According to Wikipedia, my beloved and oft-trusted source of all things worth knowing, the established discipline of knowledge management has been around since 1995. Since then, experts claim, companies everywhere jumped headfirst into various knowledge management initiatives, making it a multi-billion dollar market worldwide. Interestingly, however, after speaking with numerous not-for-profits, it’s apparent that not everyone has embraced the concept as fully. In fact, hardly any organizations were able to provide me with insight on their knowledge management practices. Whether because they haven’t adopted any, didn’t realize they had, or simply had no clue what it was, the discipline seems to lack followers in the sector. Which, of course, begs a few questions: Why is that? Could nonprofits benefit from making knowledge management an integral part of their organizational structure? Should they?
Say what?
But, before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s start with the basics. What is knowledge management? Evidently, it depends on who you ask. Wikipedia states that it “comprises a range of practices used by an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of what it knows, and how it knows it.” Thea Vakil, professor at the University of Victoria’s School of Public Administration, prefers this basic definition: “Knowledge management is what expertise used to be before we had computers.” And Rob Ferguson of Knowledge Marketing Group sees it as, “an attempt to claw back what people know so that corporate memory isn’t lost.”
In sum, knowledge management is a process through which organizations generate value from their intellectual and knowledge-based assets. The assets fall into one of two categories: explicit and tacit. The former includes anything that can be documented, archived and codified, usually with the help of information technology departments. Patents, trademarks, business plans, marketing research, and customer lists are good examples. Tacit knowledge is more difficult to define, but is described as the know-how contained in people’s heads.
According to Vakil, who has spent much of her time researching the subject, the importance of knowledge management has increased over the years. However, the rise in popularity of computers makes it all the more challenging to grasp. “Because of computers, we believe we need to retain a lot more information than we used to,” she explains. “It is also hard to exchange that information because we have difficulty organizing and categorizing it.”
Know thyself
So why should organizations pursue knowledge management initiatives? What’s in it for them? Ferguson responds simply: “If you agree that corporate memory is important to your organization, you should be taking steps to codify what people know.” If a CEO is on his way out of an organization, he explains further, he is going to take years of tacit knowledge along with him. Once he walks out the door, it’s all gone. Codifying that information ensures continuity, which is linked indelibly into corporate memory. And, of course, the promotion of one’s identity is not far behind. “If you know yourself, you’re not constantly reinventing the wheel and decisions are less shortsighted,” he adds.
For Vakil, who also teaches organizational studies, public policy and strategic planning, among other courses, the benefits of knowledge management lie in things like the sharing of services – facilitated by computer databases – at a scale we haven’t seen before. If an organization wants to learn about an issue, all they need to do is spend some time online. “I can sit at my computer and absorb knowledge shared by organizations worldwide,” she says. “It also allows for the improvement of practice and centralization of information for purposes of management.”
Of course, for much of that to take place, expensive computer systems and databases need to be implemented, not an easy feat for cash-strapped nonprofits. There’s also the issue of time. Organizations need to find extra time for these type of initiatives, also a challenge for many nonprofit jugglers. But considering the potentially strong, vibrant, and large force the nonprofit sector represents, and the rich information base they have at their disposal, the benefits for organizations that take knowledge management seriously are obvious. That said, Vakil explains the private sector’s adoption versus the nonprofit sector’s reticence in another way. The former, she says, is completely bottom-line driven, providing them with a literal, immediate payoff to manage their knowledge.
Where to from here?
Payoffs aside, Ferguson claims the days of knowledge management have come and gone. While once trendy among corporations, the discipline has been discredited because of a misguided focus. “They were invested in the product but weren’t invested in the outcome,” he explains. In fact, as far as this consultant is concerned, traditional knowledge management has failed. “People started dumping files and information into repositories without really asking, ‘Okay, now how do we use this?’” Enter Ferguson’s concept of knowledge marketing, a unique approach to counter the limitations of knowledge management. “If organizations are codifying their knowledge, they have to use it in some way, for some other purpose, and marketing is one untapped way for them to use that codified resource.”
Toronto’s Gardiner Museum is a good example of a nonprofit that has made good use of its knowledge assets, exploiting them for longer-term, more farsighted objectives. It currently has an online database that houses almost all of the objects in their ceramic collection. “It’s become a very useful tool, not only externally for the public, students and researchers, but also internally for our volunteers, like the docents in their training,” explains Elizabeth Teodorini, marketing and communications manager.
The initiative was particularly important in light of the museum’s recent two-year renovation project. “One of our goals was to have our collections available online so people could see what we had while we were closed,” says collections manager, Christina Green. The database provides enough information and details about each individual ceramic piece to keep the general public informed.
Then there’s the recent addition of a podcast, which makes accessible public education lectures, special exhibitions, and everything in between. So, if an artist is delivering a talk, the entire event is recorded, enabling whoever couldn’t attend the chance to hear it. Not only does the podcast fulfill the museum’s archival objectives, the project allows it to reach beyond its four walls and resident city. “It helps us have an international presence, to reach an international market of cultural enthusiasts,” Teodorini explains. “It’s also a different point of engagement for people, especially younger, more urban people. Podcasts are part of the vocabulary today.”
Use what you know
Of course, none of this comes easy. Whether because of the museum’s smaller staff or limited resources, podcasting can be a difficult initiative to maintain. “We don’t hire fancy companies, we do it on our own,” says Teodorini. Then there’s the issue of server capacity, RSS feeds, frequency, and other technical issues. But, as far as effectively using its assets, the Gardiner can certainly look to its database and podcast as achieving those aims. “I’ve had requests from university students doing their Masters or PhD thesis, and from general collectors calling me with particular interests in certain areas,” says Green of the database It’s also having a positive effect on the museum’s reputation. “People think highly of museums that have collections online,” adds Green. As for the podcast, within the first two months after its launch, it was evaluated as one of the top 10 most visited pages of the museum’s website.
The Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario, also knows a thing or two about using and promoting its knowledge base. From podcasts to increased online resources, they are taking a number of steps in that direction. Their monthly electronic research newsletter, Impact, for example, now includes a ‘Faculty Focus’ audio Q & A section.
Meanwhile, the Ivey Business Journal, published six times a year, brings the school’s knowledge of real business issues – culled from professors, senior managers, consultants and leading business thinkers worldwide – to managers and CEOs looking for ways to improve their business and gain insight on leading management thought. Ivey also has four research centres that organize conferences on such topics as engaging the community and valuing business sustainability, to engage other researchers and business managers in the discussion of critical issues facing business today.
It’s a learning process, but the school is proud of its accomplishments so far. “As a nonprofit institution looking to reach out and share our knowledge, Ivey has taken some exciting steps in trying new technologies in the interest of disseminating the school’s research,” says Mary Weil, manager of media and public relations. If only more organizations thought long-term and leveraged their knowledge assets similarly, we’d see actual, sustainable nonprofits, affirms Ferguson emphatically. “It’s about knowing who you are,” he adds. And that knowing informs your strategy. “Then you can make better decisions moving ahead.”
What is knowledge management?
- A range of practices used by an organization to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of what it knows, and how it knows it. (Wikipedia)
- A concept in which an enterprise consciously and comprehensively gathers, organizes, shares, and analyzes its knowledge in terms of resources, documents, and people skills. (WhatIs.com)
- What expertise used to be before we had computers. (Thea Vakil)
- An attempt to claw back what people know so that corporate memory isn’t lost. (Rob Ferguson)
Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance journalist, producer and communications consultant living in Toronto. She is also president of Elle Communications and can be reached at: info@ellecommunications.ca.
