‘Most employees prefer to share political rumors, than knowledge
and experiences”
 There is a limited tendency of professionalism with regard to
sharing and developing personal competency.
75
 IV. Process and Organization
Processes provide a structure that allows for consistency and standardization in the capture, organization, maintenance and dissemination of
Knowledge. Accordingly, respondents were asked for their opinion on how they assess different areas of the existing KM system in FCSC from the
perspectives of process and organization .

Questionnaire Results (in Percentages)

1)The availability of systematic processes for 2) The availability of KM methods and tools, 3) The flow of knowledge in FCSC through
identifying, creating, storing, sharing, and applying approaches and services to FCSC staff? regular interactions (e.g., email, phone calls,
knowledge at FCSC? in-person conversations, etc.)?
80 80 80

60
55 60 54 60

40 40 40 32 32 30
16 20 19 19
20 9 20
8 20
6
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate know

4) The availability of KM resource center at FCSC? 5) The availability of formal mentoring, coaching, 6) The culture of employees to organize into small
and tutoring processes at FCSC? teams/groups to find solutions for workplace
problems/concerns at FCSC?
80 80 80

59
60 60 55 60
45
40 40 40
20 19 16 20 19 17
20 20 14
20 10
6
0 0
0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t know Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate adequate Adequate know

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 76

 7) The way knowledge gained from completed tasks 8) The way critical knowledge from employees 9) The way best practices and lessons learned across
or projects are documented and shared at FCSC? leaving FCSC is captured and retained? FCSC are shared so that there is no constant re-
inventing of the wheel or duplications of work?
80 80 72 80 74
64
60 60 60

40 40 40

12 15 14
20 9 20 10 12 20
9
6 3
0 0 0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t know Less than Adequate More than I don’t know
adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate adequate Adequate

10) The availability of physical workspaces and meeting 11) The way knowledgeable and experienced staff 12) The practice of how new people in specialist
spaces to support knowledge sharing and knowledge share their knowledge regularly at FCSC? roles at FCSC access expertise and advice to help
capture at FCSC? them get up to speed quickly?
80 80 77 80

60 54 60 60
46
40 40 40
23 26
22
17
20 20 13 20
6 6 4 6
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate know

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 77

 13) The way tacit knowledge is valued 14) The convenience of finding the right 15) The way old or obsolete knowledge is replaced by
and transferred across FCSC? information in the day-to-day work at FCSC? new and up-to-date knowledge at FCSC?
80 80 80
67
61 61
60 60 60

40 40 40
23
14 14 17 16
20 10 20 20
9 6
2
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate know adequate Adequate know

Questionnaire Results on KM Techniques and Activities at FCSC

Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
Brainstorming (%) Peer Support (%) Learning Review (%)

74 80 80
80
57
60 60 50 60 47 48
41
40 40 33
40 27 28 27 26
24 21 17
20 13 13 20 11 11 20
8 8 8 6
0 2
0 0 0
Poor

Good

Poor

Good
Rarely

Rarely
Sometimes

Sometimes
Sometimes
Poor

Good

Rarely

Almost Always

Almost Always
V Good

Often

V Good

Often
Outstanding

Outstanding
Almost Always
Often
V Good

Outstanding

Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency
of Use of Use of Use

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 78

 Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
After Action Review (%) Communities of Practice (%) Story Telling (%)
74
80
80 68 80 68 65
60
51 60
60 60
34 40
40 40 20
20 24
15 14 16 14 20 12 12 12
20 12 20 3 2
0 0 2 2
0
0 0

Poor

Good

Rarely

Sometimes

Almost Always
V Good

Often
Outstanding
Poor

Poor
Good

Good
Rarely

Sometimes

Rarely

Sometimes
Almost Always

Almost Always
Often

Often
V Good

Outstanding

V Good

Outstanding
Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency
Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency of Use
of Use of Use

Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
Collaborative Physical Workspaces (%) Document Libraries (%) Knowledge Bases & Wikis (%)

80 80 80 71
62
58
60 60 60
40 29 36 37
19 20 40 40
9 12 22 24
20 6 19 18 16 18
0
20 8 20 9
0 2 5 2
0
Poor

Good

Rarely

Sometimes

Almost Always
V Good

Outstanding

Often

0 0
Poor

Poor
Good

Good
Rarely

Rarely
Sometimes

Sometimes
Almost Always

Almost Always
Often

Often
V Good

Outstanding

V Good

Outstanding
Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency
of Use
Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency
of Use of Use

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 79

 Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
Blogs (%) Case Studies (%) Knowledge Café (%)
78 76 83
80 80 80
63 62
60 60 60

40 26 40 40
21 25
14 11 14 11
20 7 20 9 7 20 9
4 4 5 5 2 4 4
0
0 0 0
Poor

Good

Poor

Good

Poor

Good
Rarely

Rarely

Rarely
Sometimes

Sometimes

Sometimes
Almost Always

Almost Always

Almost Always
Often

Often

Often
V Good

Outstanding

V Good

Outstanding

V Good

Outstanding
Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency
of Use of Use of Use

Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of

Knowledge Audit (%) Knowledge Mapping (%)

77 77
80 80
63 59
60 60

40 40 29
24
19
13 14
20 9 20 7 5 2 2
0 0
0 0
Poor

Good

Poor

Good
Rarely

Rarely
Sometimes

Sometimes
Almost Always

Almost Always
V Good

Often

V Good

Often
Outstanding

Outstanding
Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency Rate Adequacy Rate of the Frequency
of Use of Use

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 80

Summary
Regarding process and organization, the majority of the staff at FCSC
believe:
 Systematic process of identifying, creating, storing, sharing and
applying knowledge is less than adequate/doesn't exist.
Appropriate tools to support KM process are not applied.
Nevertheless, there are limited practices of formal mentoring,
coaching, and tutoring that allows knowledge sharing among
staff.
 Knowledge gained from completed tasks and best practices are
not adequately documented and shared. As a result, tacit
knowledge sharing practices are largely overlooked.
 Formalized procedures, processes, tools, checklists and
mechanisms to support KM related activities are not adequately
developed, introduced and communicated.
 There is no formalized system of facilitating tacit knowledge
sharing from most senior and knowledgeable staff. There is a
feeling of not sharing critical knowledge for fear of losing power
of dominance held by most resourceful individuals.
 All in all, getting the right information that supports the day-to-day
work of the staff is not available in convenient form.
 Most KM techniques are poorly known and put to practice. Peer
support and Document libraries exist even though with a limited
use.
 Appropriate KM tools selection & training on how to use them are
overlooked assignments in the KM system implementation
initiatives at FCSC.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
FGD and Interview Results
Regarding process and organization, the following reflections are
captured from FCSC employees with in-depth interviews and FGDs :
 There is no well established and organized system to identify,
capture and document critical knowledge at FCSC.
 There are new initiatives to identify, collect, and store in an
online database.
 There is a limited practice of documenting critical knowledge,
best practices and other forms of knowledge.
 There is growing shift from the traditional paper based
documentations, to the use of computer and online platforms.
 LAN interface, BigAnt messenger and “Debo” zoom like
platforms are widely available to encourage information
sharing at FCSC. However, its practical use is slowly increasing.
 Standardized format, process, procedures and user friendly
guides to capture and document are not well developed and
communicated. Initiatives to capture and store selected
documents are at its early stage of development.
 Since there is very little and irregular trend of building
institutional memory, of over a 100 years of FCSC’s history, there
has been no systematic and institutionalized approaches to
identify, capture, store, share and create knowledge. Thus,
everything is starting from scratch.
 Formalized procedures, process, tools, checklist and
mechanism to support KM process related activities are not
adequately developed, introduced and communicated.
81
 V. Content and Context
Focus on the identification, capture and management of core knowledge ‘assets’ in order to better access and exploit intellectual capital.
Accordingly, respondents were asked for their opinion on how they assess different areas of the existing KM system in FCSC from the perspectives of
content and context
Questionnaire Results (in Percentages)
1) The practice of document cataloguing and archiving 2) The way knowledge inventory/base is maintained 3) The standardization of content management
at FCSC? for the purpose of identifying and locating workflows at FCSC?
knowledge assets or resources throughout FCSC?

80 80 80

60 60 54 60 52
42
40 32 40 40
22 22
22 17
20 17 20 9
20
4 7
0 0
0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Know Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate Know adequate Adequate adequate Adequate Know

4) The existence of strong content management at 5) The availability of processes in FCSC to ensure that 6) The regular audit of knowledge at FCSC?
FCSC? content is documented so people can refer and use it
easily when they need it?
80 80 80
62
55
60 52 60 60

40 40 40
23 25
19 19
16 20 20 12
20 9 7
1
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate Know adequate Adequate Know adequate Adequate Know

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 82

 7) The way training programs and lessons are used to 8) The use of pictures, videos, and text files to clarify
produce and modify policies, procedures, guidelines knowledge content at FCSC?
and other performance aids at FCSC?
80 80
62 58
60 60

40 40
20 16
20 14 14 10 20
6
0 0
Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
adequate Adequate Know adequate Adequate Know

Summary FGD and Interview Results

Regarding content and context, the majority of the staff at FCSC believe:
 It is difficult to get readily useable knowledge asset that
supports their day-to–day operation and decision making.
 The contents of workflow are not adequately standardized to
allow learning and knowledge sharing.
 Knowledge asset is not regularly audited, updated and made
available in usable format.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Regarding content and context, the following reflections are
captured from FCSC employees with in-depth interviews and FGDs :
 The overall KM implementation status is at an early stage
of development.
 There is no adequate formal system of capturing,
maintaining and classifying knowledge inventory
implemented at FCSC. As a result, It is difficult to clearly
identify and locate knowledge assets or resources at FCSC.
 There is only a trend of collecting training materials
PowerPoints and other documents to develop resource
pool with no proper system applied for checking quality
and taxonomy applied.
 The system for standardization of content management
workflows and content management at FCSC have not
yet developed and implemented.
 Content at FCSC are not yet fully developed in readily
useable form for immediate use for staffs. PDF text files of
limited documents and videos of very few senior staff on
selected topics are the only available content developed
and made available so far in FCSC.
 No proper knowledge audit is conducted on periodic basis
at FCSC.
83
 VI. Technology
Tools must be in place to facilitate the knowledge management process of capturing, organizing, searching, maintaining & disseminating the knowledge.
Accordingly, respondents were asked for their opinion on how they assess different areas of the existing KM system in FCSC from the perspectives of technology

Questionnaire Results (in Percentages)

1) The existence of IT infrastructure (i.e., Internet, 2) The continuous updating of KM technology to 3) The culture of recording problems, solutions &
intranet, and website) at FCSC to and facilitate accommodate the changing needs of FCSC? experiences electronically at FCSC?
effective KM?
80 80 80

60 60 60
55
46
40 40
35 40
25 26 28 28
17 19
20 20 9 20 9
3
0 0 0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
Adequate Adequate Know Adequate Adequate Know Adequate Adequate Know

5) The way KM is considered when deciding to buy 6) The retrieval of lessons & other knowledge resources
4) The way existing technologies are used for
new technology at FCSC? easily when users search for information on specific
knowledge sharing at FCSC?
topics at FCSC?
80 80
80

60 60 54
60
48 41
40 40
40
25 20 20
20 22 20
20 14 20
20 10 6
0 0
0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t Less than Adequate More than I don’t
Adequate Adequate Know Adequate Adequate Know Adequate Adequate Know

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 84

 7) The way staff at FCSC are linked to one another and to
all relevant external publics through technology?
80

60
42
40
26 26
20
6
0

Less than Adequate More than I don’t

Adequate Adequate Know

Questionnaire Results on Accessibility of IT Tools at FCSC

Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
Computers (%) Office Software such as Word, Excel (%) Cameras (%)

80 80 80
59.5
60 47.6 60 60
42.9 44.6
40 28.6 40 32.1 28.9 28.9 40 30.4
26.2 26.8
22.4 21.4 19.6 22.2 20.0 21.4
16.7 14.3 16.7
20 9.5 20 20 10.7
6.1 2.4
0 0 0
Good

Poor

Good

Poor
Poor

Very Good

Very Good

Good

Very Good
Outstanding

Outstanding

Outstanding
Sometimes

Sometimes

Sometimes
Almost Always

Almost Always

Almost Always
Often

Often

Often
Rarely

Rarely

Rarely
Adequacy Frequency Adequacy Frequency Adequacy Frequency

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 85

 Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
Internet Connection (%) Intranet (%) Digital Library (%)

80 80 70.2
80
57.4
60 51.1 60 60
38.6
33.9 33.9 32.8 34.5
40 27.1 40 29.5 40
20.0 22.4 20.5 23
15.6 13.3 16.4
20 20 10.3 11.4 20 12.8
5.1 8.5 6.4
1.6
0 0 0
Poor

Good

Poor

Good
Very Good

Very Good
Outstanding

Sometimes

Outstanding

Sometimes

Poor

Good

Very Good

Outstanding

Sometimes
Often

Almost Always

Almost Always
Often
Rarely

Rarely

Almost Always
Often
Rarely
Adequacy Frequency Adequacy Frequency Adequacy Frequency

Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
Corporate Website (%) Emails (%) Telephones (%)

80 80 80

60 43.9 45.5 60 60
35.6 37.5 34.9
40 28.1 40 30.5 40 28.6 26.8 27.9 25.6
27.3 23.2 21.4
21.1 20.5 20.3 22.9 22.9
13.6 16.7 11.6
20
20 7 6.8 20
0
0 0

Poor

Good

Very Good

Outstanding

Sometimes

Almost Always
Often
Rarely
Poor

Poor
Good

Good
Very Good

Very Good
Outstanding

Outstanding
Sometimes

Sometimes
Almost Always

Almost Always
Often

Often
Rarely

Rarely
Adequacy Frequency
Adequacy Frequency Adequacy Frequency

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 86

 Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of Adequacy & Frequency of Use of
Video Conferencing facilities such as Skype, Zoom etc (%) Collaborative Software such as MS Teams & Slack (%) Office Facebook Groups or Telegram Groups (%)

80 80 71.4 80
64.4
54.2 55.6
60 60 50.9 60
36.8 38.6
40 27.1 40 40 28.9
24.5
17.8 17.8 17 19.3
10.2 14.3 11.1
20 8.5 20 7.5 7.1 7.1 20 5.3 4.4
0.0
0 0 0
Poor

Good

Poor

Poor

Good
Very Good

Good

Very Good
Very Good
Outstanding

Sometimes

Outstanding

Outstanding

Sometimes
Sometimes
Rarely

Almost Always

Almost Always
Often

Almost Always
Often

Often
Rarely
Rarely
Adequacy Frequency Adequacy Frequency Adequacy Frequency

Questionnaire Results on IT Competence of staff at FCSC

As staff employed at FCSC, how do respondents rate their knowledge Knowledge and competence most of the staff at FCSC has to
and competence to operate technological tools such as computers, operate technological tools such as computers, the internet and
the internet and emails? (%) emails? (%)

80 80

55.0
60 60
37.9 39.7
40 26.7 40
15.0
20 20 12.1 10.3
3.3
0 0
Outstading Strength Needs Needs
Outstading Strength Strength Needs Needs Significant
Strength Improvement Significant
Improvement Improvement
Improvement

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 87

Summary
Regarding technology, the majority of the staff at FCSC believe:
 The status of ICT infrastructure is somehow adequate.
However, the frequency of the use of most devices as well as
technological tools is very limited/ basically, rated poor.
Further, the culture of using the internet to share knowledge
online or through electronic devices is largely
underdeveloped.
 Staff’s interconnectivity through digital technologies and
networking platforms within and outside of the organization is
limited.
 Staff’s capacity to effectively use available KM technologies
requires improvement through practical training.
 The KM system technology requirement is not integrated with
the current and future e-government initiatives / projects. i.e.
no clearly stated strategy to support the alignment on e-
government projects with KM system implementation.
FGD and Interview Results
Regarding technology, the following reflections are captured from FCSC
employees with in-depth interviews and FGDs :
 Most employees have access to PC/laptop with LAN Wi-Fi
connection.
 The status of ICT infrastructure and Internet band width can be
considered adequate to provide support for KM system
 Website, KMDB, intranet connections, social media group is
available; but are more practically used by the younger and
more educated employees compared to the older and
experienced employees.
 Despite the improvement, there is still an inclination to traditional
communication modalities (i.e. paper and in person
communications) instead of digital platforms.
 Digital communication and information-sharing platforms that
allow departmental and inter- departmental communications
are available.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 KMD is relying on a shared resources and technical expertise of
Communication Directorate and ICT Directorate. For instance,
KM directorate prefer to have it own digital camera, voice
recorder to capture important Knowledge within FCSC in real
time.
 ICT directorate has assisted the development of data base,
website, integrated library, data base management system
based on internally developed servers. Furthermore has assisted
in categorizing files, providing technical support in sharing the
information and files on server, and has provided training for
KMD and other staffs.
 The existing technology infrastructure is adequate to
encourage, knowledge sharing and storing.
 There are different ongoing projects to replace most of the
existing manually operated system. For instance, there is an
ongoing project to develop a system of integrated civil service
management information system and HR system.
 Existing ICT and knowledge management infrastructure is
adequate, yet, requires continuous improvement and
additional investment.
 The status of digitalization and e-government is underdeveloped
as compared to many SSA counties.
 There is a practice of documenting events in videos in most of
the pubic sectors.
 Most of the available digital platforms in FCSC are used for
sharing documents, events and news release.
88
VII. KM Practice Success Rate VIII. KM Barriers
Generally, to what extent do respondents consider FCSC’s KM
Practices to be Successful Barriers or challenges in implementing KM at FCSC
( Questionnaire Result %) (Questionnaire Result %)

80
No Interest 10.1
60 46.7 48.3 No Need 0.0
No Support by Management 24.6
40
Unsure of the potential benefits 29.0
20 Lack of Financial Resources 15.9
3.3
Lack of Time 4.3
0
Very Successful Somehow Successful Not Successful Never Hear of KM 17.4

Summary 0 20 40

• Almost half of the respondents believe FCSC’s KM practices are not

successful. Only 3.3 % believe it is very successful. KM patterns FCSC should immediately focus on
improving (Questionnaire Result %)

FGD and Interview Results 80

72
80 67
Regarding the success of KM practices at FCSC, the following 61
reflections are captured with in-depth interviews and FGDs : 60 48
 Designing, developing implementing and performing KMS at
40
FCSC has proved to be a challenge due to capacity & know-
how limitation, lack of experience in KMS development, and 20
the novelty of KM itself to all public sectors in Ethiopia.
 Creating a formalized KM system is not yet fully appreciated 0
Providing better Gaining new Storing Improving Supporting
by most employees at FCSC access to stored insights from organizational communications employees in

 Patronage political culture has been dominating the overall

knowledge combining knowledge in a among employee achieving new
exsiting better way knowledge
operating ecosystem at FCSC. knowledge

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 89

Summary
 All respondents believe there is a need for KM at FCSC  Getting budget and support from the current management is
 The top barrier or challenge the respondents believe in not critical challenge at FCSC to develop sustainable KMS.
implementing KM at FCSC is the staff being unsure of the potential  There are tendencies to politicize any reform initiatives at
benefits of KM. FCSC, This has created a challenge of distorted perception
 Another significant challenge or barrier selected by respondents is both among other management team and employees,
the support of management. Facts captured through FGD and in- creating a strong sense of resistance and may even have
depth interviews elaborate this fact by explaining that even though influenced the momentum at which the planned KMS
the current management is passionate about KM, there is fear development is implemented.
among the staff that if the current management leaves, KM  The solving the problem of ‘what is in it for me’ among
initiatives might be abandoned. employees is raised as one of the greatest challenges to the
 Suggested focus of KM implementation in FCSC in priority order establishment of sustainable KMS at FCSC.
according to the staff ‘s response:
1. Gaining new insights from existing experience
2. Supporting employees' acquiring new knowledge
3. Improving communication among employees
4. Providing better access to stored knowledge
5. Storing organizational knowledge in better way (maintaining
institutional memory)

FGD and Interview Results

Regarding the barriers of KM at FCSC, the following reflections are
captured with in-depth interviews and FGDs :
 Internal work units and external stakeholders have not
appreciated the importance of their respective roles in the
knowledge management system development at FCSC.
 Currently KM directorate is relying on shared resources and
expertise from ICT and Communicate directorate for capturing
and documenting knowledge in audio and video forms.
 According to ICT experts, despite the ambition of FCSC to
allow access to KMDB (Knowledge Management Database)
for other external users, the capacity of existing server is very
limited.
 COVID 19 has disrupted the momentum of KMS development
initiatives.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 90
Summary of Results from Questionnaires, FGDs and Interviews
Interesting findings from the questionnaires, FGD and Interviews are
adequately summarized here
Strategic Alignment
Regarding strategic alignment, the majority of the staff at FCSC believe :
 Even though KM is important for realization of the organization’s
mission, there is no clarity of goals on what KM implementation
aspires to achieve.
 The implementation of KM is not perceived to be integrated
with service quality, performance management and continuous
improvement initiatives.
 They are not adequately communicated on the use of
implementing KM as system.
Leadership and Governance
Regarding leadership and governance, most staff at FCSC believe:
 KM governance structure, roles & responsibilities are not clearly
defined. The KM department lacks the capacity to successfully
implement KM system. Besides, the management’s support,
commitment and resource allocation is not adequate and
also not guided by clear KM strategy.
 No clear mechanism of KM governance, monitoring,
evaluation and follow up have put in place at FCSC.
 They are not adequately consulted, communicated and
engaged in the due course of KM implementation. In addition,
training programs that are aimed to bridge their KM awareness
and capacity gaps and implementation are not adequately
available.
People and Culture
Regarding people and culture, the majority of the staff at FCSC believe:
 Knowledge is not adequately recognized as asset; not
adequately shared; and there is no formalized system of
recognition, reward and benefits.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 They are not encouraged to propose any work related
improvement suggestions on the way work is done (their
suggestion for improvement is not valued / recognized). Besides,
failure is not regarded as an opportunity to learn.
 Climate of trust and openness is not encouraging knowledge
sharing practice
 Overall, staff engagement in the KM system design,
implementation and other related initiatives is very limited.
Process and Organization
Regarding process and organization, the majority of the staff at FCSC
believe:
 Systematic process of identifying, creating, storing, sharing and
applying knowledge is less than adequate/doesn't exist.
Appropriate tools to support KM process are not applied.
Besides, there are limited practices of formal mentoring,
coaching, and tutoring that allows knowledge sharing among
staff.
 Knowledge gained from completed tasks and best practices
are not adequately documented and shared. As a result, tacit
knowledge sharing practices are largely overlooked.
 Formalized procedures, processes, tools, checklists and
mechanisms to support KM related activities are not
adequately developed, introduced and communicated.
 There is no formalized system of facilitating tacit knowledge
sharing from most senior and knowledgeable staff. There is a
feeling of not sharing critical knowledge for fear of losing
power of dominance held by most resourceful individuals.
 All in all, getting the right information that supports the day-to-
day work of the staff is not available in convenient form.
 Most KM techniques are poorly known and put to practice. Peer
support and Document libraries exist even though with a limited
use.
 Appropriate KM tools selection & training on how to use them
are overlooked assignments in the KM system implementation
initiatives at FCSC.
91
Content and Context
Regarding content and context, the majority of the staff at FCSC
believe:
 It is difficult to get readily useable knowledge asset that
supports their day-to–day operation and decision making.
 The contents of workflow are not adequately standardized to
allow learning and knowledge sharing.
 Knowledge asset is not regularly audited, updated and made
available in usable format.

Technology
Regarding technology, the majority of the staff at FCSC believe:
 The status of ICT infrastructure is somehow adequate. However,
the frequency of the use of most devices as well as
technological tools is very limited/ basically, rated poor.
Further, the culture of using the internet to share knowledge
online or through electronic devices is largely
underdeveloped.
 Staff’s interconnectivity through digital technologies and
networking platforms within and outside of the organization is
limited.
 Staff’s capacity to effectively use available KM technologies
requires improvement through practical training.
 The KM system technology requirement is not integrated with
the current and future e-government initiatives / projects. i.e.
no clearly stated strategy to support the alignment on e-
government projects with KM system implementation.

Suggested focus of KM implementation in FCSC in priority order

according to the staff ‘s response:
1. Gaining new insights from existing experience
2. Supporting employees' acquiring new knowledge
3. Improving communication among employees
4. Providing better access to stored knowledge
5. Storing organizational knowledge in better way (maintaining
institutional memory)

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 92


Introduction
Based on the results from desk review for best
practices & benchmarks, review of FCSC’s internal
documents and results from questionnaires, FGDs,
and in-depth interviews, this section presents
summary of the overall assessment with major
conclusions. The summaries & conclusions are
arranged following the essential dimensions of KM
CHAPTER
assessment framework designed for FCSC as
explained in chapter 2 of this report. Furthermore,
key recommendations are also incorporated
following the summaries & conclusions for each KM
4
dimensions.
I. Strategic Alignment
Description
 Availability of clearly articulated KM strategy,
ASSESSMENT policy & manuals, guidelines that are aligned
SUMMARY, with organizational KM need and priority where
annual goals are clearly cascaded from KM
CONCLUSIONS strategy.
& RECOMMENDATIONS Assessment Summary and Conclusion
 FCSC has no KM strategy, policy or guidelines
that are clearly articulated to govern the due
This section is summary of the results, course of KM system implementation.
conclusion and recommendations  The current KM implementation manual at FCSC,
based on the study. is mostly conceptual, limiting it’s ability to serve as
practical guide for KMS implementation.
 The annual plans, KM department resource and
organizational capabilities are not clearly
articulated and guided by a strategy.
 Furthermore, FCSC aspires to reach other public
institutions with its KM plans, however this
shouldn’t be without testing the water, and
without developing adequate learning and
internal capabilities.
 Based on KM maturity assessment results, the KM
implementation at FCSC is at its very early phase.
The department has not yet conceptualized KM
& adequately made the necessary preparations
to implement KMS.
 Weak institutional memory and institutional
discontinuity due to frequent reform
implementation and resultant management &
staff reshufflings have remained challenges in
FCSC. Early phase initiatives by KM department
are good initiatives that require enrichment.
Recommendations
1. Create KM awareness among employees by
conducting a training program that targets all
employees at all levels with the objective of
introducing KM, it’s benefits for the organization
and individuals as well as how it can be
implemented at FCSC.
2. Develop a KM Strategy document that clearly
defines KM aspirations for FCSC, capabilities,
configuration, initiatives and metrics with a
communication plan.
3. Revise the existing KM implementation manual
and make it a more practical document that
employees can use as a reference when taking
part in KM initiatives.
4. Communicate the contents of KM Strategy
document, KM Policy and KM Implementation
Manual to all employees by using appropriate
communication methods.
93
5. Include KM as a core capability for people growth and institutional
memory when developing organizational strategy.
6. Take action to ensure the commitment of management regardless
of change in personnel by institutionalizing KM.
7. Commit annual budget for KM Implementation
II. Leadership and Governance
Description
 Management’s understanding of KM’s importance, establishing KM
governance model that define the roles & responsibilities of those
involved in KMS development.
 Management’s sense of ownership, support, commitment &
engagement in KM action plan and its implementation.
3. Design a KM Scorecard to monitor the performance and measure
the success of KM at FCSC
4. Equip KM team with skills to implement KM through regular training
and workshops.
5. Revisit the KM Directorate’s reporting relationship and place it under
the Corporate Resources Management General Directorate
III. Process and Organization
Description
 Existence of clear process flow, procedures, policy, manuals, tools &
systems established to identify, capture, organize, store, share, apply
and create knowledge in the organization.

Assessment Summary and Conclusion Assessment Summary and Conclusion

 The essentials for KM system implementations like standardized
 Top Management’s buy-in of KM system implementation is positive.
knowledge management policy, guidelines, manuals, practitioner
There are good initiatives to support the establishment of KM
guide toolkits, standardized procedures and others have not been
directorate.
designed and implemented.
 Lack of KM strategy, policies, guiding manuals, and the lack of clearly
 Current initiatives to capture and store knowledge through a limited
defined goal(s) to be achieved has limited the management’s
web based access to internal users are storing training materials at
engagement, in KM system implementation.
central level, video documenting of senior resourceful professionals,
 If this scenario continues, KM system implementation in FCSC might
and creating digital library.
not be adequately institutionalized to guarantee success.
 Adequate awareness on KM processes is not created. The existing
Recommendations initiatives are not systematically guided.
 Responsibilities in capturing, storing, sharing and applying knowledge
are not explicitly defined for each employees, units or departments.
1. Develop KM Governance describing how KM is run at FCSC. KM
Mechanisms for collaboration and sharing are not in place.
Governance defines KM responsibilities, steering team, core team,
 Due to the absence of proper KM implementation system in FCSC,
extended team for design and tech engagement. It also describes
the capturing, documenting and maintaining of critical knowledge,
the types competencies needed in KM team.
best practices and good institutional memory is poor.
2. Ensure the continuous and active engagement of top management
in setting up the KM process, following up and monitoring the
progress. The KM department with the top management needs to
institutionalize regular and periodical meetings to review, approve,
monitor and maintain the momentum of KMS implementation.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 94
 Recommendations
1. Conduct regular knowledge audit and mapping to know if there are
new knowledge gaps that need addressing.
2. Design detailed KM Policy and Process on how employees are
expected to identify, capture, store, share and apply knowledge.
3. Select appropriate KM tools and techniques to fit with the learning
capability of each employee group.
4. Design a communication and collaboration mechanism among
various units that is user-friendly.
5. Review workplace environment to make collaboration and
communication easier in light of KM and heighten productivity.
6. Embed KM into critical event core process.
7. Initiate KM implementation by introducing pilot activities and gauging
their success by testing, evaluating and simplifying over a defined
period.
IV. Content and Context
Description
 Introducing quality, relevance and updating of knowledge content.
 In addition, the availability of user guides and protocols to use existing
KM resources
 Knowledge classification, taxonomy, and repository issues.
Assessment Summary and Conclusion
 KM directorate at FCSC is in its early stage of collecting and storing
knowledge content. There is a central knowledge data base with
limited capacity and user access. Digital library is underdevelopment.
 There is no systematic mechanism, in place to classify, ensure quality
and relevance of the knowledge materials, considering the users
interest & preferred learning style.
 No formalized system of knowledge quality validation and
standardization process is available.
 Knowledge taxonomy and repositories have not yet been developed.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Recommendations
1. Define critical FCSC knowledge and expertise based on conducted
KM Audit and Mapping.
2. Invest on dedicated online knowledge portal/base/repository/library
that stores data, information and knowledge via applicable
document formats. The online platform should have the following
features and components:
• Explicit Knowledge (policies, procedures, reports, memos,
guidelines, minutes of meetings, books, journal articles,
databases, external reports, government information)
• Implicit Knowledge (Know-hows and expertise)
• User comment enabled
• Easy upload and download capability
• Categorization through knowledge taxonomy and access
authorization
• Labeling and tagging of content
• Advanced search engine
• Secure from internal and external tampering
• Log in administration
3. The online database should be developed through the collaboration
of FCSC KM team, KM Consultants and an IT Company.
4. Upload or migrate existing knowledge and expertise to the online
platform. Maintain, update and revise the portal regularly.
5. Make documents of public interest available for download on
corporate website.
6. Identify and scan important paper-based documents that are
currently stored in physical archives and migrate them to the online
portal.
7. Make the physical library attractive and conducive for knowledge
sharing. Regularly assess the contents in the library and update
accordingly.
8. Enhance knowledge content with pictures, videos, audios and
different appropriate multimedia.
95

V. People and Culture
Description
 Level of staff awareness and understanding on the importance of KM
 Also includes mindset, attitude & culture of staff to support and
engage the overall process of KM.
 Willingness to support and contribute KMS development
Assessment Summary and Conclusion
 Despite training and forums organized in FCSC, shared understanding
of KM among employees is not adequate
 There is a poor and limited practice of capturing, documenting and
sharing knowledge and best practices from experienced employees,
different projects
 Patronage system and frequent institutional discontinuity are
overriding the climate of trust and openness in FCSC.
 Peer-to-peer learning, self-development initiatives and capacity
building training are the most commonly practiced KM sharing
platforms in FCSC.
 Coffee break gathering and informal knowledge sharing platforms are
underutilized.
 The overall culture of knowledge and best practice sharing is not
satisfactory.
 Some aspects of Knowledge management is included in performance
evaluation and job descriptions of employees.
Recommendations
1. Organize regular training programs, discussion forums and workshops
for all employees on the basics, importance and implementation of
KM. Further, training programs should incorporate tutorials on how KM
techniques, tools and technology is used.
2. Use behavioral reinforcement techniques to develop and nurture the
culture of knowledge sharing at FCSC.
3. Design reward, recognition and incentive schemes for participation in
KM initiatives.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
4. Officially award innovation and best practices at work.
5. Develop supportive culture and environment by creating learning
through sharing lessons from errors and failures.
6. Include KM tasks in job descriptions and criteria in performance
management.
7. Create culture of openness and trust among employees by using
different techniques and programs.
8. Develop mechanism for employees to suggest work process and
operations improvement.
VI. Technology
Description
 Status of ICT infrastructure, internet Bandwidth, intranet and other
facilities required for KM implementation.
 Availability of KM technologies and tools that allow capturing, sorting,
storing, and sharing knowledge, while allowing continuous updates.
 Availability and use of specialized KM software
 Willingness of employees & culture of using available technology.
Assessment Summary and Conclusion
 The status of ICT infrastructure, intranet and internet bandwidth at
FCSC is believed to be adequate in supporting KM system
implementation.
 The knowledge sharing portal and current server status has limited
capacity to allow increasing numbers of internal and external users,
when its fully operational introducing online repository and KMDB on
resource sharing.
 Employees use of currently available KM supporting platforms such as
“BigAnt office messenger, social media platforms for formal use and
“Debo’ local communication technology is limited.
 There is slow transition from paper based to the use of available digital
options.
 Specialized KM software requirements are not specified at FCSC.
96
Recommendations
1. Introduce mandatory measures and incentive schemes to enforce
use of available technological tools in document exchanges,
sharing and reporting.
2. Revise IT strategy in light of KM.
3. Align KM with current IT projects and initiatives.
4. Boost current server capacity.
5. Design and develop application of intranet and it’s functions.
6. Develop knowledge portal/base/repository/library. (Refer to
Recommendation 2 on Content & Context section)
7. Assess and determine KM software and hardware needs.
8. Procure necessary KM software and hardware based on the
assessment. Integrate the procured technology with KM initiatives
and work process.
9. Review and improve current corporate website to world-class
standard.
10. Design and implement social media engagement strategy and
make social media part of KM initiative.
11. Integrate e-government projects with KMS initiatives.
12. Continuously develop and encourage the capacity and use of KM
technologies by all employees through training programs and
workshops.

VII. Other Recommendations

1. Record and assess employee and customer satisfaction periodically
either with internal team or employing external consultants with
proper methodology.
2. Conduct a KM Maturity assessment among public offices to gauge
the level of development of KM.
3. Make KM efforts coherent and coordinated so that public institutions
don’t duplicate efforts.
4. Improve service delivery in public sector by developing a national
KM Framework Strategy.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 97

 PART 2
PROPOSED KM INITIATIVES &
IMPLEMENTATION
FRAMEWORK AT FCSC &
NATIONAL LEVEL
 5.1. Introduction
In the first part of the main report, the FCSC KM
assessment has been extensively discussed in four
separate Chapters. The first chapter of part one
laid out the conceptual background of KM. The
topics discussed included what KM was, its benefits
for an organization, functions of KM systems,
historical development of KM, importance of KM to
Based on the results from desk review for best
practices & benchmarks, review of FCSC’s internal
documents and results from questionnaires, FGDs,
and in-depth interviews, this section presents
summary of the overall assessment with major
conclusions. The summaries & conclusions are
arranged following the essential dimensions of KM

CHAPTER
the public sector, key challenges and barriers of
KM implementation in public sector, components
of KM framework and employing systems
approach in implementing KM. The purpose of
assessment framework designed for FCSC as
explained in chapter 2 of this report. Furthermore,
key recommendations are also incorporated
following the summaries & conclusions for each KM

5
these discussions were to lay a safe foundation for dimensions.
building a suitable, contextual and effective
assessment tool. Hence, key takeaways from the
conceptual background were captured at the
end of the chapter. In the second chapter the
approach and methodology used in the
assessment are discussed. The third chapter of Part
PROPOSED KM INITIATIVES & 1 presents the result and findings of the assessment
which are generated from selected best practices
IMPLEMENTATION around the world and benchmarking; review of
FRAMEWORK FCSC documents that are related with KM; and
from data collection.

The conclusions and findings from the assessment

The purpose of this section is to propose
initiatives FCSC should implemement to
successfully and perpetually implement
KM at FCSC
were succinctly summarized in Chapter 4, in a way
that they can be an input to Part two of the report
which mainly focuses on the proposed initiatives
and implementation framework for FSCS to act on
to promote the establishment of KM Systems both
at the Commission and national levels.

98
 5.2. From Defining Requirement to Result Chart of the KM Assessment

The following chart summarizes and explains the journey of this assesment from inception of requirements to implementation of the framework.

Review of Conceptual

Desk Research

Summary , Conclusion, and

Implementation Framework
Proposed KM Initiatives and
Background
Implement
KMS &

Recommendations
Benchmarking & Best Practice
Build KM
Inception Report
Review (Global, Africa, Local)
Capability
ToR

Review of FCSC Documents

In-depth Interviews
Make KM a
Focus Group Discussions National
Initiative

Questionnaires

Assessment Assessment Assessment Results Framework for

Requirements Approach & Initiatives Implementation
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 100
5.3. Proposed KMS Initiatives & Practices
Implementation of KM succeeds and sustains only when the right The delegation of initiative based practices to each responsible units
systems are created. However, strong desires from key individuals to and job holders are presented below using the DRASCI Method. The
initiate, implement and rollout KM is an added opportunity. Therefore, in variety of roles assigned are categorized as Driver, Responsible,
this Part, the proposed Knowledge Management System (KMS) Accountable, Support, Consulted, and Informed (DRASCI). The
initiatives and practices are presented in a way they can reflect existing descriptions for each are provided below:
practices to enhance and new practices to introduce. If implemented
accordingly, they will help the creation of KMS at FCSC and guide the
process of scaling up at the national level.

The proposed initiatives and practices are divided in three phases

distributed over two years period. For the purpose of clarity and
reference, Responsibility-Assignment Matrix (DRASCI) is used to assign
and establish ownership of practices by the selected units and
individuals holding particular job positions.

D Driver Assists those who are responsible for a task.

R Responsible Assigned to complete the task or deliverable.
A Accountable Has final decision-making authority and accountability for completion. Only 1 per task.
S Support Provides support during implementation.
An adviser, stakeholder, or subject matter expert who is consulted before a decision or
C Consulted
action.
I Informed Must be informed after a decision or action.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 101

 PHASE 1 Cementing the Foundation Period of Implementation: Within 6 Months

Proposed Initiatives
1. Development of KM Governance 4. Revision of KM Implementation Manual
2. KM Strategy Development 5. Design KM Performance Management
3. Awareness Creation 6. KM Team Capacity Building

PHASE 2 Doing & Learning Period of Implementation: 6 Months – 1 Year

Proposed Initiatives
1. Knowledge Audit & Mapping 3. Phased KM Implementation
2. KM Policy Development

PHASE 3 Reaching out & Enabling Others Period of Implementation: 1 – 2 Years

Proposed Initiatives
1. KM Maturity Assessment of Public Offices at a National Level 4. National KM Strategy and KM Framework
2. KM Awareness at a National Level 5. KM Mainstreaming
3. National Capacity Development

Note: The responsibilities of implementing the proposed practices in the initiatives are primarily assigned to six units based on the organization structure
of FCSC. Accordingly,
TopM - Top Management
DKMD- Director of KM Directorate
KMDT - KM Directorate Team
HRM/HRD - Human Resource Management/Human Resource Development
ITD - IT Directorate and
C- Consultant

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 102

 PHASE 1 Period of Implementation: Within 6 Months
Goals of the Phase
• Create universal awareness of KM at FCSC • Communicate the contents of the KM documents
• Revise and Develop KM Documents • Build Capacity of KM Team
Responsibility-Assignment Matrix
S. Initiative Practice Responsibility
N
TopM DKMD KMDT HRM ITD C
/HRD
1 Development of EXISTING PRACTICE TO ENHANCE
KM Governance
Move the KM reporting relationship on the current structure from Change
Management Directorate to Corporate Resource Management General
Directorate. Establish two separate team leader positions where one is A S R C
I
responsible for coordinating internal KM implementation, while the other
team is responsible for providing support to other public sector organizations
when rolling out phase starts. (See Guide 1)
Clarify mandates, internal structure and responsibilities of KM Directorate.
A S I R C
(See Guide 1)
Clarify KM directorate’s relationship with other directorates and
A S I R I
departments.
Provide training programs to capacitate the KMD team and to familiarize
C A S R D
the KM team on with the proposed strategic initiatives. (See Guide 7)
Define competency requirements and revise job descriptions for each job
A S R D
positions of KMD team/experts (See Guide 1)
Prepare detailed KM implementation plan incorporating the proposed
I A R S D C
strategic initiatives including budget requirement
Commit resources for planned KM activities A R D S

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 103

S. Initiative Practice Responsibility
N
TopM DKMD KMDT HRM ITD C
/HRD
2 Awareness NEW PRACTICES TO INTRODUCE
Creation I A S R D C
Plan and provide training programs on KM concept and practice of KM to
all employees. (See Guide 2)
Communicate the contents of KM Strategy document and KM
Implementation Manual to all employees by using appropriate I A R I D
communication methods. (See Guide 3)
3 KM Strategy NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Development
Develop a KM Strategy document that clearly defines KM aspirations for S A R S S C
FCSC, capabilities, configuration, initiatives and metrics with a
communication plan. (See Guide 4)
4 Revision of KM EXISTING PRACTICE TO ENHANCE
Implementation
Revise the existing KM implementation manual and make it a more I A R D S C
Manual
practical document that employees can use as a reference when taking
part in KM initiatives. (See Guide 5)
5 KM NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Performance I A R R D C
Design a KM Scorecard to monitor the performance and measure the
Management
success of KM at FCSC. (See Guide 6 )
6 KM Team EXISTING PRACTICE TO ENHANCE
Capacity I A R S D
Equip KM team with skills to implement KM through regular training and
Building
workshops. (See Guide 7)

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 104

 PHASE 2 Period of Implementation: 6 Months – 1 Year
Goals of the Phase
• Identification of Key Knowledge Areas • Initiate KM implementation in Phases
• Identification and Selection of KM Tools • Develop Technology Capability

Responsibility-Assignment Matrix
S. Initiative Practice Responsibility
N
TopM DKMD KMDT HRM ITD C
/HRD
1 Knowledge NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Audit &
Conduct knowledge audit and mapping to identify knowledge gaps and I A R S D C
Mapping
sources as well as define critical FCSC knowledge and expertise.
(See Guide 8)
2 KM Policy NEW PRACTICES TO INTRODUCE
Development A R S D C
Design detailed KM Policy and Process on how employees are expected to
identify, capture, store, share and apply knowledge. (See Guide 9)
Select, test, evaluate and simplify appropriate KM tools and techniques to fit
A R D D C
with the learning capability of each employee group.
EXISTING PRACTICES TO ENHANCE
Design a user-friendly communication and collaboration mechanism among A R S S
various units. (See Guide 10)
Review physical workplace environment to make collaboration and
R S A S
communication easier in light of KM and heighten productivity.
3 Phased KM NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Implementation
Initiate KM implementation by introducing pilot activities and gauging their I A R S S
success through testing, evaluating and simplifying over a defined period.
(See Guide 11)
S. Initiative Practice Responsibility
N
TopM DKMD KMDT HRM ITD C
/HRD
4 Culture Building NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Design reward, recognition and incentive schemes for participation in KM A R S C
initiatives. (See Guides 12 & 13)
EXISTING PRACTICE TO ENHANCE
Develop mechanism for employees to suggest work process and operations A R S D
improvement.
Include KM tasks in job descriptions and criteria in performance management
S S A R
of employees.
5 Development NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
of KM Portal A R D
Identify and scan important paper-based documents that are currently
and Corporate
stored in physical archives and migrate them to the online portal.
Website
EXISTING PRACTICES TO ENHANCE
Invest on dedicated online knowledge portal/base/repository/library that A R D C
stores data, information and knowledge via applicable document formats.
(See Page. (See Guide 14)
Upload or migrate existing knowledge and expertise to the online platform. I A R
Make documents of public interest available for download on corporate
I S A R
website.

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 106

S. Initiative Practice Responsibility
N
TopM DKMD KMDT HRM ITD C
/HRD
6 Upgrade IT NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Infrastructure A D R C
Design and implement social media engagement strategy and make social
media part of KM initiative. (See Guide 15)
NEW PRACTICES TO INTRODUCE
S D R A
Boost current server capacity.
Design and develop application of intranet and it’s functions. (See Guide 16) S D R A D
Assess and determine KM software and hardware needs. A R S
Procure necessary KM software and hardware based on the assessment.
A S R
Integrate the procured technology with KM initiatives and work process.
Review and improve current corporate website to world-class standard.
S D R A C

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 107

 PHASE 3 Period of Implementation: 1 – 2 Years
Goals of the Phase
• Mainstream KM at national level by up scaling initiatives to other public
offices by incorporating lessons learned from implementation at FCSC
Responsibility-Assignment Matrix
S. Initiative Practice Responsibility
N
TopM DKMD KMDT HRM ITD C
/HRD
1 KM Maturity NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Assessment of
Carry out a KM Maturity Assessment at selected public offices through out
Public Offices I A R S
Ethiopia.
at a National
Level
2 KM Awareness NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
at a National A R S
Make KM popular in Ethiopia by using different communication and public
Level
relation schemes.
3 National NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Capacity A R R D C
Equipping knowledge workers on how to implement KM at their respective
Development
offices.
4 National KM NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Strategy and A R R S
Develop a KM implementation strategy and Framework for Public offices in
KM Framework
Ethiopia.
5 KM NEW PRACTICE TO INTRODUCE
Mainstreaming A R R S
Upscale KM initiatives beyond FCSC using phase implementation

Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 108

 Knowledge Management System Implementation at FCSC & National Level – Key Actions Dashboard
Proposed Initiatives 4. Revision of KM Implementation
1. Development of KM Governance 5. Designing KM Performance Management
2. Awareness Creation 6. Building KM Team Capability
3. Development of KM Strategy
Phases
Top Management
Phase 1 • Decides on revision of KMD’s
reporting relationship
• Decides on mandates of KM
Directorate & relationship with others
• Decides on resources for planned KM
activities
Phase 2 • Decode on detailed KM policy and
process
• Design reward, recognition and
incentive schemes for participation in
KM initiatives.
• Decide on investment for dedicated
online knowledge
portal/base/repository/library
Phase 3 • Decide on equipping knowledge
workers on how to implement KM at
their respective institutions
• Decide on KM implementation
strategy and framework for selected
public institutions in Ethiopia.
• Decide to upscale KM initiatives
beyond FCSC and selected institutions
using phased implementation
approach
7. Conducting Knowledge Audit 10. Culture Building 14. Developing KM Awareness at a National Level
8. KM Policy Development 11. Development of KM Portal and website 15. National Capacity Development
9. Phased KM Implementation 12. Upgrade IT Infrastructure 16. National KM Strategy and KM Framework
13. KM Maturity Assessment of Public Offices at a National 17. KM Mainstreaming
Level
Accountable/Responsible
KM Directorate HRM/HRD IT directorate
• Decides on KM familiarization& capacity building training for KMD team  Revises KMD’s reporting
• Decide on competency requirements and revise job descriptions for each job positions of relationship
KMD team/experts  Clarifies mandates of KM
• Decide & prepare KMS institutionalization plan & budget requirements and Directorate & relationship with
• Commits resources for planned KM activities others
• Decide on plan and implementation of training programs on KM to all employees  Coordinate training on KM
• Decide and communicate KM Strategy and Implementation Manual to all employees familiarization& capacity building
• Decide and develop KM Strategy document & revision of KM manual of the KMD team
• Decide & design KM Scorecard to monitor success  Define competency
requirements and revise job
descriptions for each job positions
of KMD team/experts
 Coordinate training programs on
KM to all employees
• Decide & conduct knowledge audit and mapping  Decide on workplace • Upload or migrate existing knowledge
• Design detailed KM policy and process environment to make and expertise to the online platform
• Decide and select, test, evaluate KM tools and techniques collaboration and • Make documents of public interest
• Decide and design communication and collaboration mechanism among various units. communication easier available for download on corporate
• Review workplace environment to make collaboration and communication easier  Decide and include KM tasks in website
• Decide on KM pilot and initiate its implementation & gauging success job descriptions and criteria in • Design and implement social media
• Design reward, recognition and incentive schemes for participation in KM initiatives. performance management of engagement strategy and make social
• Decide & develop mechanism for employees participation employees. media part of KM initiative
• Identify, decide and scan important paper-based documents that are currently stored in • Boost current server capacity
physical archives and migrate them to the online portal. • Design and develop application of
• Acquire dedicated online knowledge portal/base/repository/library intranet and its functions
• Decide on uploading or migration of existing knowledge and expertise to the online platform • Procure necessary KM software and
• Decide on making documents of public interest available for download on corporate website hardware based on the assessment.
• Decide on social media engagement strategy and make social media part of KM initiative Integrate the procured technology
• Assess and determine KM software and hardware needs, decide on procurement of with KM initiatives and work process.
necessary KM software and hardware based on the assessment, and integrate the procured • Review and improve current corporate
technology with KM initiatives and work process. website to world-class standard.
• Carry out a KM Maturity Assessment at selected public institutions in Ethiopia.
• Make KM popular in Ethiopia by using different communication and public relation schemes.
• Equip knowledge workers on how to implement KM at their
• Develop a KM implementation strategy and framework for selected public institutions in the
country.
• Upscale KM initiatives beyond FCSC and selected institutions using phase implementation
 Implementation Support Guides for Practices Proposed in
Each Initiatives

Guide 1: Organizational Structure & Clarification of Essential Roles

Guide 2: Awareness Creation Training /Workshop for Employees
Guide 3: Communicating Document Contents and Policy Changes to Employees

CHAPTER Guide 4:
Guide 5:
Developing a KM Strategy
Contents of a KM Implementation Manual

6
Guide 6: Measuring KM Performance
Guide 7: KM Skill Development for KM Team and Leadership
Guide 8: Knowledge Audit
Guide 9: Knowledge Management Policy Development
IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT
Guide 10: Internal Communication Strategy
RESOURCES
Guide 11: Setting KM Pilot Initiatives
Guide 12: Building a Knowledge Sharing Culture

On the following pages, guides and Guide 13: Knowledge Management and Incentives
tools that support the implementation
of the proposed initiatives are collected Guide 14: Developing a KM Portal
from different sources and presented to
serve for reference
Guide 15: Social Media and Knowledge Management
Guide 16: Features of an Effective Intranet Platform

110
 GUIDE 1: Organizational Structure &
Clarification of Essential Roles 33
Knowledge Management Directorate is currently positioned under Change
Management and Partnership General Directorate in the organizational
structure of FCSC. Based on results from the assessment and best practices,
the KM functions have more stronger link with HRM and HRD functions
within organizations. In addition, knowledge is also one of the key assets for
civil service institutions. Therefore, the recommendation is to revisit the KM
Directorate’s reporting relationship and place it under the Corporate
Resources Management General Directorate (የኮርፕሬት ሃብት ስራ አመራር ዳ/ጀነራል)
by extending its span of control as depicted in the figure below.
የኮርፕሬት ሃብት ስራ አመራር
ዳ/ጀነራል
Figure 27: Proposed Organizational Structure for KMD
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Roles of the New KM Directorate
As depicted, KM Directorate is recommended to be under የኮርፕሬት ሃብት
ስራ አመራር ዳ/ጀነራል. Accordingly, the key mandates/roles of the Directorate
shall be to (these roles can be expanded during revision):
 Oversee the overall operation of knowledge management
activities at FCSC level and rollout and expansion of KM
practices to other civil service institutions at national and
regional levels.
 Implement KMS and ensure its overall smooth operation
 Collaborate with key internal and external KMS stakeholders
 Provide timely and adequate supply of all necessary resources
for effective KM
 Build FCSC’s internal capabilities and KM capacity
development supports to external partners and institutions
 Oversee development of all major support tools and systems,
knowledge-sharing partnerships, and information access
restrictions in consultation with KM key stakeholders,
 Assist KM department to identify operationally relevant
experiences and to document them in easily accessible
knowledge assets for further sharing and replication
 Establishing performance measures and metrics for the
organization’s knowledge-sharing activities
 Monitor, supervise and evaluate the performance of KMS
KM Work Process Teams
Two KM work process teams are proposed with their respective team
leader positions are suggested under the revised KM structure. Their roles
are mainly categorized based on their KM targets. One focuses on KM
activities internal to FCSC while the external work process team focuses
on supporting other institutions to introduce KMS and develop their
capacity to operate smoothly. During phase I and Phase II, both the
internal and external teams are advised to actively work together
focusing on building KMD’s capability and developing and applying
appropriate KM tools as recommended in the guides provided with this
report. After developing adequate capacities and piloting, each one of
them will be required to focus on their respective domains.
111
Internal KM operation team leader staff composition: Communities of practice expert
 Knowledge & Learning Specialist A community manager is usually designated to ensure that the
 Knowledge-Capturing Specialist community functions effectively. (provide community of practice
 Journalist / editor support). Community facilitator may also be assigned to provide day-to-
 KM analyst day assistance to community members
 Librarian
 IT /system specialist Others
 Audio visual / media specialist Journalist: Captures knowledge by interviewing others or recording key
 Digital engagement experts events
Analyst: Identifies and reviews information and effectively synthesizes it
External KM supporting and Liaison team leader staff composition: into actionable form
 KM maturity & mapping expert/officer Editor: Refines knowledge that has been captured in documents, videos,
 Community of practice expert/officer or other formats and converts it into user-friendly formats or languages
 Knowledge auditing expert/officer Librarian: Organizes knowledge assets and assists others in locating and
navigating them
Some of the commonly required KM skills: Facilitator: Assists groups of people to identify and achieve their
 Interpersonal communication objectives
 Information technology Instructional designer: Turns content into accessible learning offerings by
 Learning design and facilitation designing learning activities using a variety of pedagogical tools
 Journalism skills Community-of-practice manager: Administers and manages the
 Information management community-of-practice platform by engaging with the members and
 Writing skills ensuring the offerings on the platform meet their expectations
 Analytical skills IT Specialist: Manages and administrates the IT-based platforms and
 Management skills systems

Selected Roles and Responsibilities of KM staffs :
Chief Knowledge and learning officer:
Oversees development of all major support tools and systems,
knowledge-sharing partnerships, and information access restrictions.
Responsible to identify operationally relevant experiences and to
document them in easily accessible knowledge assets for further sharing
and replication.
Learning and training center expert:
Experts with the skill to translate knowledge into suitable learning
offerings and the ability to organize knowledge-sharing events and
gatherings, including with external partners
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Knowledge-sharing steering committee or HRD &KM directorate
Responsibilities:
 Devising a strategy for knowledge sharing
 Supervising the knowledge-sharing change process
 Creating a broad, organization-wide awareness of the policies
perspectives, and goals associated with all knowledge-sharing
activities
 Ensuring that the roles and responsibilities for the performance of the
knowledge-sharing programs are clear and complementary
 Fostering communications and cooperation across business
units and departments for knowledge-sharing programs, policies, and
activities and ensuring alignment of operational units with support
functions in their implementation of knowledge sharing
112
 Establishing performance measures and metrics for the organization’s
knowledge-sharing activities
 Appointing an implementation team and its leader
 Approving knowledge-sharing partnerships
 Supporting and regularly briefing senior management on all
knowledge-sharing issues
Knowledge management coordinating team
The Knowledge-Management Coordination Team is the implementing
body for knowledge-sharing initiatives, policies, and strategy. The team is
composed of knowledge and learning specialists and representatives
from all operational and administrative departments of the organization.
The team is in charge of implementation of major knowledge-sharing
programs and activities in [Your Organization]; relevant events,
platforms, and systems; development of knowledge and learning
products and offerings; and other activities as they relate to the
knowledge-sharing strategy framework. It further monitors the
organization’s knowledge-sharing activities & feeds performance reports
back to the Knowledge Sharing Steering Committee.
Responsibilities:
 Implementation of the knowledge-sharing strategy
 Development of knowledge-sharing-related budgets
 Monitoring of knowledge-sharing-related expenses
 Coordination and organization of organization-wide and cross-
departmental knowledge-sharing activities and events
 Coordination of knowledge capturing efforts in the departments
 Proactive development of innovative internal and external
knowledge-sharing activities
 Ensuring quality control and timely validation of knowledge assets
 Coordination of the development of high-quality knowledge and
learning products
 Coordination of the design and implementation of high-quality
learning offerings
 Implementation and maintenance of knowledge-sharing systems and
platforms
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Design, implementation, and management of communities of
practice and knowledge-sharing networks
 Coordination of knowledge-sharing-related monitoring & evaluation
and reporting efforts
 Development of communications on knowledge-sharing-related
activities
 Implementation and active use of collaborations and partnerships as
they relate to knowledge sharing and peer learning, including
identification of outsourcing partners
 Day-to-day liaison with domestic and international partners on
knowledge-sharing activities
Chief Knowledge and Learning Officer (CKO/CLO)
The Chief Knowledge and Learning Officer is part of the senior
management team of the organization and oversees the design and
implementation of the organization’s knowledge management and
learning strategies.
The CKO/CLO develops efficiencies in the knowledge value chain by
creating an enabling environment that is conducive to systematic
knowledge sharing and organizational learning. He/she oversees the
implementation of a knowledge infrastructure that supports informed
decision making and continuous learning to prepare management and
staff to deliver on their operational tasks in the most effective manner.
Responsibilities:
 Oversee the development and implementation of a knowledge
management strategy/ framework/policies for the organization
 Oversee the development of functions, systems, tools, and processes
that make use of knowledge to improve organizational effectiveness
 Actively promote the use of knowledge and learning within and
outside the organization
 Be a role model for exemplary knowledge-sharing behavior to
colleagues and partners of the organization
 Identify, promote, and use knowledge and learning partnerships that
support and enrich knowledge management and sharing within and
beyond the organization
113
 Encourage knowledge capturing and sharing throughout the
organization
 Design and implement incentive mechanisms to reward exemplary
knowledge capturing and sharing behavior
 Design and implement a results framework to monitor and evaluate
effectiveness of knowledge and learning related measures
Qualifications
 A master’s degree in knowledge management, instructional design,
learning, or a related field and at least 10 years’ applied experience in
developing, managing, and implementing knowledge-management
strategies
 Experience in organizational change management
 Excellent collaborative leadership skills
 Excellent interpersonal and people management skills, including the
ability to motivate others
 Strong strategic-thinking and integration skills, with ability to identify
opportunities & obstacles for systematic knowledge capturing and
sharing within the organization
 Sound understanding of technologies, platforms, and IT infrastructure
that facilitate knowledge management and sharing
 Good communication and listening skills
Knowledge and learning specialist
The Knowledge & Learning Specialist executes the knowledge and
learning strategy of the organization and implements the knowledge &
learning activities of the organization/department. The specialist sets up
and manages knowledge management and learning systems and
administers the infrastructure for systematic capturing, managing,
sharing, &finding information
Responsibilities:
 Helps to foster organization-wide knowledge sharing, so that the
organization’s know-how, information, and experience is shared inside
and, where applicable, outside the organization with partners and
other stakeholders
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Gathers and organizes information for the organization’s knowledge
repository
 Facilitates seamless knowledge sharing across the organization’s
departments
 Interacts regularly with operations colleagues to ensure continuous
capturing, managing, and sharing of critical knowledge in the
organization
 Manages the content on the organization’s knowledge and learning
platforms
 Analyzes the characteristics of existing and emerging technologies
and their use for better management and sharing of knowledge
 Develops the taxonomies of the organization’s knowledge and
learning repositories
 Supports the design of the organization’s knowledge and learning
platforms and functionalities
 Extracts high-value knowledge assets for dissemination
 Supports the advocating, training, and mainstreaming of knowledge
management and learning functions in the organization
 Manages the organization’s community-of-practice platforms
 Models active knowledge sharing throughout the organization and
with partners
Qualifications:
 A bachelor’s degree in knowledge management, instructional design,
learning, or a related field and at least five years’ applied experience
in setting up and administrating knowledge management and learning
systems
 Sound understanding of technologies, platforms, and IT infrastructure
that facilitate knowledge management and sharing
 Ability to develop an information architecture and taxonomies to
support fundability of the organization’s knowledge assets
 Good team work and collaboration skills
 Good interpersonal skills and the ability to motivate others to contribute
to and make use of the knowledge and learning offerings of the
organization
 Good communication and listening skills
114
 Attention to detail
 Ability to quickly develop a sound understanding of the operational
departments’ knowledge needs and assets
 Ability to assess situations quickly and make independent decisions
regarding capturing and sharing of knowledge assets
 Basic understanding of common business processes within the
organization as well as with external partners
 Proactive work ethic
Knowledge-capturing specialist
The Knowledge-Capturing Specialist supports the organization-wide
knowledge identification, capturing, validation, and formatting
processes. The specialist extracts and documents valuable experiences
and lessons learned from operational and administrative colleagues in
the organization. Supports development of a comprehensive, targeted,
highly useful knowledge base that allows staff throughout the
organization to access mission-critical knowledge.
Responsibilities:
 Captures the experiential knowledge of colleagues and experts
throughout the organization as well as external stakeholders to
populate and grow the organization’s repository of valuable and
sharable knowledge assets
 Continuously scans the organization for knowledge that is important
for the organization’s operations
 Interviews internal and external stakeholders to extract mission-critical
experiences & lessons learned for further scaling up & sharing
 Manages the logistics, set-up, design, and implementation of
synchronous knowledge- capturing activities, including meetings,
focus groups, and workshops
 Designs and manages online capturing activities, including surveys,
wikis, blogs, e-discussions
 Evaluates the usefulness of knowledge to be captured for replication
and scale up
 Edits the knowledge assets in regards to language, formatting, and
content
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
transforms it into formatted knowledge assets that are of high quality,
standardized, and shareable
 Uses audiovisual tools to capture knowledge at high quality
 Populates the attributes and qualifiers of knowledge assets to ensure
good find ability
 Develops trusted relationships with a variety of stakeholders within and
outside the organization
Audiovisual media specialist
The Audiovisual Media Specialist supports the capturing and recording
of experiences and lessons learned throughout and beyond the
organization. The specialist manages all technical logistics, including for
location set-up, audio, lighting, and audiovisual (AV) equipment to
ensure a smooth recording process. The specialist also supports the
development of AV-based learning offerings and ensures knowledge
assets and products are professionally edited.
Responsibilities
 Records interviews and other knowledge extraction activities using
AV equipment
 Professionally edits AV recordings for further use in knowledge assets
and more comprehensive knowledge and learning products
 Supports the knowledge-capturing specialist with all technology-
based tools and processes
 Helps locate and maintain a technically suitable environment in
which the recording will take place
Qualifications
 A bachelor’s degree in audiovisual media, multimedia design,
videography, or a related field and at least five years’ applied
experience as a cameraman and/or video editor
 Excellent understanding of AV equipment and recording options
available to ensure good quality knowledge capturing
 Excellent audio and video editing skills with a good grasp of AV
editing technologies and tools
 Good communication skills
 Good interpersonal skills a plus
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Instructional/Learning designer Qualifications
The Instructional/Learning Designer is in charge of curriculum  An advanced degree in instructional/learning design, knowledge
development for the learning offerings of the organization. The designer management, or a related field and at least five years’ applied
is responsible for ensuring that both classroom-based and distance experience in designing learning offerings for face-to face, distance,
learning offerings yield the maximum learning results for the audiences, and blended delivery modalities
using a range of learning methods, tools, and technologies. The designer  Practical experience in developing classroom-based learning and e-
closely collaborates with subject matter experts and transforms learning offerings
technical content into high-impact learning experiences.  Ability to base learning offerings on the content of the organization’s
operations
Responsibilities  Ability to create innovative, interactive, and engaging content to
 Communicate effectively in visual, oral, and written form increase learning impact
 Apply current instructional-design research and theory to create  Well-versed in the use of training and multimedia authoring tools
engaging learning experiences  Familiarity with various learning management systems
 Conduct learning needs assessments to understand the skills gaps of  Sound knowledge of common standards such as SCORM
the target audiences  Ability to design agendas for learning events and activities that build
 Design comprehensive learning curriculums or programs on modern learning theory and include a high degree of interaction
 Select and use a variety of instructional design techniques for and reflection
determining the most effective  Well versed in the techniques of assessing the effectiveness of learning
 learning modalities, methods, and tools to ensure maximum learning offerings
impact  Good technical writing skills
 Develop a sound understanding of the audiences, and design  Natural curiosity about instructional/learning design and about the
learning offerings based on specific learning objectives mission of the organization
 Develop a good understanding of the specific constraints of the
audience, including location, availability, and language skills
 Continuously scan the market for existing and emerging technologies
for use in an instructional environment, including state-of-the-art tools
and techniques
 Select, modify, or create a learning-design model appropriate for a
given learning offering
 Use a variety of instructional-design techniques to define and
sequence the instructional content and related interactive activities
 Design learning offerings that reflect a deep understanding of the
diversity of learning styles
 Evaluate and assess the impact of the organization’s learning offerings
 Plan and manage projects for the development of learning offerings
 Implement and use the organization’s learning management system
to administrate and organize learning offerings

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GUIDE 2: Awareness Creation Training /
Workshop for Employees 34, 35
KM Awareness Training will provide your leadership and workforce a
foundation for understanding how knowledge is captured, adapted,
and used as well as how it flows within your organization. The training will
be tailored to your leadership dynamics and organizational culture.
Practical KM concepts are presented in clear and understandable
language. This facilitates your ability to quickly grasp these KM concepts
and then implement relevant practices, techniques, and tools not only
to embed the ability to capture critical and relevant knowledge in order
to learn before, learn during, and learn after work is done, but also to
make sense out of your captured knowledge so you can adapt this
knowledge and characterize it for reuse in the context of your
organization.
At the end of the programme, participants of the training / workshop
should learn how to:
 Define knowledge and knowledge management
 Explain the difference between explicit and tacit knowledge.
 Identify various knowledge management theoretical models.
 Explain how a properly implemented knowledge
management program can improve efficiency and create a
better working environment.
 Describe the steps for employing a new knowledge
management program in an organization.
 Describe the components of a Knowledge Management
Framework.
 Identify the required components for implementing a
knowledge management framework within an organization.
 Explain the different types of Knowledge Management tools
and techniques.
 Describe how technology enables Knowledge Management
and how they can use tools around them to easily share
knowledge.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
GUIDE 3: Communicating Document
Contents and Policy Changes to
Employees 36
When KM documents such as KM Strategy, Implementation Plan and
Policies are developed, their contents need to be communicated
clearly to all employees so they can be smoothly implemented. These
are the essential steps you must take to ensure that people are informed
and understand the changes, and the implications of not following new
protocols.
I. Be very clear about these changes
When communicating policies and procedures in the workplace, it
should be clear, concise and easy to understand. Be straightforward
about why the change is necessary, exactly what is changing, what is
staying the same, and what steps need to be taken by all employees to
make sure they comply with the new requirements. Also spell out clearly
what the consequences are for the company if corporate policies are
not followed.
II. Consider face-to-face communication
Face-to-face communications on important issues often feel more
authentic and help to build trust with employees.
Even if changes are announced via email or in writing in other official
channels, it’s still a good idea for managers to speak directly to their
employees about them in team meetings or even individually to ensure
compliance.
III. Ensure new work policies are easy to find
The easier you make it for employees to find your changed work
policies, the easier it is for them to implement and adhere to them. You
should have a clearly labeled and easy to find and navigate employee
rules section on your intranet site that sets out all company policies and
procedures. In effect, this is a soft copy “company manual”.
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Whenever you make changes or updates to this company manual, you
should send communications to employees outlining the changes and
telling them where they can find the information.
IV. Use employees as champions
A good way to communicate a new policy to employees is by tapping
into the leadership resources within your team and appointing
passionate employees with a solid understanding of the changes to be a
“champions” among their peers who can advocate the importance of
the changes and also assist others to implement them.
Employees are more likely to successfully “buy in” to change when it is
being championed by a colleague they respect and trust.
V. Provide adequate training
You need to ensure that employees are given appropriate training in
new procedures so that they can carry out tasks in the way that is
expected of them.
Depending on the changes, you may need to roll out company-wide
training at the beginning of the new initiative, or just as required.
Refresher and follow-up training should also be factored in if necessary.
VI. Ask for employee input when writing company policies
Involving employees in the process provides them with the opportunity
to ask questions and to give honest feedback about how easy your
employee policy handbook is to understand and follow from their
perspective.
You can also draw on their experiences working when writing company
policies to ensure that any changes you are proposing are practical and
realistic.
VII. Be open to two-way communication
People are often resistant to change, particularly when they’ve done
something a particular way for a long period of time. They may have an
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
emotional reaction to change, and they may also feel that the changes
aren’t practical.
Just as you need to clearly communicate the need for change, offering
opportunities for employees to provide meaningful feedback can help
to keep them engaged throughout the process.
When you have corporate policy and procedure changes to
communicate, there are a number of ways you can do so. This can
include:
 Sending emails to employees
 Putting information on your company intranet site
 Sharing the policies on your internal social media platforms
 Write directly to employees
 Having managers discuss the changes at team meetings
 Including information about the policy in internal newsletters
 Posting updated policies on company noticeboards
 Including policies in any staff handbooks
As with any good internal communications approach, the best ways to
communicate policy changes include:
 Use of a combination of delivery channels to ensure the
message gets across
 Send reminders or hints and tips about the policy update as
part of an internal communications campaign to really make
sure that the message gets through.
 Quiz your employees on their understanding of the new policy
 Monitor compliance with the policy changes and tailor any
further communications to addressing any problems.
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GUIDE 4: Developing a KM Strategy 37 The following figure depicts the component and processes of a KM
Strategy:

A knowledge management (KM) strategy is a specific plan to help your

organization manage information, data, and knowledge for the benefit
of your organization and any stakeholders. Successful KM strategies align
with your overarching organizational strategy and objectives and keep
your KM team focused on your business priorities and needs.

Here are some of the reasons suggested it is useful to develop a KM

strategy:
 Increase awareness and understanding of knowledge
management at FCSC
 Identify potential benefits of KM within FCSC
 Gain senior management commitment and buy-in from
colleagues and team members
 Attract resources for implementation: depending on the
situation, this might require a more formal Business Case to be
developed, specifying costs and benefits, expressed in financial
terms
 Communicate a vision for KM and good knowledge
management practice, framing objectives and plans
 Give employees a clear, communicable plan about:
o Where FCSC wants to go regarding KM (vision, aims, and
objectives);
o Where FCSC is now (needs assessment and gap
analysis);
o How to plan to get there (implementation plan,
governance, and management)
 Give employees a basis against which to measure KM progress
(M&E)
 Improve work and impact
 Improve sustainability of KM activities
 Improve cross-sector and cross-organization communication
 Improve program (and KM) profile Figure 28: KM strategy development process

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 GUIDE 5: Contents of a KM
Implementation Manual 38
The KM team in FCSC had developed an implementation manual with
the goal of guiding employees on how they can share their knowledge.
The document has been reviewed and an improvement is proposed.
Accordingly, the following outline is proposed for the improved
implementation manual:
 Rationale and brief theoretical insights on KM
 How to find and share important information
 Internal communication resources
 External communication tools
 What does KM mean on a day-to-day basis
 Rules for Knowledge Management
 FCSC knowledge products
 KM tools and techniques
 How to integrate knowledge management into your work
planning process
 How to measure the impact of knowledge management
Measuring KM Performance 39
GUIDE 6: Measuring KM Performance 39
A successful knowledge management strategy contributes to achieving
your objectives while enhancing operational performance and customer
satisfaction. By quantifying that your knowledge management strategy is
improving performance, increasing customer satisfaction, and reducing
costs, you will establish an explicit link between the knowledge
management system and your overall goals.
Typically, you will want to measure how well the implementation of your
knowledge management system is occurring. By running an assessment
at the beginning of your knowledge management implementation, you
will produce several baseline metrics, which will help determine
improvement of business processes.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
An appropriate protocol will gauge several elements of the knowledge
flow within your organization. This will enable you to pinpoint obstacles
and blockers to that knowledge flow. Administering the assessment later
gives you data on your progress.
A very useful area of knowledge management strategy metrics is
activity-based measurements. The types of potential metrics include:
 Questions asked per month on your Q&A or discussion forum
 Answers per question on your Q&A or discussion forum
 Best practices submitted monthly on an online best practice
sharing database
 Frequency of update of best practices
 Lessons submitted monthly on an online lessons learned system
 Frequency of updates on standard operating procedures
based on new lessons
 Number of open/closed lessons
 Number of users of knowledge base
 Time taken to close lessons
 Number of wiki editors
 Frequency of update of wiki
 Number of active community members
 Number of total community members
 Number of knowledge management champions
 Number of people being trained in knowledge management
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GUIDE 7: KM Skill Development for KM
Team and Leadership 40,41
On top of general awareness trainings all FCSC employees take, the
senior management and KM teams need to take trainings on how to
successfully and perpet.ually implement KM at FCSC. These trainings of
skill development should focus on both the human and technological
aspect of KM. The trainings can incorporate the following features:
 How to create a culture of sharing
 How to develop a ‘learning organisation’
 How to motivate employees positively to be team players
 How to ensure departments initiate knowledge sharing and
reciprocate to initiatives from elsewhere
 How to build systems that recognise efforts to share knowledge
TFPL, a consulting firm in UK, developed a KM skills map that defines six
main groups:
 Strategic & Business Skills: Includes business planning, industry
knowledge, strategic thinking, leadership, and organizational skills.
 Management Skills: Includes business processes, people
management, process mapping, team building, and measurement.
 Intellectual & Learning Skills: Includes problem solving, mentoring,
conceptual thinking, being analytical, and the ability to deal with
ambiguity.
 Communication and Interpersonal Skills: Includes listening,
negotiation, marketing, team working, and consulting.
 Information Management Skills: Includes codification, content
management, information processes, taxonomies, and
applications.
 IT skills: Includes database management, information architecture,
programming, software applications, and workflow.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
GUIDE 8: Knowledge Audit 42
A Knowledge and/or Information Audit is a rigorous examination of an
organization's knowledge and information use. It is intended to make
visible the knowledge and information assets that drive its core activities.
Organizations conduct knowledge audits for a number of reasons, such
as to:
 identify what and where key knowledge assets can be found
 identify knowledge gaps (what they should know but don’t)
use them as evidence for developing a corporate taxonomy
 identify high priority documents (in terms of demand and
value) for migrating into a portal
 use them to set KM priorities and needs in a KM Strategy
exercise
According to www.straitsknowledge.com, Knowledge Audit comprises
of the following steps:
1. Communicate the intent and effort to your leadership team
and department heads.
2. Get nominations for participation- 2-4 participants from each
department, who should be familiar with the key activities of
the department and how knowledge and information are
used in them.
3. Brief participants on the process and schedule sessions for
knowledge mapping.
4. Conduct knowledge mapping sessions in group discussion
IT format, to capitalize on collective knowledge.
5. Have departments validate their draft maps, and finalize
them.
6. Open all maps for organization wide review, so that
knowledge assets that could have wider use through sharing
can be identified.
7. Analyze results and report back to participants, department
heads and leadership team.
8. Encourage wider exploitation of the maps.
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GUIDE 9: KM Policy Development 43,44
Senior management in the organization needs to make KM expectations
clear by explicitly stating what needs to be done in Knowledge
Management, and by whom. They need to write these expectations
down, and keep reinforcing them by what they say. They also need to
make sure these expectations do not get weakened by, or conflict with,
other organizational structures and expectations.
What does Knowledge Management mean in practice? What is an
acceptable level of Knowledge Management activity? Does every
project need to hold a Retrospect, or only the big ones? How frequently
should after action reviews be held? Are Peer Assists a mandatory
requirement, or optional? All of these questions are answered in the in-
house Knowledge Management Policy.
Once the implementation team has tested and piloted the components
of Knowledge Management, you need to sit down with senior
management and decide what the internal corporate KM policy is
going to be.
The Knowledge Management Policy sets the standard for Knowledge
Management within an organization. It ensures that everyone knows
what is expected of them in terms of Knowledge Management, and why
this is important to the organization.
The benefits of a good KM Policy come in setting clear expectations for
all staff, against which performance can be managed and judged. The
policy forms a core component of KM governance, and is vital for long-
term embedding of KM in the organizational structures, processes and
culture.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
The policy document should cover elements such as
• Business policy statement for KM
• Accountabilities
• Required behaviours
• Required processes
• Applicability
• Linkage with other policies, if appropriate
GUIDE 10: Internal Communication
Strategy 45
Internal Communication Strategy 45
Every organization should have an internal communication strategy. It’s
an essential document that outlines the organization’s objectives for
communicating with its employees. The strategy sets out all the steps you
need to take to insure your employees are informed and kept up-to-
date with important corporate information.
In general, an internal communications strategy should include:
 Your company’s vision, mission, and goals
 Key objectives of your organization
 Key messages
 Identified audiences within the organization
 How you will communicate, and what channels will be used
 How often you will communicate
 Who is responsible for delivering communication
 Measurements for success
The following steps can help you develop and tailor an effective internal
communications plan to communicate better with your employees.
1. Audit your current internal communications efforts
2. Establish an internal communications working group
3. Get buy-in from leadership
4. Set a baseline you can benchmark
5. Define your internal communications goals and priorities
6. Set out your budget
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 7. Define and understand your internal audiences
8. Select your internal communication channels
9. Set out the steps you will take to communicate with employees
10. Establish guidelines for internal communications standards
11. Establish a schedule for content
12. Evaluate the effectiveness of your internal communications
GUIDE 11: Setting KM Pilot Initiatives 46
A key component of your knowledge management strategy involves
running some pilot projects. A pilot project is a project where knowledge
management can be applied within the organization, to address a
specific business problem, and to deliver measurable results, and also to
act as a proving ground for KM within the organization.
The four main purposes of running pilot projects are;
 To act as a learning field, where you can try knowledge
management tools processes and techniques, finalize the
knowledge management model, and answer the questions
above
 To act as a seed for the knowledge management culture and
behaviors, which can then spread into neighboring areas of the
business, and
 To deliver demonstrable value to the organization, and so to
prove the in-house business value of knowledge management,
and
 To create stories for internal marketing purposes
A pilot project should be selected around an area of organizational
need. The need leads the way, the KM pilot provides one or more
possible solutions which can be tested. These are some of the areas
where you might consider suggesting a knowledge management pilot.
 If there is the organizational critical activity that is new to the
organization, then rapid learning will deliver organizational
benefits. If it is new to only one part of the organisation, then
transferring learning from where it has been done before, will
give huge benefits.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 If there is repetitive activity, where continuous improvement is
needed, then knowledge management can help drive down
the learning curve
 If there is activity that is carried out in several locations, where
performance level varies, then knowledge management can
help exchange knowledge from the good performers, to
improve the poor performers.
 Finally, if there is an area of work which is stuck due to lack of
knowledge, then knowledge management can help develop
the knowledge needed to get unstuck.
The pilot project should be owned by the organization, with KM providing
support rather than leadership. There are three main roles in the pilot
project:
1. a sponsor, who provides resources and agrees the goals
2. a leader for the pilot project, who should be someone from the
relevant department or function
3. A KM professional, to provide support, KM expertise, and
facilitation
Once a pilot opportunity is decided on, the different phases of the pilot
project look as indicated below:
1. Initially ,raise awareness in the target area and do some
“selling” of the concept to get people on board.
2. Then, scope the project to determine what time and resources
are needed.
3. Tailor a local knowledge management system (a combination
of roles, technologies, processes, activities and governance)
that will fit the working patterns of the project team,
4. Embed the knowledge management processes and activities
into the process of the organization,
5. Measure and deliver the results.
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GUIDE 12: Building a Knowledge
Sharing Culture 47
Culture and values are the way things are done in an organization, and
what things are considered to be important and taboo. Identifying the
current culture and values of your organization will help you take
advantage of those elements conducive to knowledge sharing and
address those which are not, with the help of the senior executive’s
commitments.
Understanding how people interact with each other in your organization,
typical styles of behavior, fundamental operating principles, and the
code of conduct is a necessary prelude to introducing a knowledge
management initiative.
If the culture of the organization does not include sharing and
collaboration, a significant management of change initiative will be
needed to start changing the culture. If it does, the KM program will be
adopted more readily.
Actual culture will encompass both positive and negative elements.
Positive attributes include: caring, collaborative, cooperative, networked,
decisive, egalitarian, supportive, open, sharing, trusting, transparent, fair,
inclusive, willing to try new ways, giving credit, adopting good ideas,
volunteering, communicative, bold, respectful, honest, responsive,
thorough, nurturing, generous, helpful, altruistic, appreciative, pleasant,
accepting responsibility, and optimistic.
Negative attributes include: insensitive, selfish, undermining, not invented
here syndrome, reticent, secretive, closed, dictatorial, waffling,
uncooperative, isolated, manipulative, exclusive, blaming, ridiculing,
usurping credit, hierarchical, controlling, resistant to change, hoarding,
siloed, passive aggressive, critical, making excuses, backstabbing,
complaining, and pessimistic.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
If the culture of your organization includes primarily positive elements, a
KM initiative will fit in well with the prevailing behavior modes. If it includes
mostly negative attributes, you have your work cut out for you. Culture
change will be a critical success factor to embracing the new ways of
behaving needed to support knowledge management. If the culture is a
mixture of positive and negative elements, you will want to use the
positive ones to support your efforts, and use a change management
process to address the impact of the negative ones.
A knowledge sharing culture includes three elements:
 Knowledge reuse is valued over reinvention.
 Sharing knowledge helps you advance in your career.
 In the process of innovating, failure is encouraged — as long as
the lessons learned are shared so that similar failures are
prevented.
To help instill a knowledge sharing culture, create a vision of how things
should work in the organization. Specify how sharing, innovating, reusing,
collaborating, and learning should be done. Have the senior executive
and the leadership team communicate the vision widely and regularly.
Here are examples of people elements in a vision for a knowledge
sharing culture:
 Managers regularly inspect, talk about, and directly participate
in knowledge sharing and reuse.
 All employees belong to and regularly participate in at least
one community.
 Desired knowledge behaviors are rewarded significantly,
regularly, consistently, and visibly.
 Time is allowed for knowledge management tasks.
 Employee promotions require demonstrated knowledge
sharing, and everyone knows this.
To change from a culture of knowledge hoarding to one of knowledge
sharing, examine why people may not be sharing their knowledge with
one another. Here are the main reasons, along with recommended
solutions:
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1. They don’t have time.
Challenge: They think they have no time for knowledge sharing.
Solution: Embed knowledge-sharing into the basic work and processes of
your organization so that it is not viewed as a separate task which can be
avoided.
2. They don’t trust others.
Challenge: They are worried that sharing their knowledge will allow other
people to be rewarded without giving credit or something in return, or
result in the misuse of that knowledge.
Solution: Reward people on team goals, and nurture communities within
the organization to create an environment of trust.
3. They think that knowledge is power.
Challenge: They hoard their knowledge waiting for someone to beg
them for it, treat them like a guru, or give them something in return.
Solution: Recognize, reward, and promote those who share their
knowledge, while denying promotions to those who fail to do so.
4. They don’t know why they should do it.
Challenge: They don’t think they need to spend time on knowledge
sharing. Leadership has not made a strong case for knowledge sharing.
Solution: Set specific knowledge-sharing goals for employees and
communicate them repeatedly through many different channels. Have
the senior executive communicate regularly on knowledge sharing
expectations, goals, and rewards.
5. They don’t know how to do it.
Challenge: They are unclear about how and where to share their
knowledge. They have not received training and communications on
how to share knowledge.
Solution: Develop, deliver, and make available on-demand training
which makes it clear how to share knowledge, including links to the
relevant tools and systems. Regularly communicate and conduct
webinars and knowledge fairs. Web-based training should be available
for all tools.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
6. They don’t know what they are supposed to do.
Challenge: Leadership has not established and communicated clear
goals for knowledge sharing.
Solution: Establish and communicate clear knowledge-sharing goals.
7. They think the recommended way will not work.
Challenge: They have received training and communications but don’t
believe what they are being asked to do will work.
Solution: The KM leaders, knowledge assistants, and other members of the
KM team have to convince people in small groups or one-on-one by
showing them that it does work.
8. They think their way is better.
Challenge: They are used to working on their own or collaborating only
with a small group of trusted comrades and believe this is the best way.
Solution: Regularly share stories of how others are benefiting from sharing
knowledge using the recommended ways. This should help sway those
stuck in their current ways to consider using better ways.
9. They think something else is more important.
Challenge: They believe that there are higher-priority tasks than
knowledge sharing.
Solution: Get all first-level managers to model knowledge-sharing
behavior for their employees, and to inspect compliance to knowledge-
sharing goals with the same fervor as they inspect other goals.
10. There is no positive consequence to them for doing it.
Challenge: They receive no rewards, recognition, promotions, or other
benefits for sharing knowledge.
Solution: Implement rewards and recognition programs for those who
share their knowledge. For example, award points to those who share
knowledge, and then give desirable rewards to those with the top point
totals.
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11. They think they are doing it.
Challenge: They are sharing knowledge differently than the
recommended ways (e.g., sending email to trusted colleagues or
distribution lists).
Solution: Assign people to work with each community and organization
to show them how to use the recommended ways and how they work
better than other ways. Providing a new tool or process which is viewed
as a killer application — it quickly and widely catches on — is the best
way for the old ways to be replaced with new ways.
12. They are rewarded for not doing it.
Challenge: They hoard their knowledge and thus get people to beg for
their help, or they receive rewards, recognition, or promotions based on
doing other tasks.
Solution: Work with all managers in the organization to encourage them
to reinforce the desired behaviors and stop rewarding the wrong
behaviors.
13. They are punished for doing it.
Challenge: As a result of spending time on knowledge sharing, they
don’t achieve other goals which are more important to the
organization.
Solution: Align knowledge-sharing processes and goals with other critical
processes and performance goals.
14. They anticipate a negative consequence for doing it.
Challenge: They are afraid that if they share knowledge, they will lose
their status as a guru (no one will have to come begging to them at the
time of need), or that they will not achieve other more important goals.
Solution: Position knowledge sharing as being a critical success factor for
the organization.
15. There is no negative consequence to them for not doing it.
Challenge: Knowledge sharing is not one of their performance goals, or
it is a goal which is not enforced.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
Solution: Work with all first-level managers to get them to implement,
inspect, and enforce knowledge-sharing goals. This needs to come from
the top — if the leader senior executive insists on it and checks up on
compliance, it will happen.
16. There are obstacles beyond their control.
Challenges: They are not allowed to spend time sharing knowledge,
they don’t have access to systems for knowledge sharing, or they don’t
have strong English language skills for sharing with those outside of their
country.
Solutions: Embed knowledge sharing into normal business processes.
Provide ways to collaborate when not connected (e.g., using email for
threaded discussions). Encourage those with weak English skills to share
within their countries in their native languages.
Creating a knowledge sharing culture and instilling positive values to
enable the required people, process, and technology elements are
critical success factors for any knowledge management initiative.
GUIDE 13: KM and Incentives 33
Successful organizations have recognized the critical value of
collaboration and collective deliverables for achieving best results.
Therefore, they encourage and acknowledge proactive knowledge
sharing and collaboration across functional and organizational
boundaries. Given that many employees see their knowledge as an
asset that gives them an edge over their colleagues, devising incentives
is critical to making knowledge sharing a standard behavior.
Successful dissemination hinges on the motivation of people to share
their knowledge and the credibility that they enjoy among potential
recipients. The motivation of the source is clearly influenced by self
interest. After all, dissemination involves costs to the source. To the extent
that knowledge is seen as power, people who share knowledge give
away a potentially valuable asset.
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Depending on the precise mode that sharing knowledge takes, they
may also have to divert time and energy from their own work in order to
document their knowledge, explain it to others, or coach them in its
implementation. Thus, people who are sources have to believe that they
will benefit—or at least not be hurt—from sharing knowledge.
Designing the right incentives and rewards to promote knowledge
sharing requires striking a balance between intrinsic (encompassing
inward satisfaction) and extrinsic (materially oriented) forms of
incentives.
In the initial stages of knowledge sharing, informal rewards and
recognition, such as showcasing staff expertise in visible ways, may be
most effective, especially where knowledge sharing is not the default
behavior among staff members. Your organization should use a mix of
incentives appropriate to your culture and context. Ultimately, working
with the human resources department in crafting policies and practices
will be essential in developing an appropriate incentive system. Making
knowledge-sharing part of each job’s terms of reference and including it
as part of the performance review can also be a driver for knowledge-
sharing behavior.

The clearer the definition of the targets at the outset, the easier it is to
measure against them at the end of a performance review cycle. Using
the performance review system helps reveal how well staff members
share knowledge, signals that it is important to the organization, and
guides the improvement of staff practices.

Figure 29: Intrinsic vs.. Extrinsic Motivation

Some staff will quickly ask for monetary rewards, although as a stand-
alone measure, these may not be the most effective for achieving
sustainable behavior change. As is often the case with material
incentives, once you stop them, behaviors may slip back into older
habits. Examples of extrinsic rewards that are often more effective
include special learning opportunities and fast-tracked promotion. But
many colleagues in your organization will be motivated most by
receiving recognition and visibility, and others may simply value sharing
and receiving knowledge for its own sake.

Many common intrinsic and extrinsic incentives vary in terms of the

resource intensity their implementation would require.
Figure 30: Incentives, by Type and Resource Intensity
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC 127
GUIDE 14: Developing a KM Portal 48
Technology can be a powerful enabler to make Knowledge
Management (KM) effective and to maximize its results. The most
commonly used technology-support for KM is the KM portal that often
forms part of a company’s Intranet. However, examples of companies
that sunk tons of money in sophisticated technology solutions for KM
without any real results abound.
The organization’s employees at all levels including senior management
are the primary customers and users of the KM portal. The portal is of
value only if it helps them do their jobs better and to achieve their
performance objectives. The system needs to be built in such a way that
they will want to use it and keep coming back because it helps them do
their jobs better and faster; and makes it easy for them to collaborate
with other experts.
Employees do not have time for KM or the portal for its own sake. They
will use it only if they find it helpful in their own jobs. The portal needs to
be easy to use. The user interface must be clean, friendly and
uncluttered.
Knowledge sharing must be as simple as writing an email with an
attachment. Finding knowledge or searching must be easy and fast. Do
not try to impress your users with sophisticated (cluttered) screens. But
build the required technical sophistication at the back-end so that a
search by a user is fast and gives relevant results that meet their
requirement.
What KM does is disarmingly simple. All it does is provide the members of
each community of access to each other and to the repository of
documented knowledge relevant to improving performance on their
top priority measure. KM makes it easy for experts to collaborate with the
rest of their community and seeks to promote a culture of sharing and
replication of knowledge relevant to their community.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
As these experts are the most important customers of the KM portal, all
that the portal needs to do to be of is to facilitate the above. One of the
most critical success factors for Knowledge Management (KM) is to have
robust processes for sharing as well as replication (use) of knowledge
around top priority organizational processes and measures. Your KM
portal must be an enabler of KM processes. The portal is an effective tool
to automate and close-loop these processes so that sharing and
replication of knowledge in areas that are most critical to the
organization are mandatory, and not left to chance or choice.
The KM processes that your portal must support include:
 Knowledge sharing process [including the “Best Practice
funnel” i.e. identification of potential best practices from high
performance on internal measures and/or customer
satisfaction and ensuring these result in published best
practices on the portal]
 External knowledge process (publishing external content
relevant to the business)
 Knowledge submission and approval process
 Knowledge replication (use) process. Results of replication of
previously published knowledge submissions on the portal must
also be documented and published. This facilitates
measurement of results of KM, and captures new knowledge
that is invariably added during replication.
 Process for capturing new knowledge during replication
 Process for incorporation of knowledge submissions into
standard business processes
You could use the list below as a generic guide or check-list. Your
organization might have its own requirements – for which you could
refine or add to this list to create your own specifications.
Functional specifications summary for KM portal:
 Creation of multiple knowledge repositories and sub-
repositories (typically, each repository would be a critical
organizational process)
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 Populating repositories with re-usable knowledge submissions
 Ownership / Administration / Content Management of each
repository by a different owner or knowledge champion
 Ability for all employees to upload (contribute) knowledge into
repositories (which will be accepted after quality-check by
repository owners)
 Ability for all employees to download (re-use) knowledge from
repositories
 Creation of communities of experts / virtual groups; virtual
meetings* / discussions* (* these applications are outside the
KM portal, but the portal provides links to these)
 Classification / taxonomy scheme (meta-data)
 Personalization - individual users must be able to subscribe to
selected repositories that are of relevance / interest to them;
and create their personal library of selected knowledge
submissions
 Pushing content to people who are most likely to use it - email
alerts when there is a new addition to the subscribed
repositories
 Workflow capabilities (e.g. knowledge submission, alert to
Knowledge Champion, editing and acceptance for publishing
in repository)
 Quick, robust and accurate search & retrieval capability
 Rating of content by readers
 Logs / reports for number of contributions, number of hits per
repository / sub-repository, number of views / downloads per
knowledge submission, details (name and dates) of employees
visiting the portal, who has read / downloaded which
knowledge-object, etc.
 Points (K$) for knowledge submission and replication
 The “look & feel” of the KM portal must be designed “around
the person”, i.e., it should be part of a larger intranet with other
content / applications such as news, personal content,
experience & skills profile, etc.
 Capability to provide access to stakeholders other than
employees (e.g. distribution agents, customers, partners,
suppliers, etc.) to selected parts of the KM portal
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
 Access control - Capability to provide restricted access to
certain employees; or certain sections only to specific users,
read-only access – e.g. access to only meta-data with
contact-details of the owner
 Capability to provide links to external content / websites
 Capability to provide links to “experts” in each repository / sub-
repository
 Capability to post ideas / questions for experts
 “What’s new” button that displays recently added content or
features
 Capability to interface with other applications wherever
required
 Linking a single knowledge submission to more than one
repository
This was an indicative list of features required in an organization’s KM
portal for the initial launch. Additional requirements based on new ideas,
suggestions from users and changing organizational requirements keep
coming on an ongoing basis. Thus it is important for the KM portal to
have the flexibility to change and grow constantly.
GUIDE 15: Social Media & KM 49
Organisations have begun to use social media, a relatively recent
phenomena, to enable participation and knowledge sharing with the
aim of improving business operations. In this context, social media can
potentially support a range of knowledge management (KM) practices.
Despite a number of researchers recognizing the importance of social
media to KM, there are currently few studies in this regard. A recent
paper1 sets out to help address this situation by establishing the current
body of knowledge in regard to the impact of social media on KM.
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The authors conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed academic
papers. From a keyword search, 18 relevant papers were identified, from
which data was extracted and synthesized. The oldest published paper
was from 2012, reflecting the very recent emergence of this area of
research.
The main findings were summarized under three themes:
1. Social media supports knowledge management practices:
 In virtual communities, knowledge intervention by an expert
can ensure knowledge creation and knowledge dissemination
on a continuous basis.
 Employees’ intentions to use social media to enhance internal
knowledge exchange are effected by the interplay between
the importance and deficits concerning knowledge
exchange, the perceived usefulness of social media for
knowledge exchange, and the experience with social media
use on the success of such an activity.
 The new types of behavior (e.g. authoring, experimentation)
that are possible thanks to new IT-based communication and
are enabled by social media can support knowledge creation
in organizations.
 Certain social media tools support the management of
different types of knowledge (individual and collective
knowledge), and there is the possibility of integrating a social
collaborative dimension in these activities.
 Social media has potential for facilitating tacit knowledge
sharing, which is considered essential in new business models.
 Starbucks uses social media for customer knowledge
management.
2. Social media supports the resource “knowledge”
 Social media contributes to different types of knowledge as
well the overall quality of the knowledge base.
 Social media can (directly and indirectly) affect different
types of knowledge such as structural knowledge, relational
capital and social capital.
 Social media can make communication visible, which in turn
can help organizations in their meta-knowledge.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
3. Social media helps in overcoming knowledge management barriers
 Social media can facilitate the easing of knowledge problems
through providing necessary information, locating
knowledgeable people, providing a virtual context, harnessing
collective wisdom, and building trust.
 The interactive features of social media tools can be used to
overcome national culture as a barrier to KM within
organizations.
FCSC is advised to take the following actions to integrate Social Media
Engagement in it’s Knowledge Management actions:
1. Determine FSCSC social media needs
2. Organize Social Media Engagement trainings for concerned
staff
3. Determine social media engagement governance
4. Develop a social media engagement strategy
5. Implement set actions in the strategy
GUIDE 16: Features of an Effective
Intranet Platform 50
For organizations looking to better streamline their processes, there’s no
better tool out there than the social intranet. An intranet not only allows
employees to work from remote locations with minimal issue, but it can
also be used as a conduit for a variety of different organizational
functions ... such as communication, document sharing, and content
creation.
When shopping for intranet software, there are a number of things that
need to be taken into consideration before you choose a platform.
Your social intranet should speak for your organization as a whole, which
means it’s important to be picky. You’ll want to determine exactly which
features are important to your organization.
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1. Forum and commenting capabilities.
Social intranets are all about developing strong internal communication
between employees and colleagues. As you might expect, strong
intranet software will allow for threaded communication in forums or
commenting, which has many benefits. Forums not only display public
discussions in a well-organized manner, they also entice users to
participate and share ideas, which can lead to better and faster
solutions.
2. Notifications
A responsive notification system is one of the most crucial intranet
features to consider. Notifications alert users about everything significant
to their job, including tasks sent through a workflow, responses to a forum
question, or department updates. The sooner employees are notified
about important information, the sooner they can take action.
The fact that internal communication issues are a top complaint from
employees signifies that employees value immediacy just as much as
management does. A savvy notification feature supports these needs
for all members by alerting them instantly about relevant updates.
3. Direct messaging and chat
A strong internal communication system will greatly improve one of the
most important elements in a successful team: collaboration. Direct
messaging is the most efficient way for employees to discuss projects,
ideas, and get the information they need directly – whether it's a small
office or a global company. A chat feature will eliminate time spent
waiting for emails and provide a centralized place for users to reach the
people they want to talk to.
Look for a messaging function with numerous features, such as one-on-
one and group chats, extensive search options, and file-sharing
capabilities. Conversing and collaborating boosts employee
productivity and your intranet software should be driving all of these
conversations.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
4. Ideation and innovation management
In order for a company intranet to reach peak performance, it's essential
that users are able to contribute and discuss new ideas freely.
The whole concept of social intranet software is to nurture collaboration
that will create solutions to push your organization in a forward direction,
which is almost impossible when there are restrictions and permission
issues. This intranet ideation feature should not only make idea sharing as
easy as possible for its users, but also encourage it.
5. Information discovery and smart search functionality
Information discovery is a key part of daily operational processes, which
means your organization will be wasting precious time if your intranet
doesn't have a powerful search and categorization (tagging) system.
It takes effort on everyone's part to ensure that content in your intranet is
properly tagged, but it also takes a well-designed intranet search engine
to find it. Information discovery should be as simple as possible.
Otherwise, frustration will surely occur.
6. Streamlined user interface
On the most basic level, a UI can be described as the aspects of your
intranet that relate to its functionality ... such as buttons, drop-down
menus, overall layout, etc.
The user interface has a lot to do with how your company intranet is
organized, and thus directly impacts how your employees will use it. So, if
your intranet navigation is frustrating or difficult, it's only going to cause
problems for you down the road.
7. Clean and meaningful design
The design of your organization intranet is one of the most important
focal points, as it can have a dramatic effect on user experience.
Design and UI are related in many ways, but it's important to
differentiate the two, as design focuses more on the visual look of your
intranet than how it actually operates. Bearing this in mind, a well-
designed intranet is one that is clean and minimalist in nature.
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8. Drag-and-drop page builder
A successful organization intranet displays the right information in the
right place and cohesively matches your organization‘s brand.
Programming experience is not necessary when your intranet is
equipped with drag-and-drop page builders. Anyone can customize
pages in this simple, easy-to-use format.
Simply build your page by "dragging" the widget you want, such as
content, title, photo, video, etc., and "dropping" it into the designated
place you want that content.
9. Stress-free launch
Chances are that if you have an IT department, they're already quite
busy with various tasks.
Launching your intranet can be a time-consuming process, especially
when it has to be done in-house. When evaluating intranet software and
intranet features, it's crucial that the company providing the software
handles the launch process in full, or at least most of it.
Otherwise, your IT team will not only have extra stress and work to deal
with, but they will also have implementation issues because they aren't
fully knowledgeable about how the software works.
10. Calendars
An intranet calendar is incredibly important to stay organized and track
appointments, meetings, and events. Comprehensive intranet software
will have a robust calendar system and allow you to easily log an event
as simply or as detailed as you wish.
It doesn't end there. Connectivity and accessibility is the heart of any
great intranet, so you will want calendars that are shareable among
team members and departments. Event organizers can also view the
schedules of space members in a three-day window to avoid
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
overbooking.
11. Content ranking, tags, and rating controls
A content ranking system is a great intranet feature for employees to tag
content that was beneficial to them, which can help improve the
company intranet over time.
Employees should also be given the option to tag content with
keywords, rate it with a 1-5 star system, and create comments, as
internal communication and discussion are key aspects of any well-
designed social intranet.
12. Document sharing
A platform that allows employees to share documents freely and easily is
always preferred over the alternative, especially since certain
documents are too large to be sent through email.
Intranet document management lets employees upload documents to
a repository or share them directly with certain individuals, and it comes
along with as few data restrictions as possible.
13. Simple administration
You can't rely on your IT department to handle every aspect of intranet
administration. This is simply too much to ask, and it will take them away
from other important tasks and projects.
Great intranet software allows for simple administration that can be
handled by employees and those in managerial positions, empowering
users to make smart decisions and contribute to the health of the
intranet as a whole.
If administration is made difficult, the organization intranet will almost
always suffer as a result.
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14. Expertise search
Social intranet software can be a huge help in expertise search, as it
allows employees to tag themselves with certain skills and expertise they
may have. When it is properly designed, these tags can be used in a
search to find employees that might be a great fit for a task or project.
15. Employee Profiles
Somewhat of an extension of expertise search, it's important for your
organization intranet to make it quick and easy for you to learn as much
about employees as possible. Employees should be given the
opportunity to set up profiles similar to what might be found on a service
such as LinkedIn, listing their work experience, a short bio, content
they've created within the intranet, discussions they've taken part in, and
more. Employee profiles help your people get to know each other on a
more personal level. It also makes it easy for management to get
answers to questions they may have about an employee's activities in
the virtual workspace.
16. Org chart.
While employee profiles offer an in-depth look into specific individuals,
an org chart allows every person within an organization to concisely,
and if well designed, thoroughly understand who's who within an
organization and how they're related.
This feature can ease confusion during a company re-organization and
help employees in large or rapidly growing corporations learn how
departments are structured. It also allows "higher-ups" to be more
transparent about their roles and boost engagement with employees.
17. Mobile functionality
These days, many people do just as much work on their smart phones
and tablets as they do on their laptops. The ability to access an
organization's intranet from a mobile device is one of the most essential
intranet features.
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
One thing's for sure — poor mobile functionality will have a negative
effect on the health of your intranet and should be avoided whenever
possible.
18. Spaces and groups
In order to keep your intranet as well-organized as possible, you'll want to
have the ability to create digital workspaces for each department in
your company. When departments have their own digital workspaces
within the community as a whole, discussions, documents, and content
can be partitioned so that everything is located in one place and
isolated from other aspects of the intranet.
19. Required reading
A required reading functionality in an intranet allows management to
streamline and track mandatory reading, training demos, or other
materials required for an entire department. An effective "required
reading" function makes this daunting task less stressful by delivering
desired material to recipients and tracking the results in a report. A
"required reading" tool ensures employees are up-to-date on important
organization information and makes dispersing and gathering data for
directors or management personnel easy.
20. Gamification
Good intranet software will make a business feel like a community. Great
intranet software will grow your community while increasing employee
engagement. Intranet gamification features will motivate employees to
go the extra mile and receive recognition for their hard work.
There are different methods, but one effective gamification tool is
"badges". You can reward users with badges for anything– outstanding
achievements in the office, a "Thank You" for helping out on a project, or
for smaller tasks, such as creating a wiki page on the company intranet.
A more general, but just as effective gamification tool is "points".
Members receive points every time they complete a task, which displays
on their employee profile.
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21. Bookmarks
Once you've loaded your intranet with rich content and resources, you
need valuable intranet features to access and store that information. A
bookmark tool is a commonly used function that saves flagged
information for users to easily access at any time.
Rather than opening another app with a list of links, users can create
their own personal library of information that lives inside the intranet.
22. Task management
Every employee has his or her personal workflow system, but a popular
practice is the "To Do list".
A hearty platform will take the "To Do List" to the next level with task
management tools for personal and managerial use. Assign tasks, select
the priority, update the status, and organize lists based on due dates.
Task management increases transparency within your organization.
Every member can stay on top of projects and know exactly what is
expected of them. Managers and directors can also assign projects to
team members within a couple seconds.
22. Publishing tools
When it comes to dispersing information, the publishing tools you use are
fundamental to sharing important intranet content with the right people.
Forming articles, blog posts, and wiki pages can be a breeze when
content is easy to create. From the headline to the publishing date,
every component should be laid out for you so you do not miss an
important piece to the puzzle. You can also enhance the searchability
by adding tags, or keywords, and set expiration dates to notify authors
when documents need updates.
Publishing tools are one of the most important intranet features because
Knowledge Management Assessment at FCSC
they're used to spread knowledge. When users cannot share information
easily, your company's growth hinders. To avoid this, make sure your
publishing tools are easy-to-use, thorough and have versatile delivery
options.
23. Stats and sentiment
Data insight is a factual, evidence-based window into what's working
and not working within your organization. By analyzing important insights,
such as how many reads an article receives or how many people are
bookmarking a blog post, you can determine what useful content looks
like for your organization. You can even evaluate your employees'
overall feelings about specific content with a "sentiment" feature, which
takes information from the "likes" and "comments" and formulates a
generalized response.
It's imperative that your stats are not just a bunch of numbers on a
computer screen. They should tell a story about your organization’s
strong suits, where you need improvements, and how your employees
feel about it all.
24. Cases and issue tracking
The intranet creates seamless workflows and conversations internally. But
intranet software with cases and issue tracking capabilities allows your
organization to handle external inquiries in a timely, organized flow.
Particularly valuable for customer support, questions are funneled to the
right person within a department. Customers submit a ticket, your
employee responds with an answer or has a discussion, and the software
tracks the entire process through completion.
Prioritize important cases or assign an issue to an employee. Customer
satisfaction is just as important as employee satisfaction and your
platform should accelerate both.
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Professionals of Public Hospitals, Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia. American Journal of Health Research. Vol. 2, No. 5, 2014, pp. 241-246. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.20140205.14
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34. https://workingknowledge-csp.com/km-training-and-workshops/
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ANNEXES
I. KM Implementation Checklists33
Checklists are a set of questions or procedural steps to be followed for operational accuracy, efficiency, consistency, and safety. Highly technical
procedures are often complemented by checklists to reduce the margin of error. checklists can be a simple yet powerful way to capture knowledge on
the critical steps that must be taken for a given task.

The following are checklist tables FCSC management can use to gauge and review the status of KM Implementation at the Commission with simple
checkable questions categorized into different components of KM Implementation.

Leadership and Culture

Statements Yes

Does our senior management team see knowledge sharing as an important success factor for delivering on our mandate?
Is knowledge sharing linked to concrete deliverables?
Do our managers act as role models for knowledge-sharing behavior?
Do our managers encourage and acknowledge outstanding knowledge-sharing behavior?
Are staff members and teams rewarded or acknowledged for collaborative behavior?
Do members of our organization trust each other enough to ask questions and provide sincere support to get to solutions?
Is knowledge sharing part of everyone’s job description?
Is knowledge sharing discussed during performance reviews?
Do we have a knowledge and learning strategy for our organization?

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Governance, Structures, and Systems
Statements Yes

Are roles and responsibilities for knowledge and learning clearly defined in my organization?
Do we have a working group that coordinates knowledge sharing?
To what extent is knowledge and learning anchored in senior management?
Are all departments actively involved in knowledge sharing?
Is knowledge capturing and sharing part of each staff member’s job description?
Do we have the right skill mix for knowledge capturing and sharing?
Is there clarity on which knowledge and learning functions should be situated internally versus externally?
Do we have a user-friendly and accessible central knowledge repository (knowledge base, intranet)?
Do we have IT systems that effectively connect people and ideas (expertise locator, intranet, blogs, etc.)?
Do we have systems that facilitate collaboration (wikis, social media networks, etc.)?
Do we have systems that facilitate learning (LMS, intranet, webinars, etc.)?

Budgets and Financing

Statements Yes

Do we have an allocation for knowledge sharing in the central budget?

Is the budget aligned with our knowledge sharing strategy?
Is staff time for knowledge sharing adequately factored into our budget calculations?
Do we have a good understanding of the budget needed for knowledge-sharing infrastructure (platforms and
systems)?
Do we have a business model for knowledge sharing (for example, fee for service)?
Do we need additional sources of financing for knowledge sharing?

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Partnerships
Statements Yes

Do we systematically use partners to improve our current operations?

Could our existing knowledge partnerships be expanded?
Could local, national, or international partners help us deliver on our mandate more effectively?
Are we ready to invest in mutually beneficial partnerships?
Are we making use of academic partnerships?
Could we outsource some knowledge-sharing tasks?
Are we making systematic use of informal partnerships through our staff?
Are we actively participating in knowledge networks?

Preserving Knowledge: Identifying, Capturing, and Validating Knowledge Assets

Statements Yes

Do we know what knowledge resides in our organization?

Do we have a place for knowledge as institutional memory?
Are we systematically capturing our organization’s relevant experiences?
Is the knowledge we capture useful for more than reporting purposes?
Do we have criteria that help us determine what to capture?
Do we have the technical skills to capture knowledge?
Are the knowledge assets we produce systematically validated to ensure high quality?
Are knowledge assets formatted so they can be easily searched and found?

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Using Knowledge for Learning and Scaling Up
Statements Yes

Do we have a good understanding of who needs to be learning what in our organization and among our partners?
Are our learning offerings tailored to the needs of our management and staff?
Are we using directly relevant knowledge and our own experiences in our learning offerings instead of relying solely on generic literature
and concepts?
Are our learning products succinct, accessible, intriguing, problem-oriented, practical, and well sequenced?
Are we using the appropriate delivery modalities for our learning offerings?
Are our learning offerings accommodating different learning styles?
Are our learning offerings “learner-centric” instead of “teacher-centric”?

Knowledge Sharing
Statements Yes

Do we have the right mindset for sharing: Are we listening before sharing?
Do we systematically facilitate targeted knowledge-sharing activities at all levels of our organization?
Do we provide venues and opportunities for informal knowledge sharing?
Are we making systematic use of social media to complement our knowledge-sharing efforts?
Do we have a platform that facilitates local or domestic brokering of knowledge?
Are we using a comprehensive set of knowledge-sharing instruments and activities to design targeted and results oriented knowledge-
sharing programs?
Do we have a process to manage the implementation of knowledge-sharing programs?
Do we have a process to follow up knowledge sharing to ensure that solutions are adapted, scaled up, and replicated?
Are we making systematic use of international partnerships, networks, and platforms to globally access and promote solutions?

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Monitoring and Evaluation
Statements Yes

Are we systematically measuring the outcomes of our knowledge sharing within the organization?
Are we systematically measuring the outcomes of our external knowledge sharing?
Have we defined clear roles and responsibilities for our monitoring and evaluation?
Have we budgeted for our monitoring and evaluation?
Have we clearly defined our monitoring and evaluation program, for example by creating a causal chain that links our investments in
knowledge sharing to outcomes and impact?
Have we established a sound data collection process?
Have we selected appropriate techniques for data analysis and synthesis?

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II. Gamification of Knowledge Transfer at Emirates Identity Authority
Gamification is the use of game mechanics and psychology to drive a
specific set of desired behaviors within a target audience. The use of
gamification is widely gaining popularity as it is argued to have helped
successful organizations accomplish their knowledge management
objectives through recognizing and rewarding staff members who
demonstrate the desired collaborative behaviors.
Similarly, the Emirates ID introduced gamification on different levels on
the assumption that people will be motivated to advance or “win” in
the context of the game.
One example was the embedding of a “car race” concept into the
back-office data audit application screens. Every day, employees
choose a car that they would like to enter the race with. The system
shows the performance of all employees based on their speed and
quality of audited applications in the form of cars racing with each
other. All employees were able to see and compare their performance
with their colleagues from all over the country. The best performing
employees (cars) are recognized each month with awards and prizes.
This had a significant impact on the overall performance of staff that
pushed employees to collaborate and learn from each other how to
improve their individual performances. The figure below depicts a
screen shot from the back-office system.
at any given time, convert their points into prizes like iPads, smart
phones, etc.
The Emirates ID also extended this approach to take a more expansive
view of gamification by embedding elements of game design and
mechanics into a variety of virtual and in-person employee
engagement activities (e.g., some weekly management meetings are
held in different environments such as football stadiums, snookers tables,
etc.). This was further expanded to add gamification to the Authority’s
web portal and customer service interactions, e.g., ASK Hamad, a
cartoon character who interfaces with customers and answers
questions online on twitter and the web portal.
The Emirates ID also uses gamification to capture organizational
knowledge in short cartoon videos and pass them to both employees
and customers to enhance their awareness of work-related processes
and procedures. This proved to be a more effective mechanism to
engage people and offer them the opportunity to reflect and refine
work elements.

Another example of “gamified” knowledge management was linked to

the suggestions system where employees received competitive scores
called KODO points based on the number of suggestions they made.
The more feasible the suggestion, the higher the score. Employees also
earn points for each best practice, lesson, or content piece they share.
Different point totals are assigned for each KM-related activity from
sharing a best practice to writing a blog post on the website or
answering a discussion forum question.

Employees who reach certain point thresholds are awarded

appreciation certificates and badges to display on their internal
networking profiles. Those with the highest number of KODO points can,
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