Government Computer Column -- March, 1999
By Thomas B. Riley
Knowledge Management
Knowledge management is a discipline that has recently evolved. The private sector has been using the precepts of this new discipline to fairly good effect. In the burgeoning knowledge economy, companies have deployed the precepts of knowledge management to develop new products and services. This has resulted in new areas of profit and growth in market share for many companies. In addition, there is now a lot of software on the market that enables companies to manage their vast information holdings and utilize their human resources within their organizations.
As business is driven by the demands of the market place, they have been able to merge business practices with technologies that facilitate this discipline.
Thus, there are many success stories of how companies are profiting and expanding through the application of these precepts. Many of the large consulting companies around the world now have sections of their firms that specialize specifically in knowledge management. But there is not as clear a vision in the public sector as to how this growing discipline can be applied to their activities.
Most governments currently operate on administrative systems developed in the nineteenth century. It is a system of governance that worked well for most of this century. However, with the continuing evolution of our information and communications technologies, government is facing profound change. The electronic world is challenging and changing how we look at government and governance.
We are now witnessing the emergence of new forms of governance forced upon us by the changes brought by the electronic world and the concomitant changes in society itself. Different precepts for governance are becoming essential if governments are to operate effectively in this new culture.
Adaptability is a key component of this change. In our new environments we need to draw upon our information resources, the intellectual capital of individuals, the multitude of resources available to government, and the input of citizens who now have the capacity to play an interactive role in the process of government.
The key to addressing this change lies within knowledge management. This is a discipline that has been well articulated for the private sector but for government there is still uncertainty as to what it means to strategic applications and the development and administration of programs both within individual organizations and across government.
The challenge for the public sector is developing and exploring meanings of knowledge management with specific emphasis on how this is applicable to government and the workplace. Governments need to evolve specific solutions for the application of knowledge management precepts.
Those in the public sector who are now thinking about this emerging discipline realize there is a clear need to determine applications to strategies, programs and administration of government departments. The first step is going to have to be the drawing of one of their most important resources - the intellectual capital of people who work in the public service. There are probably many employees who understand the nature of our new information and communication technologies. They could be put to effective use in this managing the change governments are now facing. Also, there are now software tools that could be used to bring together much of the vast information holdings of government. This could be a means to offer more government information to the public in many different forms - especially through the use of web sites.
Citizen input and participation into the public sector process is another vast resource that could be drawn upon to better improve services and program. Governments are moving more and more towards the electronic delivery of integrated services across the country. Citizen input is going to become crucial to the success of this program. It is going to be important to develop ways for citizens to respond and interact with government. The government is, at present, the single, largest repository of government information. In the knowledge economy it is not going to be enough to solely connect Canadians to the Internet (though it is a major start making us the most connected in the world) but also facilitating the development and usage of information. This can be accomplished by finding innovative and creative ways of sharing and providing information. This would then allow individuals to take full advantage of the knowledge economy. In essence, governments are going to have to partner with citizens.
This is a major challenge as in the past governments have tended to have had a hands off relationship with the citizenry. In the wired world electronic governance is a two way activity - that is, interactive. Governance as we knew it is gradually shifting and this is changing our government institutions. Knowledge management principles can be the key to managing this transition and effectively adapting to the changes occurring in our society.