Knowledge Management and Sharing

Fostering a Learning-Orientated Knowledge Management and Sharing Culture in the CGIAR

THRUST 3: A CGIAR without Boundaries

Against a background of rapid change in both international agriculture and the needs of partner organizations, it is imperative that the CGIAR Centers and the System as a whole build a strong culture of knowledge management and sharing (KS). This will complement other efforts to create a more learning-orientated CGIAR, which, in turn, should better enable the Centers to improve their performance based on lessons learned from collaborative research with partners.

Objectives

This project will encourage open and inclusive sharing of expertise and experiences among CGIAR staff members and partners in order to support learning and change and to improve the effectiveness and impact of our work.

The project has 4 main objectives:

• Reviewing experiences with knowledge sharing in the CGIAR and beyond.
• Generating commitment to knowledge sharing within the CGIAR.
• Fostering strategic changes in knowledge sharing.
• Facilitating access to knowledge sharing approaches and tools.

The project seeks to generate commitment to KS primarily by supporting pilot activities on the ground in CGIAR Centers and programs, with a view to disseminating lessons more broadly.

In particular the project plans to:

• Implement KS activities at CIFOR.
• Outline a KS strategy and initiate pilot activities with the Water and Food Challenge Program.
• Work with CIMMYT's Wheat Thematic Group to strengthen KS within this dispersed group.
• Introduce KS techniques into CIAT Annual Meeting.

In addition to these pilots, the project will:

• Carry out two specific studies to be supported jointly by the KS project, the Strategic Advisory Service for Human Resources (SAS-HR), and the Institutional Learning and Change (ILAC) Initiative: a review of human resource policies and their impacts on KS; and an assessment of the process of developing new HR policies to foster collaboration, learning, and knowledge sharing in the WorldFish Center.
• Work with the SAS-HR in developing a module on KS for its First-Level Leadership Training Course.
• Develop a "KS Toolkit" that will provide basic information on a series of potentially useful approaches and tools for KS.
• Hold a facilitation skills training workshop.

Lead Administrative Center

International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)

Project Coordinator

Nathan Russell, Head of Communications Unit (CIAT)

Project Status

Commencement date: March 2004
Planned duration of the project: 12 months

For More Information

Contact us at ictkm@cgiar.org