Collaborative Knowledge Networks

Breaking down silo mentalities and encouraging employee collaboration is imperative in terms of driving innovation and cost savings for organisations in today's competitive market. Yet this sizable task is far easier said than done and remains a constant challenge for knowledge workers. Ark Group's report on Collaborative Knowledge Networks offers practical case studies and advice from your peers on developing collaborative knowledge networks that generate value from your knowledge-based assets. The expert contributions from Stephen Dale, David Galipeau, Javier Martinez, Rooven Pakkiri, Curtis Conley, Daanish Khan and Josh Liu reveal how to: * Use key tools and methodologies that facilitate knowledge-sharing; * Identify the traits of good collaborators, and overcome resistance; * Identify areas where internal and external collaboration can be improved; * Capture tacit knowledge through cross-departmental knowledge sharing; * Deploy a successful social network for your organisation; and, * Foster an effective knowledge-sharing culture. Insightful real-life case studies and personal perspectives highlight the processes behind setting up collaborative knowledge networks, their key benefits, and the results you can expect to achieve. These include: * Creating a collaborative knowledge culture at Lewis Silkin LLP; * Improvement and innovation through online sharing at the Local Government Association, UK; * Sharing ownership of a collaboration platform (QUT SharePoint User Community) at Queensland University of Technology; * Collaboration stories from Applied Intelligence Atelier, Canada; and * A perspective on the importance of an expert database for collaboration from a knowledge manager at Mindtree Ltd India. Promote a knowledge-sharing culture that fosters idea creation and competitive advantage for your organisation.

Table of Contents:
Executive summary...VII About the authors ...IX Part One: Expert advice on collaborative knowledge networks Knowledge is power - But only for those in the know... 3 By Daanish Khan, head of strategy and marketing for MindLink Software Ltd Communication versus collaboration...3 Knowledge creation and capture...5 Extracting value from knowledge...6 Putting it all together...7 The ART of collaboration... 9 By Stephen Dale, Collabor8Now Ltd The attributes of a good collaborator...9 The obstacles to collaboration...10 Summary...14 A good facilitator for cross-department knowledge sharing and collaboration ... 17 By Josh Liu, CEO and co-founder of Acrossio Capturing tacit knowledge through cross-department knowledge sharing...17 Think of tacit knowledge and collaboration during KM strategy development...17 Three key steps to forming an effective knowledge sharing flow...18 A good facilitator and motivator: KM's role in tacit knowledge sharing.19 How do you encourage people to share knowledge? ...20 Collaboration culture - Solving the user adoption challenge... 23 By Rooven Pakkiri, head of social business, Collaboration Matters 10 practical steps to deploying a successful social business platform...23 Identifying critical success factors for Enterprise Social Network success... 29 By Curtis A. Conley, enterprise collaboration solution architect at Kellogg Critical success factors...29 Factors related to the ESN initiative ...30 Factors related to the organization ...31 Factors related to the ESN manager...32 Factors related to the ESN team...33 Factors related to the external environment...33 Conclusion...34 Collaboration lifecycle - An argument for citizen collaboration for inclusive innovation... 35 By David Galipeau, Knowledge, Innovation and Capacity Practice co-leader, Asia and the Pacific Regional Centre, United Nations Development Programme Governments and citizens: How context matters36 Linear shift...37 Multi-dimensional shift ...37 People-centred public institutions...38 Networks aside, social innovation will not happen without social investments...39 Degree of financial and non-financial stakeholder ownership...39 To share or not to share (that is the question)... 43 By Javier Martinez Aldanondo, KM manager at Catenaria and director of Knoco, Chile Redesign education...44 Redesign of organizations...44 Why is collaboration important? ...45 Making collaboration happen...46 What tools and methodologies facilitate the sharing of knowledge?...47 Conclusion...47 Part Two: Case studies and personal experiences with collaborative knowledge networks The people aspect of collaborative knowledge networks... 51 By Arshad Ahmed, knowledge management practitioner How do organisations get their people to collaborate?...51 Supporting local government to improve and innovate through sharing online... 55 By Liz Copeland, knowledge manager, Local Government Association The start of a journey ...55 The motivation for change...56 Embracing the change ...56 Technology as the enabler...57 The proof is in the pudding ...58 Looking to the future...59 A personal perspective on the importance of collaborative knowledge networks ... 61 By Kgothatso Mamabolo, knowledge management specialist at Kumba Iron Ore Establishing knowledge networks to promote collaboration ...61 The main challenges...61 Encouraging individuals to collaborate more effectively with others...62 The benefits of collaborative knowledge networks for the organisation..62 The benefits of collaborative knowledge networks for the individual...63 Applied Intelligence Atelier - Agile online collaboration stories... 65 By Joel Muzard, co-founder and chief knowledge officer of Applied Intelligence Atelier Mini case study 1: The 'John Case' story.66 Mini case study 2: Publishing of the first Francophone journal for KM4DEV...66 Mini case study 3: Agile knowledge work at Applied Intelligence Atelier67 Mini case study 4: Redesigning the new pedagogy and the new learning environment for the twenty-first century society ...68 Tools and methods: Real-time online collaboration...68 Assessing the real-time collaboration experience ...69 A new phase is ahead...69 Sharing ownership of a collaboration platform - The roles of the QUT SharePoint User Community... 71 By Natalie Ryan, information management coordinator, Division of Technology, Information and Learning Support, Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Background...71 QUT SharePoint User Community ...71 Outcomes...72 How the group contributes to the service 73 Points to ponder .75 Next steps...75 Creating a collaborative knowledge culture at Lewis Silkin LLP ... 77 By Penny Newman, director of people and knowledge at Lewis Silkin LLP The strategic decision...77 Our team and our approach...78 Culture and team working...79 Actions for developing a collaborative KM culture...79 Benefits for Lewis Silkin...83 Profiling an organization's experts - Collaborative knowledge networks at work... 85 By Karthikeyan Palanisamy, knowledge manager, Mindtree Ltd The importance of an expert database for collaboration ...86 Who is an expert?...86 A template for an expert profile...87 Conclusion...88

About the Author :
Arshad Ahmed is an independent knowledge management practitioner with experience across academic and business-focused KM. Previous roles have included working as a knowledge manager for Proxima Group, as a KM project manager at DLA Piper, and as a knowledge manager at Xchanging. Arshad is a supporter of the creation, access, and reuse of all knowledge transfer related activities and his key interests lie in knowledge and change management. Curtis A. Conley is a knowledge management practitioner with a passion for helping people to connect, collaborate, and learn. He is an enterprise collaboration solution architect at Kellogg, where his focus is on developing both the technical infrastructure and social environment required for enterprise collaboration. Curtis holds a doctorate in Adult Education with a cognate in knowledge management, as well as an MBA from Northern Illinois University. Liz Copeland is knowledge manager for the Local Government Association (LGA). Sharing knowledge and learning to help support, promote, and improve local government is at the heart of Liz's work. She enables colleagues across local government and the public sector to engage with online tools that help them share practice and experience, develop new ways of working, and improve the work they do for their local communities. She is also involved in a range of internal projects to develop and improve knowledge sharing across the LGA. Liz's previous roles include providing advice and guidance to local councils on talent management, employee engagement, organisational change and workforce development, promotion of local government careers and jobs, and management of a summer placement scheme and a part-time employment service for students. In addition, Liz is Vice-Chair of Governors at a local primary school. Stephen Dale is a passionate community and collaboration ecologist with experience in creating offline and online environments that foster conversations and engagement. His career to date places him at the confluence between knowledge management, people and behaviours, and collaborative technologies. He is both an evangelist and practitioner in the use of collaborative technologies and social media applications to support personal learning and development, and Stephen delivers occasional training and masterclasses on the use of social technologies for personal knowledge management (PKM). Stephen has provided change management consultancy services that have delivered more fluid knowledge flows and agile working processes for his clients in both public and private sectors. He was the business lead and information architect for the local government community of practice platform - the largest and most advanced online practitioner group in the UK public sector. Stephen's current and previous clients include Reuters Ltd, Kent County Council, the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP), the Home Office, Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR, now BIS), the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Scottish Government, and the Department of Health. Stephen is a regular contributor to professional journals and magazines and is currently Chairman of the Online Information Executive Committee. Daanish Khan is the head of strategy and marketing for MindLink Software Ltd, a provider of business critical collaboration solutions. In the past two years in this role, he has worked with key industry influencers to champion efficiency improvements in collaborative processes through the use of new technologies. He has published several articles that discuss the value of collaborative networks and how collaboration solutions lead to demonstrable business results. Daanish began his career in Silicon Valley, where he worked for two venture capital backed software start-ups. He moved to London in 2007 and spent three years helping a mid-tier investment bank streamline their processes for launching new products. Daanish holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY and an MBA from Imperial College, London. Kgothatso Mamabolo is knowledge management specialist at Kumba Iron Ore, a leading value-adding supplier of high quality iron ore to the global steel industry. Kgothatso is responsible for the implementation of knowledge management strategies in capital projects. With over 10 years of experience in the field of knowledge management, Kgothatso has experience in setting up and implementing knowledge management in various industry sectors such as management consulting, government parastatals, and mining. Kgothatso is keenly interested in the knowledge sharing aspects of knowledge management. Javier Martinez is a native of Spain and has lived in Chile since 2002. He is the KM manager at Catenaria and he is the director of Knoco, Chile. Javier obtained a law degree from the University of the Basque Country and a Master's degree in Internet Management from the Catalonian Institut of Technology. Javier previously worked with the World Bank as a consultant in the area of knowledge management, and with the Inter-American Development Bank as a consultant in the field of communication and learning. Joel Muzard is the founder and chief knowledge officer at Applied-Intelligence-Atelier. He is an international consultant on online real-time knowledge management and performs personalized coaching and training for professionals and managers in areas such as social relationship, collaboration, communication, knowledge management, strategic planning, problem solving, and the new social and semantic web. He is interested in the success of his clients, and proposes personalized plans to develop the appropriate strategies to reach their goals. He is the designer of the WebIDEApro cloud platform for agile online collaboration. He facilitates online knowledge events to help teams to augment group intelligence and performance. Joel has lectured at HEC-Montreal, ENAP, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, and Universidad Santa Maria. He participated in the Ecuador project RETO-RURAL on professional training and knowledge management consulting sponsored by the Swiss International Cooperation COSUDE (2007 - 08). He is the organizer and facilitator of the Knowledge-Cafe-Lab of Montreal, the main activity of the KM-GC-MONTREAL community of knowledge management, with the participation of several countries, using web tools such as the WebIDEApro platform he designed. Joel tweets at http://twitter.com/Joel_Muzard and can be contacted at joel.muzard@a-i-a.com. Penny Newman joined Lewis Silkin LLP in December 2007 in the then newly created position of director of people and knowledge. Penny trained and qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte, before moving first to a training role and then to become London audit HR manager. She left Deloitte in 1998 and has been working in law firms ever since. Penny was previously head of HR at Davies Arnold Cooper and Farrer & Co. She is responsible for the HR, learning and development, and knowledge functions at Lewis Silkin. The HR team and the Library and Resource Centre (LRC) report to her directly and she chairs the firm's Knowhow Committee which comprises of representatives from LRC, Professional Development Lawyers from each of the five firm departments, and IT. Rooven Pakkiri is head of social business at Collaboration Matters, a leading UK-based social business consultancy. A veteran of the dotcom era, Rooven is a digital evangelist who focuses on the way technology changes organisational communication and collaboration. He is a published author and a regular speaker on the subject of social business and how it is transforming the corporate rule book. Rooven is also the co-founder of a regular thought leadership event in London where independent thinkers discuss issues of user adoption and cultural transformation. As the head of social business at Collaboration Matters, Rooven is responsible for developing client specific adoption strategies and immersion programs. He has taken the lead in delivering collaboration platforms for global clients in the financial services and not-for-profit sectors. As part of this process Rooven employs a number of techniques from scenario modelling, content seeding, champion identification, and community development. Rooven can be contacted at rooven@collaborationmatters.com. Karthikeyan Palanisamy is a results-driven knowledge management professional with proven experience in planning and leading KM initiatives in line with organisational goals and objectives. He is currently a manager of knowledge management at Mindtree Limited where he supports projects in improving the 'knowledge health' and delivering better results through KM planning and execution. Karthikeyan aims to consistently improve the knowledge of an organisation by effectively using the relevant KM tools and techniques in winning new business, enhancing customer satisfaction, and gaining competitive advantage. He was previously a business development manager at NextGen Web Services and KM consultant at Wipro Technologies Ltd. Karthikeyan holds an MBA (marketing and operations) from ICFAI Business School, Bangalore. Natalie Ryan is the information management coordinator for the Division of Technology, Information and Learning Support at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Based in the QUT library, Natalie works closely with Information Technology Services and other areas across QUT to provide information management advice and support for intranet and collaborative tools. Natalie holds a Master's degree in Information Management and has a background as a corporate librarian.