The Importance Of Knowledge Management

According to our strategic guidelines, one of the main goals of the Transport Development Department is to provide technical knowledge and managerial expertise to Support Latin American and Caribbean countries in the process of creating effective transport policies and improving the implementation of transport projects. Additionally, 60 % of consultancies hired by the Department are directed to help our specialists create knowledge necessary for project execution and the publication of knowledge products. In contrast, only 38 % of our staff affirms to know where to find the information produced by their peers . Sharing know-how within and across organizations, through communities, is key to the work of development organizations (Bellanet International

On the other hand, (Dalkir, 2011) suggests that it is not sufficient to share information, but that KM requires people to use other resources to add value to the information.

Most authors agree that KM most address both, Explicit knowledge and Tacit Knowledge. (Serrat, 2009) explains that while Explicit Knowledge contains formal information that can be systematically collected, classified and shared, Tacit Knowledge, is an implicit form of knowledge that people learn in their day to day activities, but is that usually formally written or register. In our department, the main forms of Explicit Knowledge are publications, consultancy reports, and project documents. Some examples Tacit Knowledge are a lesson learned from projects and operative knowledge developed during short-term

A CoP might be, for example, a group who specializes in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the transport Sector.

Measuring the value of KM

It is difficult to assess the added value of KM because most of its benefits are not of monetary value. Nonetheless, you can do a cost-benefit analysis by classifying benefits into Tangible benefits, that can be quantified and tabulated, and reflect an immediate financial outcome and Intangible benefits, which can be analyzed by the qualitative improvements they can offer to operations. (BEI Consulting, 2003). Ultimately the qualitative improvement results in an enhancement of operational efficiency, and this in long term brings a monetary profit to organizations

Conclusion: Treat Knowledge as an