Implementing knowledge management initiatives at PATH

1. Implementing knowledge management initiatives at PATH October 7, 2006SLA Northwest Regional conferenceVancouver, BC

2. Agenda • General information about PATH • KM @ PATH • Why? • Current state • PATHnet (including live PATHnet demo) • What needs to be done? • Other KM tools and practices

3. Health technologies Maternal and child health Reproductive health Vaccines and immunization Emerging and epidemic diseases www.path.org What is PATH?

4. Where does PATH work? • PATH is working in more than 65 countries. • As of September 1, 2006, PATH has 26 offices in 16 countries including Belgium, Cambodia, China, France, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Nicaragua, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zambia, and the United States (with HQ in Seattle, WA).

5. Funding sources • Foundations • US government • Other governments • Multilateral agencies (WHO, World Bank, UN agencies) • Corporations • Individuals

6. Additional info about PATH • Total number of employees: >500. • Annual budget: > $130 mil.

7. Why KM @ PATH? • Need to share information to maximize efficiency and effectiveness, and to create synergies between programs and countries. PATH is a judicious steward of donor funds and intends to maximize return on investment to the utmost degree.

8. Current state of KM @ PATH • 500 staff working around the globe in many languages, time zones, climate conditions, levels of computer expertise, and degrees of research involvement. In spite of substantial differences between countries and locations there are a lot of similarities. For example: Magnet Theater in Kenya and India disseminate up-to-date medical information on HIV/AIDS prevention among people who often do not receive their medical information from printed sources.

9. Magnet Theater in Kenya

10. Current state of KM @ PATH • Need to share information created at the Seattle HQ with the rest of the organization. • Need to keep staff up to date regarding new developments in programmatic and HQ activities, scientific research, and commercialization efforts. • Need to collect information from the field offices and bring it together for the entire organization to share. This information supports the decision-making process and donor relations. • Need to evaluate existing programs and create new ones.

11. Earlier KM model @ PATH

12. Future KM model @ PATH

13. PATHnet as a means @ PATH to bring people together PATHnet demo • Home page (3 panels include navigation bar, PATH bulletins, and customization panel) • LiveData – access to databases • Boards as means to communicate and seek feedback • Blogs (same as above but with more tightly controlled ownership)

14. Where we are with PATHnet • Clear and inexpensive way to share materials issued by HQ with the rest of the organization. Examples: HR, Library, Procurement, Travel. • Easy way to make announcements and share news, including photos. Audio and video messages are also supported. • Easy way to personalize home page by providing useful links to other resources inside and outside of PATHnet. • Ability to review information held in databases. • Ability to post documents for internal review. • Certain document collections have been started, folders populated and kept up to date. • Folder ownership has been established and content managers group formed and met several times.

15. What needs to be done? • Staff need to know that other people are interested in their work and that they need to provide a quick and inexpensive way to share their information with the rest of PATH. Currently a lot of information is kept in “silos.” • Departments need to assign PATHnet duties to specific staff as position responsibilities to maintain order and provide continuity with the existing pages. • Researchers or their support need to submit their documents to KS staff or post their materials on PATHnet for further reuse.

16. What needs to be done? • Search capability needs to be improved and enlarged to include more external sites and files on shared drive. • Knowledge Services staff need to develop a search thesaurus to improve recall and precision of search results. • Document management practices need to be improved and support staff educated about proper meta-tagging. KS staff need to review new additions to the online collection and make sure that thesaurus terms are properly applied. • Change in behavior: staff needs to utilize already existing resources on a day-to-day basis and learn how to function in the new information-rich world. • PATHnet needs to become more of a working space, i.e., an interactive medium where people can interact, fill out forms, complete tasks, etc. as opposed to just being a repository of documents.

17. Additional ways to share knowledge @ PATH using electronic media • Individual and group email between offices and laptop owners. Nearly all PATH offices are connected to the Internet and all PATH laptop owners are able to see PATHnet and use email. • Teleconferencing with standard telecommunication links and Skype creates an opportunity to bring people together at minimal cost. • Annual and semiannual meeting of country leaders in Seattle; other training opportunities for field staff, with mentoring process as a follow-up.

18. Additional ways to share knowledge @ PATH using electronic media • SharePoint sites for team activities, particularly useful for those teams with outside collaborators. • Groove is being tested by a few teams operating where Internet connections are poor or connectivity is intermittent. It is easy to develop and share documents between team members but not outside of the group; creates potential silos.

19. Means to share information @ PATH by personal contact • Meetings, usually by department, program, or team • Brown bag lunches where staff share information and expertise • Lectures and presentations from field staff and other researchers

20. Olga Shargorodska, MLSKnowledge Services Team Leaderoshargorodska@path.org(206) 285-3500 www.path.org