In March 2019, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) awarded the Knowledge, Data, Training and Learning (KDLT) contract to Bixal, the prime contractor, and two subcontractors — the QED Group LLC and Training Resources Group, Inc. — to support the USAID Bureau for Resilience and Food Security’s (RFS) objectives in becoming a premier learning organization.
KDLT’s goal is to successfully capture, analyze and share best practices and data, as well as use this knowledge to help RFS achieve its mission to improve nutrition, strengthen resilience, and reduce poverty in “Feed the Future” countries.
Implementing partners launching a USAID-funded contract have several tasks and challenges in common. Tasks must evolve from proposal concepts to real-world implementation, scoping key initial activities, building a rock-solid team and internalizing the client’s culture and priorities. Behind these intensive efforts lies another critical need — identifying and selecting the right knowledge management (KM) tools and practices to support the project and client. The path to creating a robust yet flexible suite of KM tools, however, is hardly a straight line as leaders of the Feed the Future KDLT contract shared at last year’s KMWorld Connect 2020 conference.
In a session on “KM from Scratch: Tips & Tools for Success,” KDLT leaders delivered a talk entitled “Case Study: How a USAID Activity Built its KM Tools and Culture.” KDLT Chief of Party Meaghan Murphy and Technical Director Anne Speca shared a variety of the KM lessons learned — and relearned — since KDLT began. Here are some of the key takeaways:
Embrace a test-and-reassess approach when choosing KM tool.
The number of KM tools on the market continues to proliferate, but more is not necessarily better. Early on, KDLT adopted a low-commitment stance with respect to adopting new software and platforms. It’s not always clear which platforms will be suitable across different work-streams. For instance, the team learned that a task-tracking platform like JIRA worked well for web development sprint but was less useful for managing organizational development processes. Different platforms also can create split structures or duplication across file management and archiving practices, which can complicate the best-intentioned KM process.
While KDLT worked to create an environment where staff were encouraged to experiment with new tools, the project also developed criteria (e.g., value, costs, complexity, suitability, training requirements and relative advantages and trade-offs) to inform what tools would ultimately be adopted.
Use flexible tools and platforms because KM needs change over time.
What works at startup may not be as useful as a project grows in scope and staffing. A legacy platform inherited from a previous contract may be less suitable going forward, especially if the support needs, operating context or type of work requested by the client has changed. Acknowledging the reasons legacy tools evolved and the elements of value they may offer to stakeholders bridging contracts, such as familiarity and ease, is important. This could include a client and project staff who may have transitioned to the new contract, or the broader users of services through the contract.
Wise leaders will avoid forcing the abandonment of a well-loved platform and instead work to understand which features were most valuable and how that institutional knowledge can benefit selection for the new contract going forward.
Foster an enabling culture for honest dialogue about KM and technology-related successes and failures.
The project established formal and informal ways for team members to share their learnings. For instance, during a staff meeting, someone might relay a new take on formatting shared note-taking documents. Or a learning might be connected to a widely used platform and as a result be documented on KDLT’s internal wiki. Because no one really knows what’s coming next, creating multiple opportunities for reflection builds team cohesion and supports agility.
To learn more about KDLT, please contact contracting office’s representative (COR) Zachary Baquet and Chief of Party Meaghan Murphy. To learn more about the ideas discussed in this article, please contact Anne Speca.
KDLT Background
KDLT supports the above objectives by leveraging deep expertise in growing online knowledge-sharing platforms, analyzing and visualizing data for evidence-based decision making, fostering individual and team learning and strengthening adaptive management practices.
These activities help KDLT develop meaningful working relationships with RFS stakeholders to nurture the enabling conditions for increased collaboration, learning and adapting across the Bureau and underscore the importance of individual behavior change in achieving lasting results. Learn more at: https://www.agrilinks.org/post/kdlt-agrilinks-new-stewards
