How is Knowledge Management implemented at UNIDO?
Knowledge Management at UNIDO is being introduced in conjunction with the other Releases of the ERP implementation. As such, the Portfolio and Project Management (PPM) system includes dedicated collaboration rooms for each project as well as other topics. These rooms will also contain the respective documents and are accessible to all staff, both at Headquarters and in the field. Furthermore, the PPM system contains a very powerful search engine which enables targeted system-wide searches.
The global accessibility of the system and its contents will contribute to organization-wide knowledge sharing and better collaboration among various organizational units as well as between Headquarters and the field. It will allow for a more effective involvement of field staff in TC activities at all stages of the project cycle - from project identification, design, implementation to assessment and monitoring.
To ensure a strategic approach to the topic of Knowledge Management, an analysis of the current situation of UNIDO was carried out involving staff from all parts of the Organization. The analysis took into account previous work that had been carried out , for instance an intellectual capital report for UNIDO. Based on that, a Knowledge Management strategy, including a number of recommendations, was developed. It was agreed that the primary focus would be on completing quality logframe information in the PPM system to enable effective Results-Based Management as well as qualitative reporting on results during the next years. During this exercise, staff will start using the Knowledge Management functionalities of the system, for instance the collaboration rooms. Furthermore, initial communities of practice shall be piloted and systematic debriefings of staff and long-term consultants shall be introduced to ensure that knowledge is effectively captured.