A Knowledge Strategy

• COP will identify development strategies for SADC countries, capacity
building opportunities in SADC, and the partnering of available expertise SA
and SADC.
Lesser opportunities offering moderate returns exist in:
• project management – COP to develop and share methodologies and strategies,
including project planning for highly complex projects;
• integrated development planning – facilitated by COP and including clients;
• management of the Treasury and competitiveness of the DBSA, especially
interest rates;
• develop a common set of development impact indicators and their monitoring;
• develop solutions for challenges identified in surveillance reports and further
business development opportunities.
Opportunities also exist in broadening risk management, supporting decentralisation,
building local market knowledge, and identifying market and business development
opportunities.
From the list above it is clear that no difficulty is experienced in finding
opportunities for goal-directed and self-managed collaboration through the COP
process. Especially exciting is the prospect of creating COP’s where tools, learnings,
philosophies and approaches may be validated and shared with clients. A strong
and defensible methodology, an easy-to-use virtual infrastructure, as well as the
development of COP moderation skills are the required inputs to what may become
a powerful way for the DBSA of accelerating capacity-building and creating and
sharing knowledge assets.
3.2.4 Issues arising in change management
Knowledge management is the common denominator underlying a number of
internal business processes and programmes. Knowledge management is not just
another initiative or the prerogative of a single cluster or unit in the organisation.
Operational and specialist professionals should be encouraged to collaborate in
a single knowledge process. Knowledge banks cannot be silo’d. Collaboration is a
key success factor for implementing knowledge management.
The role of experts, and the performance management environment more
generally, should be aligned with the needs of the DBSA. The Bank’s business is not
merely a matter of disbursing funds but one of contributing know-how to its
development partners and clients.
32 Development Bank of Southern Africa