Knowledge sharing within a project setting
Kinglsey Acheampong - Wednesday 07 September 2005
am Kingsley Acheampong from TREND Group, Ghana and currently on attachment with IRC as JPO
I would like to share with you knowledge sharing at the project setting
Within the project setting knowledge sharing could be done through regular review meetings involving all stakeholders- i.e. management, implementers, and project beneficiaries. These meetings afford the opportunity to share experiences and clarify issues on the project.
At the community and the user committee levels knowledge could be shared among project beneficiaries through community meetings/discussions, workshops, exchange visits between project communities, demonstrations, formation of an association made up of water user committees from different communities within a given geographic area.
Knowledge sharing
Jabu Masondo - Thursday 08 September 2005
I would like to link my contribution to what Kingsley highlighted. I'm Jabu Masondo working for Mvula Trust in South Africa (former IRC JPO).
Mvula as an NGO dealing with water and sanitation in SA is so big and offices are very scattered. As a result Knowledge Sharing within Mvula is not effectively happening or does not happen as expected. But within projects in all nine offices we have go people who are facilitating meetings either with communities and municipalities or community to community. Field visits for government officials are also organised for them to be able to share and to receive.
At the end of every year the whole organisation meets and we reflect on our learnings. That is where i would say that we do share knowldege but not regularly. In this annual meeting or what we call best practice workshop, we invite all the players in the sector, all Mvula Staff, Municipal officials and councillors to come and present their knowledge. We also entertain community people to do presentations as they are the people who are mainly managing local projects. Sessions like this are very fundamental for knowldge sharing.
Besides in Mvula, The governemnt of South Africa also organise what we can "Imbizo" - it is a session whereby the government go to the community and they discuss issues affecting communities. people speak direct to ministers and president, for me that a good way to sharing knowledge
