Summary of KM Triversary Forum 2025: Bridging the research-practice gap in knowledge management (KM)
14-15 October 2025, 130 participants including 10 keynotes and over 30 presenters
The KM Triversary Forum 2025 had the very important theme of “Bridging the research-practice gap in knowledge management (KM)” and took place on 14-15 October 2025. It was an initiative of the RealKM Cooperative Limited, the Knowledge Management for Development (KM4Dev) global community of practice, and Knowledge Management for Development (KM4D) Journal.
1. Forum program
Forum Program and Presentation Summaries/Abstracts & Presenter Biographies:
2. Forum approach
The KM Triversary Forum keynotes, presentations, and discussions highlighted that bridging the research-practice gap is a big challenge at all levels, from systems to the individual, and while there are lots of strategies and tools, it is difficult to move forward in a systematic way. This highlights the complexity of the challenge. Indeed, if better connecting research and practice in KM was simple, it would have happened already, or there would never have been a disconnect in the first place.
With complex issues such as this, the only way to move forward is by engaging as many stakeholders as possible in not only understanding the complexity, but collectively making sense of all of those understandings to chart a way forward. Approaches that bypass this collective stakeholder sensemaking don’t work. As Professor Gabriele Bammer, one of the Forum keynotes, has advised in a previous research paper1,
[Complex problems require a] mindset that appreciates that stakeholders have an essential role in making complexity evident and that limiting stakeholder involvement also limits the ability to understand and effectively act on complex problems.
This is what the Forum program sought to do, drawing on successful experiences in the natural resource management (NRM) sector2, which another notable complexity scientist has described as a leader in taking responsibility for complexity3.
Processes of dialogue and individual unprocessed thought capture were used, followed by facilitated collective sensemaking. No attempt was made to shortcut this by trying to map the system. While systems mapping4 can work well with simple or complicated systems, it is not appropriate for complex systems because these systems do not work in a simple linear fashion. Rather, in complex systems5, “Feedback processes between interconnected elements and dimensions lead to relationships that see change that is dynamic, nonlinear and unpredictable.” Clear relationships cannot be traced6 because of multiple influences, including system outputs feeding back into the system again, potentially adjusting the inputs.
3. Forum outputs
- Workshop outputs from the solutions and resolutions workshops at the end of the Forum.
- Special series of articles summarizing the keynotes and presentations.
- Thank you to our keynotes, presenters, facilitators, helpers, and participants.
- Keynote presentation outlines.
- PowerPoint slides from the keynotes and presentations.
- Videos from the keynotes and presentations (coming by early 2026).
Bruce Boyes, with my KM Triversary Forum co-organizers Dr Sarah Cummings and Ginetta Gueli. The KM Triversary Forum has been an initiative of RealKM Cooperative, the KM4Dev global community of practice, and Knowledge Management for Development (KM4D) Journal.
Header image source: Created by Bruce Boyes with Microsoft Designer Image Creator.
References:
- Bammer, G. (2019). Key issues in co-creation with stakeholders when research problems are complex. Evidence & Policy, 15(3), 423-435. ↩
- Boyes, B. (2023, November 28). Case studies in complexity (part 6): Tacit knowledge transfer and deliberative conversations in the Helidon Hills. RealKM Magazine. ↩
- Jones, H. (2011). Taking responsibility for complexity: How implementation can achieve results in the face of complex problems. Overseas Development Institute (ODI) Working Paper 330. London: ODI. ↩
- Fortmann-Roe, S., & Bellinger, G. (n.d.). Beyond Connecting the Dots. ↩
- Ramalingam, B., Jones, H., Reba, T., & Young, J. (2008). Exploring the science of complexity: Ideas and implications for development and humanitarian efforts (Vol. 285). London: ODI. ↩
- Ramalingam, B., Jones, H., Reba, T., & Young, J. (2008). Exploring the science of complexity: Ideas and implications for development and humanitarian efforts (Vol. 285). London: ODI. ↩
