Preserving Knowledge

A Multi-Faceted Process

Albert SimardCSS Knowledge Manager

Avoiding Knowledge CollapseOctober 20-21, 2009Ottawa, Ontario

Outline

• Overview

• Assets

• Implicit

• Networks

(Library at Alexandria)

Knowledge Economy• Success based on what

you know

• Knowledge is the primary asset

• Value of goods based on knowledge content

• Creating and using knowledge are key to sustained relevance

Recognized in four Throne Speeches

Overview

Knowledge Organization

External Knowledge

ShareShare

Internal Knowledge

Manage UseUse

IntegrateIntegrate

PreservePreserve

Lost Knowledge

CreateCreate

Nature, Society

Content

Overview

What is Content ?• Collections – objects & artifacts: books,

documents, minerals, insects, plant materials

• Data – facts & observations: elements, files, records, datasets, databases, statistics

• Information – meaning & context: records, documents, reports, photos, maps, presentations

• Knowledge – understanding & predictability: equations, models, learning, experience, know-how

• Wisdom – experience & judgment: enables the correct application of knowledge

Overview

Knowledge Attributes

• Total knowledge is increasing; half-life is decreasing

• Knowledge can be in more than one place at a time

• Knowledge can be used without being consumed

• Selling does not reduce supply nor ability to resell

• Buyers only purchase knowledge once

• Once disseminated, knowledge cannot be recalled

Thomas Stewart (1997)

Overview

Explicit Knowledge• Knowledge that has been formally expressed and

transferred in a tangible form; intellectual property.

– databases, statistics, collections

– books, publications, reports, documents

– photographs, diagrams, illustrations

– computer code, expert systems

– presentations, speeches, lectures

– recorded experiences, stories

– materials for education and training

– laws, regulations, policies, procedures

Overview

Tacit Knowledge• Intangible personal knowledge

gained through experience and self-learning; influenced by beliefs, perspectives, and values. – awareness– skills– mental models– expertise– judgement– wisdom– corporate memory

The Thinker - Rodin

Overview

Knowledge Value

• Is very difficult to measure

• Is extracted through use

• Depends on the user

• Increases with abundance

• Is not well related to cost

• Cannot be judged in advance

Thomas Stewart (1997)

Overview

Preservation: A Definition

Prevent the irretrievable loss of content throughout its life-cycle by managing it in permanent physical or electronic media.

NRCan (2007)

Overview

Outline

• Overview

• Assets

• Indirectly

• Networks

(Library at Alexandria)

Intellectual Capital

“Intellectual capital is intellectual material … that can be put to use to create wealth.”

Thomas Stewart

Intellectual Capital (1997)

Assets

Managing Knowledge Assets

• Capture: Represent explicit or tacit knowledge on reproducible media

• Inventory: Find, list, and describe knowledge; map to business needs, value and prioritize

• Needs: What needs to be known to accomplish goals; identify core knowledge

• Gaps: Difference between what is known and what needs to be known

• Preserve: organize, store, search & retrieval, maintain

and migrate throughout life-cycle

Assets

Preservation Value Chain

Capture MaintainOrganize RetrieveStore

Librarian Systems ManagerCodifier Provider

accessinventory map capacity continuity

Preservation is the foundation of knowledge management

Assets

Capturing Knowledge

NRCAN - Canadian Forest Service

Assets

Organizing Knowledge

• Classification systems

• Thesauri

• Automated methods

• Artificial intelligence

• Folksonomies

• Interdisciplinary issues

• Linguistic issues

Assets

Storing Knowledge

• IT/IM infastructure*

• Systems - archive & manage content

• Interface - entry & administration

• Data base, data warehouse

• Information system

• Knowledge repository

• Traditional & digital libraries

* Shared drives are a simple but inefficient and ineffective approach.

Assets

Retrieving Knowledge

• Access to content

• Browser interface

• Search engine

• Extraction tools

• Manipulation tools

• Assembly tools

• Retrieval system

Assets

NRCan - Canadian Forest Service

Knowledge Asset InventoryAssets

531 assets; 211 responses

Knowledge Asset Inventory

0255075

100125150175

Data

sets

Physic

al

Paper

Stake

holder

s

Organ

izatio

nal

Med

ia

Prese

ntatio

ns

Comm

erci

al

Briefin

g mat

eria

ls

Agreem

ents

# o

f A

ss

ets

Percent

Number

Assets

Maintaining Knowledge

• Content integrity

• Content security

• Access to content

• Service standards

• Life cycle management

• Technology Migration

Assets

Migrating Knowledge

• Paper• Punch cards• Paper tape• Magnetic tape• Computer disks• Floppy disks• Tape cassettes• Diskettes• CD-ROMS• Flash Drives

Assets

Outline

• Overview

• Assets

• Implicit

• Networks

(Library at Alexandria)

Knowledge Assets

Knowledge Sharing

Knowledge Work

Knowledge Markets

Stock

Flow

Organization

Environment

Centre for Security Science

Interaction

CSS Knowledge Agenda - Levels

Implicit

Preserving Through Sharing

Storing knowledge in more than one place reduces the risk of loss.

• Transfer: Disseminate knowledge from an organization to partners and practitioners.

• Acquisition: Acquire knowledge from other organizations and store internally.

• Exchange: Develop & implement systems to share knowledge across multiple organizations

Implicit

DRDC – Centre for Security Science

Natural Resources Canada

Implicit

Directory of Expertise & SkillsImplicit

NRCan - Canadian Forest Service

Preservation through Work

Embedding knowledge in products and services preserves it during their life-cycle.

• Generate: Bring knowledge into existence, deepen or broaden its meaning, or increase the amount held.

• Transform: Increase embedded value through clarification, adaptation, or development.

• Manage: Provide organizational infrastructure to enable accomplishing objectives.

• Use Internally: Produce products and services to accomplish organizational mandate.

• Learn: Use experience and intelligence to increase awareness and understanding.

Implicit

Knowledge Infrastructure

Peoplelearning, motivation,

rewards, incentives,

staffing, skills

Governance roles, responsibilities, authorities, resources

Processes

work routineslessons learned, best practices,

Content, Services

data, risk analysis, reports, monitoring, operations, policies

Toolssystems to capture, store, share, and process content

Implicit

Use Internally

Use Professionally

Use Personally

Generate

Transform

Add Value

Transfer

Evaluate

Manage

Extract

Advance

Embed

Legend

Knowledge Services Value Chain

Implicit

Organization Environment

Products & Services

Content Products Services Solutions

ObjectsDataInformationKnowledge Wisdom

DatabaseScientific articleTechnical reportOutreach materialGeospatial productsStatistical productsStandardsPoliciesRegulationsSystemsDevices

AnswersAdviceTeachingFacilitationSupportLaboratory

DirectionPlansOperationsPositionsCoordinationAccomplishments

Implicit

Preservation through Markets

Disseminating knowledge through markets preserves it through diffusion.

• Communications: Passive, one-to-many, one-way dissemination of approved messages and positions.

• Transactions: Active, one-to-one, two-way exchanges of knowledge products & services.

• Parallel: Transferring knowledge products & services owned by two or more providers.

• Sequential: Two or more organizations sequentially develop and transfer knowledge products & services.

Implicit

Transactional Knowledge Market

Demand (Users)

Providers and users connect

through an Information

Market

Supply (Providers)

Government On-Line

Global Disaster Information Network

Implicit

Implicit

DRDC – Centre for Security Science

Frequently Asked QuestionsImplicit

NRCan - Canadian Forest Service

Food product

HCproducers

Idea

scientists

AAFC

Innovation

IC

company

Commercialized

CFIA

farmers

Adopted

retailers

CFIA

Market

consumers

HC

Consumption

Waste

EC

municipalities

Agricultural Innovation

Sequential Knowledge MarketImplicit

Outline

• Overview

• Assets

• Implicit

• Networks

(Library at Alexandria)

Centre for Security Science Network

The value of a network for preservation is in the many places where content is stored and pathways for retrieval.

Networks

Global Knowledge Map

Networks

Networks

GoC – Treasury Board

Networks

Networks

DRDC – Centre for Security Science

Networks

In the 21st century knowledge is an organization’s most valuable strategic asset.

The capacity to create and use it is the only sustainable competitive advantage.

Without preservation knowledge is lost.

Without knowledge an organization is lost.

http://www.slideshare.net/Al.Simard/slideshows