Organizational Development for Knowledge Management at Water ...

planning, and tools to support movement within the organization toward becoming a knowledge
centric organization.
As you move through this toolkit, additional resources are embedded to facilitate a deeper
understanding. However, it is important to recognize that neither KM (nor for that matter any
strategy or initiative) will provide all the answers for your Utility. Ultimately, it is informed,
intelligent thinking, caring and mission-aligned individuals making the best decisions
that will take your Utility into the future. What is critical about KM is its concern with the
knowledge that must be created by all of your decision-makers using the best available
information. Thus KM focuses on information, the flow of information across the organization
(and beyond), and individual and organizational learning to create and maintain the best
knowledge available relative to the present and future needs of your Utility. See the MQI
research reports on The Current State of KM.
The Need for KM in the Drinking Water Utilities
[This is a short description of KM that can help you describe to others why it is important to
drinking water utilities.]
KM is a set of ideas, principles and practices that make knowledge available to decisionmakers
at every level of the organization, and help encourage workers to learn, take the
initiative and guide their actions to meet utility goals and objectives. Efficiency can be improved
by reducing mistakes, optimizing processes, broadening worker responsibilities, and reducing
time spent searching for documents, information or expertise. Effectiveness improves when
employees know their job, can learn fast enough to keep up with changing work needs, and
know who to tell, or ask, relative to the impact of their actions. To be optimally effective means
to look at the entire utility from a knowledge perspective, making KM a central part of overall
leadership, management and day-to-day decision-making. [See The Business Case for KM in
the drinking water utility industry.]
As finding or sustaining high-quality water resources becomes increasingly difficult and
drinking water is recognized world-wide as a scarce resource, emerging research in water
treatment and wastewater and solid waste treatment will offer new opportunities. New
processes and procedures will focus on improved efficiency and effectiveness in terms of the
services and products provided, customer perceptions and needs, and environmental
requirements. [See the 4003 report on issues faced by drinking water utilities and regulatory
perspectives for the water utilities.]
Toolkit Resources
A large number of resources are available in this toolkit from various contributors that can
serve as guidance in implementing KM strategies and initiatives in drinking water utilities. These
resources take the form of white papers, published articles, research studies, case studies, case
examples, project studies (internal examples), tools, idea sheets, and more. As you move
through this toolkit these resources are linked to related topics.
Several resources that serve as generic guides to KM and the implementation of KM are
briefly introduced below:
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