Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

6 | Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water Utilities
While these resources can serve as rich guides to a drinking water utility’s KM journey,
because each utility is different and has its own unique situation and context to achieve success it
is essential that leaders understand their organization, its goals and direction, its strengths and
weaknesses, and its structure and culture. With this understanding they can then select specific
areas for change and identify knowledge management initiatives that can facilitate improvements.
Or, they may decide to implement a Knowledge Management strategy to transform their utility
into a knowledge centric organization that utilizes information, knowledge, and collaboration to
the maximum extent. Ultimately, it is informed, intelligent thinking, caring and mission-aligned
individuals making the best decisions that will take your utility into the future. This approach is the
first step toward building the utility of the future.
KNOWLEDGE MOBILIZATION
Knowledge mobilization (KMb) is the process of creating value or a value stream through
the creation, assimilation, leveraging, sharing and application of knowledge. In terms of drinking
water utilities, KMb is the effective creation, movement and tailoring of specific knowledge from
its source (research or specialized expertise) to its application (practitioner, utility worker) such
that consequent actions are effective and sustainable. KMb is focused on new knowledge that has
emerged (and is emerging) through research and in other parts of the utility (or in other organizations
with similar issues), with implementation driven by the content of that new knowledge and
identification of stakeholder groups that “need” to apply that knowledge. The specific knowledge
involved in WaterRF Project 4003 is knowledge about Knowledge Management and its application
to drinking water utilities.
KMb introduces a difference in perspective, with KM being a strategy or initiative that is
intended to improve organizations through the effective creation, sharing, leveraging and application
of knowledge, and KMb being a process for moving specific knowledge to action to value in
a specific situation or location. The KMb approach taken depends on the timing, application, situation
and needs of the utility and stakeholders it touches.
Knowledge has the ability to mobilize people, that is, by combining shared understanding
and a worthwhile goal, people can self-mobilize to make decisions and take action. Researchers
and decision-makers are jointly responsible for the uptake of research knowledge and a close interaction
is required between idea generation and idea use, between innovation and the use of innovations,
between developing solutions, broadcasting solutions, and implementing solutions. This is
an open feedback loop of continuous questioning and testing that requires openness and critical
thinking by all parties. In other words, even though the KMb process starts with specific, bounded
knowledge that needs to be shared across a specific functional area—or perhaps across a specific
utility—because knowledge is context sensitive and situation dependent, there may be a need for
the knowledge to be tailored to the place or situation where it is to be used.
The KMb approach accompanying Project 4003 implementation included a combination of
events, publications, Internet exchanges and development of meta-tools (the Readiness Assessment
Instrument and KM Toolkit) that will enable drinking water utilities to plan and implement the
organizational change needed to support implementation of knowledge management strategies and
initiatives in drinking water utilities.
To raise awareness of KM in the drinking water utility industry, over 1224 drinking water
utilities across the nation were contacted via the survey process (hard mail with a cover letter
defining KM and its significance to drinking water utilities) and follow-up telephone interactions.
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