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Sharing knowledge falls within a broader concept of knowledge management. There are many definitions of knowledge management because the needs of organisations and individuals vary greatly. You may also hear it referred to as knowledge mobilisation or knowledge into action, but it is the concepts that are important and probably familiar. The suggestion is that knowledge needs to be managed like any other asset in order to be usable and useful.
Often it is helpful to think about this in terms of an information need. The Knowledge Network digital library includes a huge range of resources such as books, journals, evidence summaries and databases, which will meet a range of information needs.
However, the best information source to meet a particular need is often a person or a network of people. People are key to all stages of the knowledge management process.
It's not just about acquiring new knowledge, it's about getting that knowledge into practice.
It's about protecting against knowledge loss, retaining knowledge when someone leaves an organisation.
And it's about keeping knowledge up to date, removing old material and updating existing knowledge. It's a cycle.
You may have many different types of knowledge as an individual:
Only through conversation and knowledge exchange with others can we become aware of the value of all the knowledge we are holding.
There is therefore great value to organisations and teams to surfacing this knowledge and making it available to others. There is also great risk if someone leaves an organisation and takes all their knowledge and experience with them.
There are many techniques and approaches which can help us to engage in effective knowledge management more consciously and deliberately. If we can build these into business as usual we, our teams and our organisations will benefit.
Below are a selection of techniques with links to more information on how to try them yourself. There are many more out there but this can give you a starting point.
A series of regular meetings providing a supportive environment to discuss, reflect and find solutions or develop skills in a common area of interest. Can be self-facilitated or include an external advisor who can help to set tone, manage timetables/agendas, demonstrate action learning skills and help members develop these skills.
More information Action Learning Sets from NHS England
A short, facilitated meeting of project team members (and possibly other stakeholders) to evaluate and capture lessons learned. Often used towards the end of a project but it may also be used at the transition points between project phases. It should show whether anything could have or should have been done differently.
More information on After action review from NHS England
Liberating structures are a collection of field tested and evidence-based facilitation tools and techniques. There's over 33 of them and they all share a similar logic - the aim is to create space for active listening and creativity while also providing a clear structure for a group to work in. The structures provide reassurance and help to guide thinking but are also deliberately designed to break down hierarchies, promote connection across boundaries and tap into tacit knowledge.
Appreciative interviews are just one example:
More information on Appreciative interviews on Liberating Structures website.
Find out more about Liberating structures generally:
A short session carried out by team members at the start of any piece of work to identify clear objectives, assess challenges and risks, and take forward any learning from past experiences. Suitable for a range of contexts including project stages, workshops, events and larger pieces of work.
More information on Before Action Review from NHS England
This is a one-to-one interview with a colleague to draw out the knowledge that is in your head (tacit knowledge). It can be one of a series of knowledge transfer activities we conduct as part of knowledge harvesting.
The process should start as early as possible and include:
Make a note of the process, what should happen and where information should be stored. Then you can repeat whenever needed.
More information on Elicitation interview from NHS England.
This includes: suggested questions and template for Elicitation interview.
Useful for debate and sharing ideas and knowledge from a variety of perspectives. More dynamic than a traditional panel discussion, the informality breaks down barriers so people can learn from each other. Useful to have multiple facilitators to manage discussions and capture conversations.
More information on Fishbowl from NHS England.
More information on User experience fishbowl on the Liberating Structures website.
These are things that make knowledge useable in different contexts. Once we have had a conversation or conducted research, we need to do something with the knowledge we have gathered to make it useful. Clinical decision support tools are a good example for health, but also think of pathways, hand washing posters, health literacy cards. They can be simple or complex; can be human, structural or technological.
We have all been involved in creating knowledge assets or actionable knowledge products but thinking about their characteristics and the point of them makes them into something more useful, something others can benefit from in the future.
Knowledge assets should:
More information on Knowledge assets from NHS England.
An informal method to stimulate collective thinking through conversations. Individuals are paired at random to talk to each other and exchange knowledge. These can help to solve problems, break down silos and drive creative thinking.
These can be shaped in all sorts of ways, for example:
More information on Knowledge cafe from NHS England.
Something many of us will have been involved in - having a discussion with someone who is leaving a team or organisation. However, when we do this in a more deliberate and structured way - and give ourselves as much time as possible to do it - there is less risk of important knowledge being lost.
There can be many elements to knowledge harvesting:
For suggested process and reusable materials see our Knowledge harvesting toolkit.
More information on Knowledge harvesting from NHS England.
Part of a series of processes commonly and effectively used in other industries. This is one of several referred to as ‘learning before doing’.
A team asks for help from others outside their immediate team - people are invited to share their experience, insights and knowledge with the team. Tends to be a spirit of reciprocity which promotes learning between teams and stronger networks.
There are many ways to go about conducting a peer assist review. For example:
More information on Peer assist from NHS England.
Usually used at the end of a project or project stage but useful for other situations where you want to reflect on a piece of work and capture the knowledge. Often used as part of agile working methodologies. This is considered a 'learning after' technique.
Consists of a structured, facilitated meeting involving the project team and stakeholders. Suggested meeting length can vary depending on context, team size, complexity of the project, etc so can be anywhere from 45 mins to 4 hours. Participants should address what went well, what could have gone better and what could be improved, though there are many variations on these questions.
There are many retrospect templates available. For example:
More information on Retrospect from NHS England
Health literacy is about people having enough knowledge, understanding, skills and confidence to use health information, to be active partners in their care, and to navigate the health and social care systems.
As health and social care professionals, when we share knowledge and information with patients, we have a responsibility to support health literacy.
People need staff and services to operate and communicate in a way that makes it easier for them to understand and empowers them to be active partners in their care.
The below links provide information about how you can support communication and understanding. The tools described are intended to help health and social care practitioners avoid jargon, give clear and understandable directions, and ensure understanding.