Knowledge Management: Capacity Building in Professional Practice

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Knowledge Management Capacity Building in
Professional Practice

• Zeno Leung, APSS, PolyU
• Helen Lui, SCIC, SBHK
• Elsa Chan, ISE, PolyU
• April 28, 2006

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I. KM in Social Work An Introduction
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From IM to KM

• Ever increasing machine power in data processing
  manipulation since the invention of integrated
  circuit (IC) in 1958
• Leading to believes promises in organization
  success through information management
• Huge spent on MIS, expert systems, etc.

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But

• Researches show that IM itself does not
  necessarily lead to success, rather
• Organization and people in it learn from those
  information matters, so
• To be a Learning Organization (Senge,1990 Kaplan
  Norton, 1996)

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Where is Organizational Knowledge located?

• organization databases
• organization artifacts
• policies, procedures manuals
• RD researches, innovations, prototypes, etc.
• People Networks

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What is KM?

• approach to improve organizational learning and
  outcomes,
• mechanisms and processes that govern
• creation,
• collection, storage, retrieval,
• dissemination and
• utilization of organization knowledge, and
• that help an organization to compete (von Krogh,
  1998)

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What is KM (cont)

• "Knowledge Management is not about data, but
  about getting the right information to the right
  people at the right time for them to impact the
  bottom line." (IBM)

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Expected Gains from KM

• ?error (single-loop learning)
• ?reinventing the wheel (not knowing whats
  known loss org k when people leaves)
• ?productivity/ efficiency
• ? creativity / invention

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Knowledge in KM

• actionable information
• justified belief for action
• different from the epistemological concern of
  truthfulness
• best practice, regulations, procedures and
  manuals, practice wisdom, etc.
• all as important organization knowledge to be
  managed

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Two Perspectives in KM

• Human-oriented
• promoting and improving knowledge sharing
• studying socio-cultural factors affecting
  knowledge sharing
• management science, organizational psychology

• Technical-oriented
• effective capture, manipulation and dissemination
  of organization knowledge
• computing science, information systems, AI,
  cognitive psychology

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K in Technical-oriented KM

• Processed data and information with assigned
  meaning
• Hierarchical relationship among the three

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K in Technical-oriented KM

• As progression of state
• Similar to previous one, but focus on progression
  within processors (especially in computer
  systems)
• data-mining, decision-support designs

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K in Technical-oriented KM

• As stocks
• Artifacts stored in organization
• Replenishment, perishability and tracking, etc.

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K in People-oriented KM

• Nonaka (1994)
• process of knowledge transfer
• itself exists per se

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K in People-oriented KM

• revisits 1998 2003
• dynamic dialectical process of knowledge sharing
  and creation
• internal dialogues or explicit conversations
• community of practice, best practice sharing

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Conceptions of Knowledge in KM

• Knowledge-as-process
• address the dialectic and dynamic nature of
  knowledge creation utilization
• an act of knowing instead (McDermott, 1999)
• (Leung, 2004)

• Knowledge-as-object
• being dominant in KM literature (even in
  human-oriented perspective)
• already in existence in processors
• to be captured (if tacit), manipulated, stored
  and disseminated

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Knowledge in Social Work Literature

• Positivistic, evidence-based perspective
• vs.
• Social constructivist perspective

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Positivistic Perspective

• substantive knowledge gained from practice, or
  borrow from other disciplines
• supported by scientific researches
• procedural knowledge (Gibson Nurius, 1992) or
  product knowledge (Sheppard et al., 2000)

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Social Constructivist Perspective

• NOT an application of whole set of formal
  knowledge gained beforehand
• but a process of reframing and creating meaning
  and meaning for action out of clients
  situation
• for post-modernist, its further a
  co-constructing process between practitioner and
  clients

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SW Knowledge on a Continuum

• Positivistic view
• already in existence
• explicit or can be externalized
• recapping when applying
• e.g. procedures policies, service records

• Social constructive view
• by nature tacit and relational
• reconstructing or co-constructing when acquiring
  applying
• e.g. during intervention, supervision, conference

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SW Knowledge on a Continuum

• blended representations of substantive knowledge
  and subjective experiences
• can be tacit or explicit
• when captured, inevitably trimmed out contextual
  details
• reconstitution when reuse
• e.g. programme manuals, mental schema/models

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Other K attributes to note for KM in SW

• Source
• organization, policy community, research
  community, practitioner and service user
• by Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE),
  UK
• Mode
• explicit vs. tacit
• Orientation
• domain vs. relational vs. self knowledge
• Time
• immediate vs. non-immediate use

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II. The Joint Venture

• SBHK the Case Library System

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The Project

• A Knowledge-based Case Management System for
  Positive Intervention in NGOs
• PolyU Internal Competitive Research Grant (CRG)
• Feb 2005 Aug 2007

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Samaritan Befrienders Hong Kong

• Established in 1960, first service of its kind in
  Asia
• Founded and run by volunteers, non-religious
  nature
• Served emotional distressed and suicidal persons
  by Hotline Service over 40 years

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• For more comprehensive suicide prevention, 2 more
  service units developed in 2002
• 3-years pilot project funded Lotteries Fund and
  Hong Kong Jockey Club
• Further 3-years subvention thereafter in 2005

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Life Education Centre
Hotline Service Centre
Suicidal Crisis Intervention Centre
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Suicidal Crisis Intervention Centre (SCIC)

• Round-the-clock suicide prevention service
• Crisis Intervention and Intensive Counseling
• Target on service users with high / moderate
  suicidal risk
• 24-hour basis referrals from other human services
  including social workers, hotline volunteers,
  medical staffs, teachers, police officers, church
  / community leaders

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• Professional staff input
• 1 Centre-in-charge
• 9 crisis counsellors
• All as RSW, graduate / post-grad training
• Service provision includes cases, groups and
  training

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Opportunities Challenges for SCIC

• Opportunities
• Genuine increasing service needs
• Established networks for referrals
• Good support from community funders
• Challenges
• limited manpower
• demanding for crisis counsellors (tough
  stressful, facing life and death)
• staff turnover

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Opportunities Challenges for SBHK

• Opportunities
• Brand name
• training of volunteers, new recruits, facilitate
  community education training (for SBHK as a
  whole)
• Challenges
• Demonstrate value for money to funders
  community
• Continuous service quality improvement

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Why participate?

• Improve service efficiency effectiveness
• Practice wisdom and clinical experience
  objectively and smartly identified and
  highlighted
• Further review on current practice
• Strengthen good practice and avoid ineffective
  ones for service improvement
• Extend attainment of support beyond limitation of
  manpower and time

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• Retain knowledge upon staff turn-over
• Prevent loss of experience due to staff turnover
• Training new staff volunteers
• More fruitful experiences shared
• Manpower and time saved

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Expected Deliverables

• Knowledge portal, which includes
• Knowledge-based Case Management System
• more than storage of information
• an intelligent case library that can learn
• decision support for crisis counsellors
• Other common KM features

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Preparing to start

• Secure top management support
• Get colleagues involved
• Meet project team
• To clarify expectation and possible outcome
• Common consensus on whats going to have and
  whats not
• Prepare to pay monetary time cost (admin
  arrangement, reveal document archives,
  colleagues involvement, etc.)

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Basic Ideas of a Knowledge-based case management
system
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Conventional Ways of Learningat-Work for SWker
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How may organizational database help?

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Basic Concepts of the Knowledge-based Case Library
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MIS
TPS
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Stages of Development

• Knowledge Audit (2 months)
• System development Testing (4 months)
• Trial run, feedback fine tuning (3 months)

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• III. Knowledge Audit
• System Development

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Knowledge Audit

• stock-taking rather than performance checking
  (such as financial auditing)
• often a qualitative evaluation and investigation
  into an organizations knowledge-related and
  concerns

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Objectives in K Audit

• Knowing organizations knowledge needs
• Identifying organization knowledge assets
• Identifying knowledge gaps
• Describing knowledge flows within organization
• Identifying blockages to the flows

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K Audit Approach

• Choy, Lee Cheung. (2004). A Systematic
  Approach for Knowledge Audit Analysis
  Integration of Knowledge Inventory, Mapping and
  Knowledge Flow Analysis
• Phase 1 Pre-audit preparation
• Orientation
• Culture readiness survey

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K Audit Approach (cont)

• Phase 2 Audit process
• Direct observation
• In-depth interviews
• Review K inventories
• Phase 3 Audit analysis
• K inventory K map
• K flows blocks

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Methods adopted

• Preliminary survey
• Background data yr. of service, job duties,
  training, knowledge/skills required, etc.
• Workflows critical processes decisions,
  working parties, major barriers encountered, etc.
• Collaboration and knowledge sharing parties
  involved, internal external
• Usage of existing explicit knowledge inventory

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• Direct observation
• Couples of work sessions
• Sit-in office daily operations meetings
• Observing general procedures work atmosphere
• K inventory review
• Reviewing existing case handling policy
  procedures, client information system, case
  records, forms, assessment tools, etc.)

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• In-depth interviews with crisis counsellors
• Focusing on counsellors concern on knowledge
  sharing and learning within organization,
  existing methods, strengths shortcomings, etc.
• Identifying critical decisions during practice
  and factors affecting decisions

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Results

• Knowledge needs
• Updated info of clients
• Case activities and other assessment records
• Updated info/knowledge on community resources
• Counsellors colleagues practice wisdom
• Other professional / clinical perspectives
  knowledge (particularly w.r.t. mental illness and
  psychopathology)

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Knowledge Map
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Explicit Knowledge Inventory

• Clients info Case records
• CIS existing client information system, intake
  summary, intervention plans, termination
  summaries, etc.
• Other tools GHQ, service evaluation forms, etc.
• Info/knowledge on community resources
• Explicit office cabinets counsellors own
  storage
• Implicit but can made explicit counsellors own
  knowledge network

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Explicit Knowledge Inventory (cont)

• Shortcomings
• Scattered around
• Incoherent/incompatible storage formats
• Low reuse
• Opportunities
• Some can be easily captured
• Opportunities for further data mining reuse

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Implicit Knowledge Inventory

• Counsellors colleagues practice wisdom
• Clinical assessment (e.g. suicidal risk, case
  diagnosis)
• Know-what and know-how in critical situations
  decisions (e.g. calling police, reaching out)
• Other professional / clinical perspectives
  knowledge
• Advance knowledge in mental illness and
  psychopathology

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• Insert table 4.2 here

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Implicit Knowledge Inventory (cont)

• Characteristics
• Practice wisdom being tacit by nature, highly
  context-specific, difficult to made explicit
  captured
• Knowledge exchange sharing (among colleagues or
  with external experts) usually as an evolving
  co-constructing process
• Strengths
• Small, close trustful team
• Strong network and connections with related
  professionals

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Knowledge Flows Blocks

• Flows of implicit, complex and dynamic knowledge
  is effectively conducted through formal and
  informal case conferences
• Flows of explicit knowledge inventory can be
  improved as well as further developed

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Recommendations

• Knowledge portal
• Case library system
• Document management
• Expert directory list
• Centralized sharing platform for other explicit
  knowledge inventory

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System Development

• Define scope capabilities of different parts /
  modules
• Choose appropriate development methods
• Select the platform
• Decide what to build / to buy
• Interface with legacy system

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Two Themes on Decision Support

• Suicidal risk inference
• Risk level as a significant concern indicator
  for intervention consideration
• Different risk dimensions for different cases
• Selected critical decisions
• Call police or not?
• Reach out or not?
• Allow service user to leave SCIC or not?

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Why these two themes?

• Regarded as significant by practitioners
• More manageable by computers and algorithms
• Raw data existed in digital formats (numbers
  text)

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Suicidal Risk Inference

• 7 dimensions
• Mental health
• Psychological
• Behavioural
• Financial
• Physiological
• Social background (history)
• Social relationship (current)

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Selected Critical Decisions

• Retrieving text-based references
• By keyword phrase search
• Cues, risk factors, intervention strategies, etc.
• Text mining
• Scope of search
• Thesaurus buildup
• Search logging feedback

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• Hurdles Challenges
• Language issue
• Recording habits (what vs. why)
• Matching knowledge delivery to real life practice
  context (urgency access convenience)

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Platform Selection

• Microsoft Server 2003 SharePoint Service
• Existing OS using by SBHK
• Strong technical support by ISE, PolyU
• Comprehensive easily-customized build-in
  components for most features of the Portal
• For the decision-support modules
• ASP.Net
• Embedded into above platform

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Interface with Legacy System
Existing database
Case library
one-way database sync