KM Triversary Forum Workshop Outputs – Workshop W, Western Hemisphere
By Ruwaida Salem, Facilitator, Workshop W
This workshop was one of three solutions and resolutions workshops facilitated at the end of the KM Triversary Forum. For further information on the role of the workshops in the Forum Program, please see KM Triversary Forum Workshops – Overview.
In the KM Triversary Forum’s final solutions and resolutions workshop for the Western Hemisphere, we adapted the appreciative inquiry1 method to engage participants in a collaborative journey to identify exceptional experiences that bridged the research-to-practice gap in knowledge management. By reframing questions from “What’s wrong?” to “What’s right?”, appreciative inquiry helps people start with what’s working well, with the goal of amplifying those successes. This is one of my favorite facilitation techniques that I have used successfully in my knowledge management work at Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, where diverse health and development practitioners come together to identify what works and what doesn’t in pressing program implementation topics2. Participants appreciate the assets-based approach to finding solutions rather than focusing on problems.
Working in small groups to facilitate conversation and learning, the workshop participants shared their experiences of effective knowledge management in diverse sectors, from higher education and corporate offices to military and health and development, across Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Peru, the United States, and beyond. You can get a glimpse of what some of the groups shared in their collaborative workspace (personal identifiers removed except for links to published materials).
Below are some of the key insights that emerged upon further reflection of the key ingredients for success in knowledge management.
We can learn from and apply best practices and tools across sectors. When we focus only on identifying lessons learned and best practices within our own sector, we sometimes reinvent the wheel because we miss out on learnings from other sectors. It is important for us to expand our scope to other sectors who may use similar approaches that could be applicable to our work. Artificial intelligence (AI) may help us process information from multiple sectors and sources more efficiently and effectively.
- Example: After documenting lessons learned and recommendations from a successful feminist advocacy strategy implemented in Ecuador, the same consultant shared these advocacy recommendations with other groups such as environmental organizations as a useful tool for reflection and learning, even though the subject matter differed.
Creating spaces that foster trust helps to encourage open and transparent knowledge sharing, especially among groups that may not interact regularly with each other. The design of these spaces may need to be tailored to the specific group’s dynamics and context.
- Example: In addition to convening regular meetings with all parties of interest, supplementing with “open office hours” for one-on-one or smaller-group questions and conversations helped surface issues that were also relevant to share back with the larger group in a more generalized way. This, in turn, helped foster greater trust among the larger group as members appreciated and learned from other members’ experiences.
Approaching knowledge management systematically by using relevant frameworks and tools helps to surface needs and pinpoint appropriate tools to address those needs.
- Example: To document and manage an organization’s battle rhythm – a cycle of activities, such as recurring meetings, briefings and other events, to help commanders process information from different sources and make timely, informed decisions – relevant stakeholders used a knowledge management framework to rapidly understand the needs and issues, which helped to identify proven tools to meet the organization’s needs.
Practical application and tailored mentoring helps learners learn new concepts and approaches. While didactic learning in a group setting may be an efficient way to convey information to a group of people, more practical applications of knowledge and tailored mentoring can reinforce learning and recall.
- Example: An educator restructured a course from traditional didactic learning to practical hands-on learning based on students’ personal lived experiences, with one-on-one consultation sessions. While it significantly increased the time investment for the lecturer, the tailored mentoring approach bolstered students’ satisfaction with the course and their understanding and recall of the various theories and frameworks being taught by directly applying them to create a real-world benefit.
Biography:
Ruwaida Salem, Senior Program Officer at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, is a strategic learning and knowledge management (KM) leader with 25 years of experience designing and leading high-impact peer learning programs, knowledge-sharing initiatives, and digital platforms that connect people with the knowledge they need to succeed. Ruwaida brings end-to-end expertise across the learning lifecycle—from needs assessment and solution design to implementation, performance measurement, and continuous improvement. As the lead author of a seminal guide on leveraging KM for public health impact, she has helped shape best practices that drive results and has a strong interest in integrating equity, behavioral sciences, and user experience design into KM and related capacity strengthening initiatives. Ruwaida has an MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Header image source: Created by Bruce Boyes with Microsoft Designer Image Creator.
