Technical Expertise / Knowledge Management

The Capacity Project’s approach to knowledge management (KM) supported the Project by creating mechanisms and systems to gather, assess and distribute human resources for health (HRH) knowledge, facilitate the development and use of evidence-based practices in the HRH field and document Project results. Strategies included:

1. Collecting and evaluating the utility of existing promising practices and tools
2. Creating opportunities for others to access, share and use the best HRH tools, information and resources
3. Collecting and disseminating results and lessons learned and sharing stories about the Project’s impact.

The Project’s KM work included a broad range of activities and processes, both internal and external. Documenting and sharing information and resources via a website, listservs, publications and participation at conferences and meetings—so that others may build on the Project’s experiences—were the Project’s fundamental contributions to the body of HRH knowledge. The Project also supported several special studies to explore innovative HRH strengthening strategies, including an evaluation of the Kenya Emergency Hiring Plan, an assessment of the prevalence and factors associated with workplace violence in Rwanda, an inquiry into the feasibility of attracting men to HIV caregiving and a study exploring barriers to treatment for HIV-infected health workers.

The most significant results areas included the HRH Global Resource Center, national HRH knowledge-sharing system in Uganda, Project publications and dissemination.

Lessons learned:

1. One key to the success of the HRH Global Resource Center was the availability of technical staff to suggest resources and provide periodic quality checks of resources.
2. A good KM system is developed iteratively in response to user feedback and evolves as the people, processes and technology involved in the system evolve.
3. It is important to make it easy for stakeholders to seek just-in-time information. While most people understand the value of making more informed decisions, many will not invest the time in learning a new system until the moment when they need information.
4. People have a natural tendency to seek out people they know to answer questions. Knowledge managers can capitalize on this by introducing initiatives to groups with similar needs and roles and by making good use of local facilitators (e.g., librarians, workshop facilitators, peers with more advanced KM skills) who can help someone seeking critical or urgent information.
5. KM should be integrated into workflow processes. Make it easy for people to find and retrieve information. Do not expect people to learn and access multiple systems to find information.

Learn more about the Project’s knowledge management results.

Related resources:

• "A New Era": Health Information Resource Centers in Southern Sudan
• Beyond the Visiting Supervisor
• Country Briefs
• HRH Action Workshop Assessment
• HRH Action Workshop 2006
• HRH Action Workshop 2006 (Methodology and Highlights)
• HRH Action Workshop 2007
• HRH Global Resource Center
• Mid-Term Evaluation of the Kenya Emergency Hiring Plan
• Knowledge Management and Human Resources for Health: Using Quality Information to Make Better Decisions
• Planning, Developing and Supporting the Faith-Based Health Workforce
• Sharing Knowledge on Human Resources for Health: The HRH Global Resource Center
• Technical Briefs
• Voices from the Capacity Project

See other areas in Technical Expertise: Workforce Planning and Leadership; Workforce Development; Performance Support