D. KM in the Government

Introduction

Knowledge is transforming government - the way government transacts business, the relationships among government organizations and citizens, and the value placed on intellectual capital. By managing knowledge we are developing a conscious strategy of putting knowledge into action as a means to increase organizational performance. eGovernment aims to create "one-stop" shopping for citizens in search of government services via portals like FirstGov.gov. It is only through knowledge management that faster, more effective solutions can be brought to the public. Knowledge management provides the foundation for increasing organizational performance.

The Federal KM Working Group was established to identify best practices in KM within and beyond Federal agencies; and encourage the dissemination of information related to the KM discipline. The KM Working Group has contributed to the development of a number of resources, to include the role, attributes, and competencies of a CKO, the 14 learning objectives for KM Certification, and building and maintaining Communities of Practice. One of the early resources developed by the Federal KM Working Group to assist Federal agencies in their conceptual understanding of KM was a beginner's guide to KM — Managing Knowledge @ Work: An Overview of Knowledge Management (see Related Resources below). The guide provides a succinct, conceptual foundation for KM and describes the ways organizations manage knowledge and issues they face implementing KM.

The Federal government clearly recognizes the value of knowledge management in improving organizational performance and is beginning to see dramatic evidence of this commitment throughout the government. The Army has documented its commitment to knowledge management in a top-level KM Guidance Memorandum (see Related Resources below) that outlines the KM goals for the Army. In June 1999, the General Services Administration (GSA) appointed the government's first Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO). Since that time, CKO's have steadily emerged across government organizations.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense, Acquisition, Technology and Logistics has developed Knowledge Management Capability Matrix which is intended to assess an organizations' current level of capability, identify opportunities for improvement and assist in targeting goals/plans for achieving higher levels of capability. Specific details, methodology, and the matrix are addressed in the KM Capability Matrix Brief (see Related Resources below). 

The Federal government is a vast storehouse of knowledge, and its employees are experts in thousands of subjects, from AIDS research to weather prediction. The real challenge is building an environment where there is a freer exchange of this collective intelligence among Federal agencies (horizontal knowledge sharing); an exchange among Federal, state, and local governments; and a more accessible exchange between the knowledge stores of the Federal government and citizen.² The ability to leverage these extensive knowledge stores and increase the intellectual capacity of agencies to quickly find solutions, improve decision-making and effectively respond to other government organizations and citizens is crucial to achieve an order of magnitude improvement in the Federal government's performance and value to the citizen. It is also crucial to our well being as a Nation. The ability to draw on critical knowledge efficiently and reliably is in its most basic terms what managing knowledge is all about. Knowledge Management leverages the collective knowledge of agencies to fulfill the missions of the Federal government. It is getting the right information, at the right time, in the right context, to support an identified need, strategy or action.³

As the world — and the government — moves further and further from the Bureaucratic model of organizations toward the collaborative and sharing of a Knowledge Organization, new models of government are emerging. Alex Bennet, Co-chair emeritus of the KM Working Group, has developed a model for ICAS (the Intelligent Complex Adaptive System), the next generation Knowledge Organization (see Characterizing the Next Generation Knowledge Organization and Exploring Key Relationships in the Next Generation Knowledge Organization (see Related Resources below). The emergent characteristics of the ICAS provide a model for the government to excel in a dynamic, uncertain and complex world.

Government KM Champions like Alex Bennet and David M. Walker, Comptroller General of the United States, provide the passion and insights that are capturing the imagination of Federal workers and facilitating KM implementation. In his keynote address at a large e-Government KM conference held in Washington, D.C. in April, 2001, Walker stated:

Related Resources

(See Attachments section below to download the following documents) (Download Adobe Acrobat here)

1. Managing Knowledge @ Work: An Overview of Knowledge Management
2. Army KM Guidance Memorandum
3. KM Capability Matrix Brief
   
4. Characterizing the Next Generation Knowledge Organization
5. Exploring Key Relationships in the Next Generation Knowledge Organization
6. The Rise of the Knowledge Organization ¹
7. Army Strategic KM Plan
8. Knowledge @ Work: Enhancing Collaboration at GSA
9. IRS Guidance in Retention of Expertise

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