IMA provided support for development of the UNICEF Thailand Country Office Knowledge Management (KM) Strategy. The goal of the project was to assess and develop the current KM practices in the Thailand Country Office and to support their knowledge culture through creating a KM strategy.

To begin, a document review and scoping calls established an engagement strategy and agreed methodology. In-depth and structured interviews with key UNICEF informants at different organisational levels, as well as UNICEF external partners, were then used for further research and information gathering.

Alongside this, IMA provided a framework for KM Asset Mapping, as well as designing an online TypeForm survey for UNICEF. We guided core members of staff to complete a KM-CAST, encouraging participation to enhance awareness of KM, and to generate meaningful discussions around perceived areas of strength and weakness.

Findings from this research were analysed to identify key KM products, discuss how they have been and are being used, and provide suggestions for strengthening their outreach.

At IMA collaboration is important to us, the KM assessment report created the foundations for a KM vision, strategy and action plan, developed by IMA and UNICEF together, to make sure that KM becomes a focus, not just now, but for the future.

If you would like to find out more Knowledge Management strategy development, read about our Knowledge Management training course or our consultancy services.

For the second year running, Ruth Jolly and Silvia Capezzuoli took part and ran one of the four workshops in the UK-based KMb Forum, an annual event for those with a passion for ensuring that knowledge makes a positive difference to society. This year the theme was ‘Crafting our Knowledge Stories’ taking place in the amazing Seven Stories - the National Children’s centre in Newcastle. Over 100 practitioners, researchers, students, administrators and public representatives engaged in the art and science of sharing knowledge and use came together to learn, share, network and create new stories in a convivial way. The Forum is designed as a space for learning and reflection, providing an opportunity for sharing knowledge, experiences and methods and provides access to some of the most up-to-date thinking and practice in the field.

Our workshop focused on relational knowledge sharing to give a flavour of our take on Knowledge Management, and included an interactive exercise on the importance of knowledge champions.

This May, we once again headed to Brussels, to the welcoming training space at MSF Belgium to run our Knowledge Management (KM) course. Working with practitioners from INGOs, the UN and the private sector we embarked on a five-day journey that explored KM content, practice, personal beliefs and values, and Brussels sites! We even learned how to make paper origami frogs!

We very much believe that our participatory course is a journey: a journey for each participant to develop their own sense of KM direction for their organisation. Starting with key concepts, we slowly open our eyes to a very broad, conceptual understanding of the function of KM, and then we zoom in on key practices and tools, supporting strategy development. Our journey provides inputs on KM fundamentals; making a case for KM; KM organisational assessments; organisations as networks and core KM tools and practices. To complement, we support participants to work collaboratively on the costs and benefits of (not) doing KM; fostering an enabling KM environment; maximising KM opportunities; working with KM champions and developing KM intentions and plans. All the while tapping into current thinking and providing resources. And we love to invite IMA KM alumni to the course to share their experiences, thus building stronger connections between practitioners.

“Honestly, one of the best courses I’ve attended. Both, content and facilitation very great” - latest KM course participant.

We were very pleased asked by AVERT to support their thinking process as they develop their next 5 year Strategic Plan.  As a starting point we explored the team’s thinking around AVERT’s work and reason for being- working globally on HIV and AIDS prevention.  Using Theory of Change we discussed the importance of personal and organisational assumptions, highlighting how much we need to be aware of these as they frame our view of reality and social change.  The AVERT team developed their theory of change over a number of weeks and IMA provided continuous support.

The next step was facilitation of the team’s analysis of AVERT as a learning organization using a number of organizational assessment frameworks. They mapped their knowledge flows and identified types of knowledge sharing that AVERT wants to access and provide, both internally and externally, to support and improve the work it is doing.

The workshops have allowed staff to voice their personal perspectives of how the organisation operates, bringing in institutional memory as well as fresh ideas, while all the time fostering ownership of the joint process.  Both workshops were very well-received by the small team, and provided a much needed safe space in which to explore organisational rationale, roles and functions; and contextualise institutional memory and new directions.

Knowledge is indispensable to all including individuals, communities, governments and the global community, and is thus an intrinsic part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030 agenda as a catalyst to accelerate their achievement. Enhancing knowledge and information systems for programme results and organizational efficiency and effectiveness is one of the key ‘enablers’ of the UNICEF Strategic Plan, 2018-2021. The recently developed UNICEF EAP Regional KM Strategy sets a path to develop a deeper understanding of what knowledge is needed, taking a demand-driven approach to knowledge and supplying smarter knowledge products that fulfil a well-articulated need and creative means for delivering them. The KM pillars – known as the 5 P’s are highlighted in the strategy – Policy, Advocacy and Programmes; Platforms; Partners; Products; Prioritisation. 

IMA International were asked to provide a Knowledge Management learning workshop for Planning, M&E, Social Policy, Research, Programme, Data, and Emergency specialists from UNICEF’s East Asia and Pacific Regional Office (EAPRO) 14 countries as well as a few from New York Head Office, as part of a Planning, Monitoring and Knowledge Management Network Meeting. This day was developed in close consultation with the UNICEF EAPRO KM Specialist who had previously attended IMA International’s open course on Knowledge Management. Senior Leadership of UNICEF were present during much of the day, inspiring, supporting and challenging participants with practical support to develop action plans for implementing the regional KM strategy in their country teams. After covering KM fundamentals and looking at tools and techniques to use, we discussed how to develop a good KM environment before going onto develop collective guidance on developing KM Strategy and institutionalising KM practice within UNICEF EAPRO.

During a sunny October week in Prague, 17 representatives from Caritas organisations in Europe met for two days to explore knowledge management (KM) They came together as a dynamic and diverse group from across Europe to better understand key concepts, to share cases and challenges and to develop good practice.   

Ruth Jolly, Senior Consultant with IMA International, designed and facilitated this workshop to look collectively at how the Caritas network in this region can share and use its rich knowledge.

The united strength of its 49 member organisations in 46 European countries makes Caritas Europa one of the major social actors in Europe. It seeks to analyse and fight poverty and social exclusion and promote true, integral human development, social justice and sustainable social systems. Addressing how to access knowledge to this end was a significant undertaking.  What more might be achieved when the right people have the right knowledge in the right form at the right time?

Delegates were energised by the workshop’s ‘inspiring elements’ to see how KM is essential to learning, strategizing and increasing impact: how tacit knowledge converts to explicit for the good of the whole, how knowledge flows are the make or break of internal communications and external coordination and how the use of knowledge is at the heart of policy setting and advocacy. 

But more than the fundamental concepts, individuals found they could easily make positive changes right away. ‘I have a real plan and know how to start the process with real tools and examples’ 

Delegates made commitments at organisation and network levels, genuinely applying learning to the reality of their context. This practical application differentiated the workshop from theoretical programmes which celebrate KM more as a discipline than a way of working.  ‘This workshop met my expectations and more. It helped me understand what systematic approach we need and the tools to use and how to not lose the knowledge of our employees. With everything laid out it became clear where to move on to’

And with amusement Caritas delegates recognised how daily organisational life becomes a lot easier and more motivating with good KM. The case for developing good KM was made. 

If you like to read more about our consultancy work, go to https://imainternational.com/how-we-work/consultancy.

We also run open courses. Please see links for our upcoming KM training and calendar for all open courses in 2019.