3. Strategy

A KM strategy is quite simply a plan of how knowledge will be managed to the benefit of an organisation and its stakeholders. A good KM strategy will address real needs and issues and should be developed by combining the benefits of working from the top down and from the bottom up. In the former case KM activities are defined in relation to the organisation’s overall strategic direction while, in the bottom up approach, staff activities in key business areas are investigated to highlight specific issues and needs and KM initiatives are ordered accordingly.

Chapter 3 outlines the benefits of a tool known as the Knowledge Value Chain (KVC) in developing and implementing a KM plan. A central feature of the KVC is the focus it places on defining the k nowledge that is needed and the knowledge that is available within the organisation, as essential steps on the way to addressing the key question of ‘ knowledge to do what.’ The tool is explained in detail in the ‘Models and Tools’ section at the end of the TOP.

The text outlines what might be asked in order to stimulate discussion about a brief and informal plan and goes on to suggest a more structured questioning regime when a detailed KM strategy is being developed. The latter encompasses all the stages from establishing project rationale through to monitoring and evaluation of the developed strategy in operation.

Monitoring and evaluation of any KM initiative, to mark achievements against expected results, is seen as an essential follow up that may be done internally or with external support. The text includes several examples of what might be looked at, or looked for, in evaluating either the short or long term effects of an intervention.