Knowledge Exchange

1
Knowledge Exchange Capacity Building Division

• FAO as a Knowledge Organization

2
Information Knowledge Management _at_ FAO

• The First Article of the FAO ConstitutionThe
  Organization shall collect, analyse, interpret
  and disseminate information relating to
  nutrition, food and agriculture.
• A specific objective of FAOs Strategic Framework
  (Strategy E1)
• A new focus on FAO as a Knowledge Organization
  as part of the reform proposals approved by the
  FAO Council

3
The FAO Web Site www.fao.org

• HTTP//WWW.FAO.ORG as a large knowledge-base
• Over 3 million web pages indexed in the corporate
  search engine
• More than 36,000 Documents (PDF and DOC)
• Around 100 major databases
• in all FAO Official Languages
• 90 Million hits (7 million 5 years ago)
• 3-4 Million Visits (323,000 visits 5 years ago)

4
FAO as a Knowledge Organization - Model
5
Knowledge management at FAO

• Continued enhancement of the World Agricultural
  Information Centre (WAICENT)
• www.fao.org receives over 3 million user visits
  per month)
• Increased access to FAOs Tacit Knowledge
• based on personal experience, lessons learned,
  insight, etc.
• Intensified knowledge sharing within the
  organization and between FAO and its partners
• Interdepartmental Working Groups
• Informal exchanges via discussion groups, blogs,
  wikis
• Further development of FAOs Knowledge Forum
  (http//www.fao.org/KnowledgeForum/)
• Thematic Knowledge Networks
• Best Practices
• Tools for Knowledge Exchange (e.g. Ask FAO)

6
Thematic Knowledge Networks

• Build virtual communities of professional staff
  and collaborating Centres. Thus far FAO has
• Conducted an Inventory staff technical skills
• Identified existing FAO thematic networks
• Performed Staff training in network management
• Examples of thematic knowledge networks
• Online consultation for food security experts
• Online global consultations on avian influenza
• Network of FAO Representatives

7
Best Practices

• Learn from FAOs experience - successes and
  failures
• Best practices provided in summary format
• divided by theme
• adopted successfully in more than one region
• interdisciplinary, reflecting complex nature of
  problems
• Input from FAO staff in HQ and decentralized
  offices
• Best practice examples by subject
• Networks in Disease Surveillance and Control
• Conservation Agriculture
• WTO Training

8
Knowledge Exchange Ask FAO

• Establish tools, standards and methods for
  exchange of knowledge.
• Resolution of underlying problem
• FAOs information services have been
  supply-oriented - user needs do not always match
  how information is made available or organized on
  a website.
• FAOs knowledge assets in the heads of
  individuals (i.e. tacit knowledge)
• Ask FAO access to FAOs tacit knowledge,
  launched Dec 2005.
• Two basic components Web-site and Question
  Answer Service
• Over 3500 questions answered in 20 months
• 24 of questions from Students, 11 from
  Scientists, 9 from Agronomists, 3 from farmers
• More emphasis on requests from developing
  countries than general access to FAO web-site

9
KM Developments in 2007

• Establish a single Inter-Departmental Working
  Group on Knowledge Management
• Begin to focus on the needs of Members in
  Knowledge Management, the establishment of TKNs
  for Question and Answer Services and Best
  Practices
• An internal Workshop was held towards
  establishing a Road Map for a Knowledge
  Management Strategy

10
Future Challenges

• Overall Areas of Intervention
• Expand the ways in which information and data are
  disseminated, using both explicit and tacit
  knowledge to solve practical problems.
• Learn from current experiences to scale-up
  activities and to continue to innovate.
• Build communities of practice.
• Embedding knowledge management in FAOs budgeting
  and human resources processes.

11
Future Challenges

• Future activities in 2007 and 2008
• Corporate Knowledge Management Strategy for FAO
• Additional TKNs established / strengthened
• Staff skills in knowledge management further
  developed
• New collaborative tools investigated and deployed
  
• Knowledge management approaches included FAO work
  in HQ and decentralized offices
• More engagement with Knowledge Management
  activities with Members
• Advocacy and Awareness Raising (e.g. Web2forDev
  Conference)

12
Feedback from the Consultation

• The Consultation may wish to support the
  initiative of developing FAO as a Knowledge
  Organization, and the activities currently under
  way to achieve this.
• The Consultation may also wish to encourage
  Members to establish links between their own
  knowledge-based services (e.g. question and
  answer services, thematic knowledge networks, and
  documentation of best practices) and the FAO
  Knowledge Forum, and to adopt FAO approaches,
  methodologies, and guidelines where appropriate.