Cooking up Knowledge Management (KM):

Recipes for Practitioners

Global Health Mini-UniversityMarch 7, 2014

Learning Objectives

Participants in our test kitchen will understand:• Emerging and tried & true KM

strategies• How to choose appropriate KM

strategies• How to tie KM approaches into

project or organizational goals

Instructions for Knowledge Café

• Choose two KM topics to attend in two 20 minute sessions

• Head Chef at each table will briefly present topic

• Group discusses and contributes “knowledge nuggets” at the end of the session

Knowledge Café Topics

• Data visualization: Naheed Ahmed, Blended learning: Sara Mazursky

• M&E of KM: Saori Ohkubo• Content curation: Simone Parrish• Integrating social media into

organizational KM, Taj Sheriff and Dan Campbell

• Managing knowledge across boundaries: Patricia Mantey

A Recipe For: Data Visualization

From the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

What is Data Visualization?“Graphical display of abstract information for two purposes: sense-making (also called data analysis) and communication.”

Stephen Few, Information Dashboard Design

Key Data Visualization Points• Information visualization does not depend on software.• Visualizations not just art, but a form of communication that

should respect journalistic [research] standards.• Visualizations are first about structure and story telling.

Alberto Cairo, Introduction to Visualization (MOOC)

A Recipe For: Data Visualization

From the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Characteristics of Effective Visualizations

• Clearly indicates the nature of the relationship.• Represents the quantities accurately.• Able to compare quantities easily.• Ranked order of values.• Audience able to understand what they should do

with information. Stephen Few, Data Visualization for

Human Perception

A Recipe For: Blended Learning

From the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

• Combination of learning media and learning environments

• Enables more opportunities for knowledge application

A Recipe For: M&E of Knowledge ManagementFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Mission & Objectives KM Activities & Products M&E Plan

o Process indicatorso Output indicatorso Outcome indicators

Flavor Shape Design

o Linerso Frostingo Toppings

It is as fun as making cupcakes!

A Recipe For: M&E of Knowledge ManagementFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Your KM M&E Cook Book

• Unique KM Logic Model• 42 common indicators• Wide coverage of KM outputs• Emerging themes

• Social media• Usability assessment• Web analytics• Community of practice

• Practical methods and tools • Extensive list of references

A Recipe For: Usability, Readability, and CurationFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

A Recipe For: Usability, Readability, and CurationFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Usability

EffectiveCuration

Readability

Ease of Use: • Access/infrastructure• Digital literacy / web standards

Learnability:• People want to learn by looking• If you need a how-to, you need a redesign

Iterative Improvements:• Feedback loops• Quick tests (information architecture,

usability testing)• 6 testers = 80% of findings

A Recipe For: Usability, Readability, and CurationFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Usability

EffectiveCuration

Read-ability

Reading Levels / Primary Languages:• General public = 8th grade reading level• Lower literacy = different patterns (“scan”

versus “skim”)

Jargon: • Understanding versus Alienation

—“Insiders” and “Outsiders”• Makes translation more challenging

A Recipe For: Usability, Readability, and CurationFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Usability

EffectiveCuration

Readability

Knowing your audience

What are their knowledge needs?• Gaps• Expertise level• Content needs--specific or broad?• Search vs. serve

Getting around “TL;DR”

A Recipe For: Integrating Social Media into Organizational KMFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

BackgroundIntegrating social media into KM requires a knowledge manager to think a little differently about what knowledge management is and how to go about it. In some ways social media challenges “traditional” knowledge management. Knowledge managers need to adapt to it and figure out how to use it for good or risk being marginalized. Social media is mainly focused around the individual rather than the organization, or around formally established communities. This can be both positive and negative depending on your goals.

Challenges in integrating social media into organizational KM • Defining the role of the knowledge manager• Facilitating social media communities• Curating social media content• Striking a balance between personal and organizational KM• Using social media to build relationships and create linkages• Unclear methods for quality assurance and fact checking• Hard for organizations or teams to “capture” and retain their

knowledge if individual social media channels (twitter, Facebook, blogs) are used • Loss of control over how knowledge is exchanged

A Recipe For: Integrating Social Media into Organizational KMFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

A Recipe For: Managing Knowledge Across BoundariesFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Challenges: • How do you overcome barriers: cultural,

language, and technological to connect and share knowledge and information?• How do you select the right tools and

platforms to accommodate your users and audiences?

A Recipe For: Managing Knowledge Across BoundariesFrom the Kitchens of: K4Health and WASHplus

Challenges: • How do you mix different tools and

approaches to accommodate different user needs and technology access? • What approaches are you using to

connect with groups and individuals both on of off the grid?

The Closing Session will begin at4pm in the Grand Ballroom.

Closing remarks will be followed bya 30-minute social gathering

(refreshments will be served). Comemeet new people and discuss the

highlights of the day!

Please fill out an evaluation by going

to this session’s page on your mobile app OR by filling out a paper evaluation in the back of the

room.

Thank you!