LtF Chapter 13 - Embedding it in the organization - preparing to let go

This chapter deals with how KM practices and processes can be established and become the culture. It revolves around an example of this in action.

Five stages of are suggested:

Awareness : Start : Consolidate : Embed : Support

These can be related to other models around change management.

A useful point is how the various KM initiatives underway in this area do not use the term KM. This is in line with discussions in the KM community of practice on NHS CfH ESpace. KM surely has to be within the strategy and business planning of others not a discrete entity in itself.

An example is worked through around Operations and exploiting the common factors in diverse business groups. It refers back to various tools like the river diagram and learning gap analysis that this enables. 25 areas of common practice were identified. A useful tip was around using a requirement to both offer and request help (3 of each in the example) as a way of breaking down peoples reluctance to ask for assistance. A form of peer pressure is applied through this encouraging sharing.

The chapter closes with a reflection point - where are the knowledge gaps for your organization. I think that is something I need to think about offline!

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LtF Chapter 6 - Connecting sharers with learners

First of the tools chapters - the focus is on the use of self assessment as a means to identify potential knowledge sharing opportunities.

It is suggested that a common language be established through benchmarking. The NHS is full of acronyms, NHS speak and the professional jargons of all the groups that work within it. A way to break through this sounds good.

As mentioned in my last post I spent the afternoon today at an event to launch a toolkit designed to share examples of where NHS Knowledge & Library Services are contributing to NHS goals and objectives. This is very much about making our case in a language that is clearer to other NHS staff. There were some great examples of how getting the right information can change lives and save money. I am not sure if the case studies include any of benchmarking but this might well be an area worth investigation.

In terms of developing a self assessment framework one option would be a stripped out version of the National Service Framework . I suspect we could probably thrash out a smaller subset of things we felt really matter. Based on this framework we would then have a chance to do a lot of the kind of work then described in this chapter. The techniques and methods of illustration are practical. The river diagram is particularly appealing. It is similar to the kind of diagrams generated by the LIBQUAL+ process which uses a circular variant to illustrate the gap between user ratings of a service and the service level they desire.

Trying this all out on health library services would be a great way to learn more about how the process works in practice. This could then be applied elsewhere in the organisation.

The chapter concludes with various examples of the process in action. All in all a very positive read with clear applications.

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