What is Knowledge Management?

… and how do I use it?

At the Knowledge for Health (K4Health) project, we believe that knowledge saves lives. Organizations that apply proven knowledge management techniques can improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of health workers and programs. This in turn improves health outcomes.

Knowledge management can be a dry and technical topic that’s tough to get excited about. It can be difficult to understand, and its value can be hard to see. For those who are new to the topic, knowledge management is the process of collecting and curating knowledge, then connecting people to it so they can act effectively.

Sounds easy enough, right? Think of it as a process that helps your team get better organized at work so that everyone knows exactly what they are responsible for and feels confident in their ability to do their job.

We get that knowledge management is a simple concept but hard to act on. It’s easy to get lost in toolkits, databases, repositories, and online courses. The jargon — like “synthesis”, “curation”, “tacit knowledge”, “implicit knowledge” — can create more confusion than clarity. It’s easy to lose sight of the people involved in the knowledge management process.

We want to help you understand what knowledge management is and how to use it in your work.

This is why we created The Exchange.

Simply put, in this publication we write about the need for knowledge management in global health, the practical ways we apply knowledge management techniques in our work, and the impact our work can have on communities. Our posts are personal and varied. They promote discourse and debate with the intent to engage public health practitioners and reach new audiences.

We hope you find these stories useful and that they inspire you to try new techniques to enhance your learning, share your organization’s knowledge, and benefit your community.

Want to read more about knowledge management and global health? Follow The Exchange for more information on how to better curate, synthesize, and share knowledge.