A Knowledge Strategy

KM tool
Priority area/s
Recommendations
Two Project
Retrospectives
Three
Communities of
Interest
Repository of
Shared Learnings
The Project Retrospectives should
be prioritised from the following
high-impact areas:
• Surveillance and evaluation, with
the focus on sharing lessons with
clients from the field
• Projects outcomes against project
objectives, with a focus on
understanding the causes of
successes and failures
• Conclusions of agreements, with
a focus on terms & conditions.
COI’s exist in the Bank. Additional
COI’s should be prioritised from the
following high impact areas:
• Where the predominant role of the
DBSA is that of a facilitator.
Examples are: Regionally-based
client communities such as Town
Planners & Mayors and internal
and external sector-based
communities in integrated
development planning
• Funds mobilization, where links to
merchant banks to create access
to industry expertise is important
• In lower complexity projects where
either the funds or the resources
are not available for structured
knowledge-building interventions.
Examples are COIs made up of
client project team members, or the
Project Technical Assistance teams.
• The Shared Learning’s process is
a way to package tools,
learning’s and experiences for
easy access. This simple,
template driven process, which
results in a database of tips,
tools and pointers, creates a
channel for experts and project
professionals to both publish
their know-how and be recognized
for their ability to transfer knowhow
to clients and beneficiaries
• The Repository of Shared
Learnings should be captured and
stored in an electronic application,
which will enhance storing and
accessibility of knowledge assets.
For the Bank, as a project-driven
organization which primarily works
with project-driven clients, having a
set way of learning’s from projects
and capturing the learning value in a
useable format, has the potential to
not only ensure greater efficiency,
but also to strengthen the Bank’s
unique selling proposition as a
provider of development impact.
The Project Retrospective should
not compete with the governance
processes around project closeout,
and should be viewed as a learning
instrument rather than an evaluation
and control process. It should offer
a safe and supportive environment
to reflect on what can be learnt
from successes and failures.
The use of COI’s has the potential
to, in a subtle and non-threatening
way, move the DBSA to best
practice in high impact areas, link
the Bank to external expertise, and
to strengthen the Bank’s vision to
be regarded as the centre for
development excellence. COI’s
often respond very well to being
asked to propose white papers and
offer input to executive decisionmaking,
and they will also benefit
from information service assistance
provided by the DBSA.
In an environment where capability
is at a premium, simple, wellpackaged
"how-to" information can
have a big impact, and the Shared
Learning’s process has the
potential to become a key
contribution to the Bank’s
"knowledge bank". The DBSA must
support this process by providing
the infrastructural support as well
as the writing skills capability. It
must also recognise the staff that
contribute to the database and the
benefits that have been derived.
Development Bank of Southern Africa 41