The knowledge that any organization possesses is a valuable asset to be applied in pursuit of the organization’s mission. That knowledge resides with the organization’s staff and in myriad files, manuals, databases, and other forms distributed throughout the organization, which staff members may use. State departments of transportation (DOTs) rely on this knowledge to pursue their missions: the management of the complex systems of facilities and services that support our nation’s economy and quality of life. DOTs face many challenges in effectively maintaining and applying their knowledge assets. For example, employees depart through retirements, downsizing, and reorganization; and physical and electronic information resources become inaccessible or underutilized because of technology change or loss of staff. Failures to take advantage of experience reduce organizational productivity. The changing character of the workforce is requiring changes in techniques for knowledge capture and transfer. In addition, the evolving mission of the DOT raises needs for new knowledge. KM comprises the set of principles and practices an organization can use to identify, capture, organize, preserve, disseminate, share, and apply critical knowledge in pursuit of the organization’s strategic mission. Effective KM helps ensure that people have the knowledge they need to do their work and make good decisions, that they have the knowledge when they need it, and that they understand why and how this knowledge can be useful. KM practices and tools help an organization avoid knowledge loss; promote knowledge capture, preservation, and sharing; and facilitate access to useful knowledge and its application. These practices and tools have been developed and adopted by a range of private- and public-sector organizations, but currently are not widely used by DOTs. The objective of NCHRP Project 20-98: A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation was to develop a guide to the fundamentals of agency-wide KM for state DOTs. This guide presents (a) the meaning of agency-wide KM and motivations for its application within a state DOT context; (b) typical KM strategies and processes for developing an agency-specific strategy; (c) steps in developing an agencywide KM plan and the roles of state DOT leadership and staff in the plan development and execution; (d) performance measures and procedures for assessing KM effectiveness; and (e) the key factors underlying successful agency-wide KM. The guide is meant to inform state DOT leadership and staff on the benefits of KM and assist them in applying and sustaining KM in their agencies. This guide is intended to be an introduction to the subject; additional NCHRP-sponsored research work will supplement this guide. This initial research was conducted by a team led by Spy Pond Partners, LLC, of Arlington, MA. The research team conducted a critical review of literature and KM practices in a variety of public- and private-sector organizations. This review was informed by a survey of leading practices conducted under NCHRP Project 20-68A: U.S. Domestic Scan Program. Users of this guide may find the report of that survey to be a useful supplement to this guidance material; the report is available for download from the NCHRP web site at http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/nchrp/docs/NCHRP20-68A_12-04.pdf. From examples such as those documented in the scan report and described elsewhere, the research team developed a framework for assessing how KM can be useful to an agency and for crafting a strategy for implementing and monitoring KM practices. The step-bystep process for applying the framework is illustrated with examples from agencies that have adopted KM to support such tasks as management succession planning, talent management, building communities of practice, and retaining institutional knowledge. A glossary of terms and references to readily available supplemental materials are included to make the guide immediately useful to agency staff at all levels. The guide is supplemented by a slide presentation that may be useful for introducing KM principles and guide agency staff; the presentation is available online at www.trb.org by searching for “NCHRP Report 813.” NCHRP Report 813: A Guide to Agency-Wide Knowledge Management for State Departments of Transportation presents guidance for state transportation agencies on adopting an explicit knowledge management (KM) strategy and the ways that organizations have successfully implemented such strategies. KM is an umbrella term for a variety of techniques for preserving and enhancing the knowledge of an organization’s employees and effectively employing that knowledge as a productive asset. The goal of KM is to enhance organizational effectiveness and efficiency by facilitating mobilization and productive employment of this knowledge. This guide is designed to be a starting point for agencies interested in implementing KM, and will be helpful particularly to senior- and mid-level management staff responsible for the agency’s strategic direction as well as others seeking to put KM into practice. (Author/publisher)
Samenvatting