Disseminating Knowledge Products

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A couple of months ago, I was asked to do a presentation at the Inter-American Development Bank on Disseminating Knowledge Products in an International Organization.

When they told me the topic, I froze for a couple of minutes.  How can I address something so broad, something that probably needs a whole book to explain in detail, in only 10 minutes?  So I divided the presentation in 3 short sections.  First, a definition on dissemination was definitely a “must”.  Second, explain the types of knowledge an international institution has.  Third, address the challenges and recommendations.  In addition, because of the broadness of the topic, I decided to only focus on the area of climate change, mainly for 2 reasons:  one, it is an area that I am very familiar with, and second of all, it is an area which the Bank considers a priority on their list.

I will walk you through this presentation.

At the simplest level, “dissemination” is the delivering and receiving of a message; the engagement of an individual in a process or the transfer of that process/product.  According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) dissemination can be thought of in 3 broad ways:

• Dissemination for awareness
• Dissemination for understanding
• Dissemination for action

An effective dissemination is the one that has all these three incorporated.

So what can an international organization do to improve the dissemination of its knowledge products?

To try to explain this, I focused on the 3 types of knowledge that  international organizations produce:

• Operational knowledge
• Thematic, technical knowledge
• Country-focus knowledge

 I.                    OPERATIONAL KNOWLEDGE

HOW:                    Improve the Knowledge and Information Sharing system

Here I focused on the internal audience – the Bank – and the external audience – the stakeholders.

Internally I suggested having a designated space where all the information relevant to the climate change program (contracts, concept notes, guides, FAQs) is stored.  If there are multiple repositories of information these should be integrated to avoid duplicates, save time and be more efficient.

But more specifically, I recommended having specific guidelines/standards as to how these are going to be shared.  Setting up clear incentives for the proper gathering, organization and dissemination of information is key to effective knowledge sharing. 

For external stakeholders, such as governments, NGOs, decision makers,   I recommended organizing the information for them and have them identify themselves (as either NGO, government, etc) on the landing page of the internet.  So when they click the ‘search’ buttons all the information relevant to them would appear.

PROCEEDURES:

1. Information gathered should be properly tagged and catalogued so that when clients search for that information they get it in all available formats (publications, videos, Pdfs, HTMLs, list serves, etc).
2. Organization of data.  Make sure that M&E processes stored in the system and used as part of knowledge sharing and that data is authenticated to assure accuracy.
3. Sharing/Dissemination.  Make sure this information is available in different platforms like: intranet, internet, workshops, breifings etc.

 II.                  THEMATIC KNOWLEDGE

I took a look at the inventory of knowledge products that the Bank has in the area of climate change.  I found an overwhelming amount of information and products including: publications, data sets, research papers, impact evaluations, videos, social media hits, news, e-mail alerts, events.

One suggestion was to create a climate change portal.  This portal would promote the use of climate change information for project development within the Bank and outside the Bank.  It would be their online library of information on climate change issues.  This online tool will provide:

• Access to data and tools and functions that can turn that data into information and hopefully transform that information into action.
• Help visitors explore, evaluate, and learn about climate change issues, risks at multiple levels of detail.
• Organize information (models, statistics, and projections) with an API system that will allow for different search engines to talk to each other and map that particular information.
• Feature visualization of data.  Climate change is a gold mine for visualization of data.  Think about maps.  Maps that tell you the different temperatures around the globe.  Maps that give you projections of the 2020s, 2030s, etc… Interactive maps.  Think Hans Rosling type of creative data!
• Provide a space for dialogue between stakeholders.  Let them ask questions, have debates…Provide a forum for exchange of ideas.  Perhaps even use “crowdsourcing” so that people can openly contribute to ideas/issues.
• What is the oldest form of knowledge sharing? “Story-telling”.  Why don’t you give specialists flip cams so they can record stories from the field?  Post those videos on your portal.  You’ll be amazed how people are inspired by these real-life stories.

•  Training and Outreach program

Another idea that came to my mind while developing this presentation was to develop a “training and outreach program” for bank staff, clients and stakeholders to encourage the appropriate use of this climate change data.  This can be something as easy as a webinar, or a face-to-face workshop.  Speaking of training…I am sure many of us have been held hostage at some point in a conference with boring speakers.  Invest in training your specialist in producing exciting and engaging presentations – perhaps you can convince them to adopt a TED talk style where they can present information and simultaneously inspire their audiences.

• Improve relationship with colleagues

I threw another idea out there: to develop a close relationship with all of colleagues.  Hold regular meetings with them.  Train them in the use of proper techniques.  Encourage knowledge sharing and sharing of best practices.  Entice them to do social reporting from the field, from events. 

III.                 COUNTRY LEVEL

Finally we have dissemination of knowledge products at the country level.  To accomplish their mission, international organizations must refresh their stocks of knowledge by being part of relevant flows of new knowledge.  How can they do that?

Internally:           Work closely with country offices. 

Establish a mechanism to mutually alert climate change news, events. 

Train them on best practices of disseminating knowledge and sharing of best practices.  

Create learning and development opportunities.  Create online discussions.

External:              Strengthen the external knowledge of partnerships.  Create social platforms to encourage dialogues.

                                Explore opportunities to generate and share knowledge with decisionmakers in the region, before, during, and after interventions. (Ex:  events, dialogues (online and face-to-face)

                                Integrate knowledge components in external partnerships.

                                Conduct training of local governments, clients, and institutions related to climate change.  Promote your portal.

IV.                CHALLENGES AND RECOMMENDATIONS

1.  Changing global context requires new approaches in learning.

RECOMMENDATION: Have flexible knowledge sharing and learning strategies that can adapt to these changes.

2.  Staff and clients many times are reluctant to change and adapt to new technologies.

RECOMMENDATION: Promote a culture of knowledge sharing and learning

• Try to get a commitment from leadership.  Conduct training on the importance of KM
• Provide incentives.  (EXAMPLE:  World Bank conducted a competition on creating climate change applications for tablets and mobiles.  This is a great incentive for specialists to share their findings and ideas with the world).
• Train staff HQ and country offices on Knowledge sharing and learning tools and processes.  Organize thematic networks so that information is more easily shared.
• Implement “quick-wins”.  These are rotational programs so that staff can learn what other colleagues are doing.
• Embed KM instruments in programs, monitoring and staff performance.  Review job descriptions to include components of KM.

 3.  Many times, international organizations encounter a disconnect with units/departments.

RECOMMENDATION: Bring them together.  Organize  retreats. Do creative training!  Training that is innovative.  Use techniques like: open space, world café, share-fairs.  People are more willing to contribute ideas in these formats than the regular panel discussions or classroom-style trainings.

I then closed with a quote from Kofi Annan which says: “Knowledge is power.  Information is liberating.” Because we really cannot have development without the communication of knowledge.