Overview
Processes define how an activity is carried out and process indicators help to determine how well the activity is carried out. A “process” refers to a series of activities that transforms KM from theory to public health practice. The indicators in this section describe activities that organizations undertake to plan and carry out successful KM programs and activities—that is, KM activities that increase the application of knowledge to improve global health and enhance development.
KM inputs feed into five processes that together constitute the knowledge cycle: (1) knowledge assessment, (2) knowledge capture, (3) knowledge generation, (4) knowledge synthesis, and (5) knowledge sharing. These five integrated knowledge processes work together to create the four key KM activities:
- Products and services – include websites and web portals, resource libraries, searchable databases, eLearning platforms, mobile applications, physical resource centers, and help desks
- Publications and resources – refer to written documents, such as policy briefs, guidelines, journal articles, manuals, job aids, and project reports
- Trainings and events – include workshops, seminars, meetings, webinars, forums, and conferences
- Approaches and techniques – refer to techniques for sharing knowledge, such as after-action reviews, peer assists, twinning, study tours, knowledge cafés, and communities of practice (COPs), to name some of the more popular KM approaches
The indicators in this section also examine the capacity of public health organizations to apply KM tools and methods to their work, and indicate the extent to which user-assessment findings are fed back into KM work. The indicators can help KM programs make sure their activities are implemented systematically, using theory, user feedback, and appropriate collaborative mechanisms.
In this section (and throughout the guide), we use the term “users” to refer to the groups that KM activities intend to engage and interact with—through knowledge resources, technical assistance, COPs, and other activities. In the context of global health, these groups can be health care service providers, decision makers, and program managers. Their clients—health care consumers—will, in turn, benefit from improvements in services made possible through KM.
Subcategories
that measure process are grouped into four subcategories: 1) knowledge assessment; 2) knowledge generation, capture, and synthesis; 3) knowledge sharing; and 4) strengthening KM culture and capacity. Altogether, 13 indicators are mapped to these subcategories (indicators 1 to 13).
| Subcategory (Area) | Description |
| Knowledge assessment | Refers to various types of assessment organizations conduct before planning and implementing KM activities in order to understand: 1) the knowledge needs and capacity within the project or organization (internal or organizational KM audit), and 2) the knowledge needs of the intended users (external knowledge needs assessment). |
| Knowledge generation, capture, and synthesis | Refers to the continuous systematic process of combining knowledge from different sources to generate new ideas, capture and document existing evidence, and synthesize information from a variety of sources (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). |
| Knowledge sharing | Measures how organizations foster knowledge transfer among groups of people with common interests and purposes in formal and informal settings and through various communication channels. |
| Strengthening KM culture and capacity | Measures important institutional KM processes: strengthening KM culture and capacity, by raising awareness, providing incentives for knowledge sharing, showing the value of KM, and providing skill development opportunities that can contribute to efficient and effective programs. |