Knowledge Management for Development Journal最新文献

{"title":"Knowledge sharing, information management, communication and IT within WASHCost","authors":"J. Pels","doi":"10.1080/19474190903451157","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19474190903451157","url":null,"abstract":"The WASHCost Project researches the life-cycle costs of WAter, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in rural, peri-urban areas and small towns in Burkina Faso, Ghana, India and Mozambique. The rationale is that WASH governance will improve at all levels, as decision makers and stakeholders analyse the costs of sustainable, equitable and efficient services and put their knowledge to use. WASHCost applies action research and initiate learning alliances to address the immanent lack of costing information on quality WASH services. At the end of five years an Internet based body of information must be available globally to support decision makers in the field of unit costs for WASHCost service delivery. Interactions between stakeholders are at the core of WASHCost. It follows that social learning, knowledge sharing and creating space for dialogue and joint reflection are essential to the project achieving its objectives. WASHCost is a human endeavour acknowledging that through sharing information, knowledge is ‘co-created’ or ‘re-created’. This means that what people and groups know from experience, they share with others, especially with those who need to make use of it. These interactions are at their most effective when they are face-to-face. However, this is not always possible in a four-country project with global ambitions, and the project thus makes full use of simple, intuitive, virtual and mobile tools. This paper addresses knowledge sharing, information management, communication and IT within WASHCost and includes pointers about how to choose, design, understand processes and apply technology. This is done along the below sections on various ‘no brainers’ and ‘statements’ or ‘explanations’, leading up to an amalgam (section 9) of how issues are addressed in WASHCost and some observations 18 months underway the project along issues on information management and ‘lessons learned by the KM pioneers’.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"6 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134490715","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Contributions of knowledge networks and communities of practice to the water and sanitation sector in developing countries","authors":"Bertha Camacho","doi":"10.1080/19474190903451124","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19474190903451124","url":null,"abstract":"With the aim of responding to the challenges of the Water and Sanitation sector, active stakeholders have been providing, since decades, different services and technological solutions. Often the duplication of efforts tends to affect the overall results of the sector. Thus, clear efforts to enhancing collaboration, information sharing and joint action through the establishment of global networks and Communities of Practice (CoP) are being made by sector stakeholders. Little has been examined as to how these mechanisms give organizations and practitioners the opportunity to build their capacities and learn from each other. This paper explores the contributions of networks and CoPs to the sector, by examining three case studies: the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN), the AGUASAN Community of Practice and the Uganda Water and Sanitation NGO Network (UWASNET). The first part is dedicated to presenting a short conceptual definition of networks and CoPs followed by a summarized description of the background of the three cases. The second part addresses the main contributions of RWSN, UWASNET and AGUASAN to the water and sanitation sector together with the challenges to such contributions. In the last section, the main conclusions and recommendations drawn from the analysis are discussed.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115162843","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Learning for the water sector: quenching the thirst for knowledge and bridging the banks?","authors":"E. le Borgne, J. Pels, Nadia Manning-Thomas, R. Kerkhoven","doi":"10.1080/19474190903451108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19474190903451108","url":null,"abstract":"This issue of Knowledge Management for Development Journal is dedicated to learning, knowledge management and cooperation in the water sector and it has been produced by the team of Guest Editors Ewen Le Borgne, Jaap Pels, Nadia Manning-Thomas and Russell Kerkhoven. In this special issue, the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) sectors are under the spotlights. During 2009 issues around water have become a priority for both governments and the wider public, as was illustrated by the participation of 30,000 people in the Fifth World Water Forum held in Istanbul in March 2009. Public attention and pressure around the blue gold is rising as the clock is ticking towards the next judgment day in the water sector. In 2015, target 10 of the 17 Millennium Development Goals comes under public scrutiny. Halving the world population without access to water and sanitation is a challenge that already seems compromised, and it says little about a more meaningful objective: sustained access to quality services. There are plenty of statistics to show that it is a major challenge to provide sustainable access to water and sanitation or to manage water resources equitably in a context of everincreasing demand. Human beings crucially need water (and sanitation). Learning about the importance of water, learning how to change habits and learning how to collaborate can make a huge difference. Due to the presence of various actors (policy-makers, regulators, providers, tariffsetters, consumers, capacity development actors), profiles (public, private and civil society) and levels (from grassroots to intermediate, national and international), the water sector is characterised by a significant fragmentation (UNDP and WWAP 2006). To add to the complexity, water is important as a natural resource that relates to a social service (sustained access to water and sanitation for domestic use) and to a productive factor for economic gain. Fragmentation of the sector puts an enormous strain on the governance of water services, particularly as it goes in parallel with a global movement towards decentralisation of decision-making related to water and sanitation. The circumstances of climate change, economic insecurity and population growth add to this strain. Nevertheless, there are signs that water sector actors have realised the significance of these challenges and are taking measures to address them. These initiatives follow a dual strategy. On the one hand, there is an increased emphasis on learning at a personal and organisational level; on the other hand, extra emphasis is put on cooperation between various actors, as a better guarantee to reach effective results.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"14 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132832598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Looking back to move forward in strength: monitoring of water system sustainability","authors":"K. Fogelberg","doi":"10.1080/19474190903451132","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19474190903451132","url":null,"abstract":"The emphasis in the water and sanitation sector is on new boreholes, taps, and toilets, but what about those implemented last year, five years ago, and ten years ago? If the sector is to come close to meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), not only do all of the new water points have to functioning and sanitation facilities being used, but so do all of the previously installed ones. In order to know if these facilities not only still function, but if people are managing them in hygienic ways, Water For People and its local partners have developed an annual monitoring protocol to systematically collect sustainability information and make programmatic adjustments where needed. Water For People defines monitoring as ‘the continuous and systematic annual assessment of program/project progress against set targets designed to improve project performance’. Although frequently recommended for the success of sustainable development efforts, monitoring activities have not been prioritized by international development organizations. Constraints to monitoring after an intervention has been completed include finance, time, human resources, cumbersome methodologies that are not replicable, an organization's unwillingness to admit weaknesses or challenges, and prioritization of new projects. This paper will describe the methodology, results across several regions of the world, and highlight programmatic changes that have been made as a result of the systematic collection of sustainability information.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"29 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115184065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Attitudes and actions of participants in multi-stakeholder processes and platforms","authors":"S. Varma, A. Evans, Carmen da Silva Wells, K. Jinapala","doi":"10.1080/19474190903451165","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19474190903451165","url":null,"abstract":"Multi-stakeholder processes (MSPs) and platforms are being used to address various aspects of water management. They have been championed as a way to improve planning and coordination to involve marginalized groups, and to increase learning and uptake of innovations. Between 2005 and 2008, a project called ‘WASPA Asia’ established multi-stakeholder platforms in two cities, Kurunegala in Sri Lanka and Rajshahi in Bangladesh, to address wastewater use in agriculture and its impact on farmers' livelihoods. This paper presents findings on the benefits and constraints of a particular MSP around a ‘Learning Alliance’. It also describes and analyzes the methodology used to obtain findings and suggests ways in which such a methodology could be used to improve results of MSPs. The paper indicates that the obvious merit of MSPs is in providing spaces for information sharing and awareness-raising. In time, MSPs can evolve to bring about changes in stakeholders' attitudes and actions but in many cases they are established around short-term projects, which limits their potential for (institutional) change. Given this constraint, attitudinal change and a better understanding of the issues amongst stakeholders are major accomplishments. Analysis of the methodology used for the review shows the benefits of regular joint monitoring, open communication, and the usefulness of relatively simple tools such as ‘change stories’.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126845453","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"From world cafés to road shows: using a mix of knowledge sharing approaches to improve wastewater use in urban agriculture","authors":"P. Amoah, P. Drechsel, T. Schuetz, Gordana Kranjac-Berisavjevic, Nadia Manning-Thomas","doi":"10.1080/19474190903451116","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19474190903451116","url":null,"abstract":"This paper documents the application of several innovative knowledge sharing approaches and some of the lessons learnt in a project addressing food safety concerns deriving from wastewater irrigated vegetables in Ghana. Knowledge sharing activities received particular attention in the project to facilitate its impact pathway, in particular to (i) verify preliminary research messages on good practices, (ii) raise awareness and build capacity, and (iii) equip various stakeholder groups with knowledge, skills and materials. Key approaches and tools applied were the world café approach for the verification of research messages. The approach brought together farmers, traders and street food vendors to openly discuss proposed improvements in current practices and their potential for wider uptake. For target-oriented message dissemination multi-media training materials were prepared following recommendations from the intended users, like extension agents, catering and farmer field schools. The materials made use of local-language radio broadcasts, training and awareness videos, illustrated flip charts showing good and bad practices for wastewater use and improved teaching materials. Finally, for enhanced mutual learning so called road Shows were used to facilitate knowledge sharing between researchers, end-users, policy- and decision-makers. These allowed all stakeholders to follow the pathogen pathway from farm to fork while learning about the importance of well-identified intervention points and mutual responsibility. All applied approaches added significant value to the research work and facilitated its impact potential as first feedback shows. However, the applied tools do not come for free. They require careful preparations, the ability to listen and skillful facilitation.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-12-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115078602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Lessons learned about design, monitoring and evaluation process definition and information management for international development programmes","authors":"B. Nejmeh, Bernard Vicary","doi":"10.1080/18716340903201496","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18716340903201496","url":null,"abstract":"This paper discusses a multi-year project that analysed the World Vision International (WVI) Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning (LEAP) transformational programme design, monitoring and evaluation (DME) model and developed LEAP Manager's WorkBench, a prototype web-based automated environment for LEAP. The LEAP framework is WVI's approach to programme-wide design, monitoring and evaluation. The primary purpose of this paper is to illustrate lessons learned about DME method definition and automation based on the prototype implementation. The paper begins by reviewing related work on DME models, definitions and automation. The paper identifies development issues to be examined in defining and automating DME models. The WVI LEAP model is briefly described and the knowledge management and organisational learning aspects of the LEAP framework are highlighted. Key principles used in developing an automated environment for LEAP are highlighted along with a brief overview of the LEAP Manager's WorkBench. The paper then critically examines the approach taken to define and automate LEAP and highlights the successes and limitations of the approach. The paper discusses the implications of this work on development practitioners, policymakers and researchers responsible for defining or automating DME models.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"95 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"129077806","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evaluating knowledge sharing in research: the International Farmers' Conference organized at ICARDA","authors":"A. Galiè, Bernhard Hack, Nadia Manning-Thomas, A. Pape-Christiansen, S. Grando, S. Ceccarelli","doi":"10.1080/19474190903387666","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/19474190903387666","url":null,"abstract":"The objective of this paper is to describe the process and the results of the evaluation of the knowledge sharing (KS) during and after an International Farmers' Conference organized at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) and involving over 50 farmers and researchers from Algeria, Canada, Egypt, Eritrea, France, Iran, Italy, Jordan, and Syria. Storytelling was chosen by the participants, who set the agenda of the topics to be discussed, as the main framework to exchange farmers' knowledge. The evaluation was based on the anecdotal feedback from the participants gathered during the conference, shortly after the conference, and about a year later and on a questionnaire distributed to 64 non-participating farmers to evaluate the diffusion of the knowledge shared at the conference and its effect on farmers' practices. The narratives that were collected in the evaluation were grouped into categories that illustrate several dimensions of impact such as: acquired knowledge and practices, value added for participants, learning and dissemination of knowledge, network sustainability, change in perception of gender roles, impact on research and effectiveness of KS tools approach. The main results from the survey including participants and non-participants were that 57% of participants (respondents) changed their agricultural practices, all respondents told stories about the conference to others; 71% changed their mind about women's knowledge and role in agriculture, and over three quarters stayed in touch with one or more participants. While Storytelling proved an effective means to facilitate knowledge sharing during and after the Conference, documenting local knowledge remains a challenge as important exchanges might occur outside the formal presentations.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125847242","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The promise of positive deviants: bridging divides between scientific research and local practices in smallholder agriculture","authors":"L. Pant, Helen Hambly Odame","doi":"10.1080/18716340903201504","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18716340903201504","url":null,"abstract":"Positive deviants challenge existing organisational structures and institutional set-ups, and promote alternative approaches to solving seemingly intractable social problems, either playing direct role of a boundary spanner or indirect role as activists. However, these roles of positive deviants have not yet been recognised to its potential in international development because the legacy of deviancy theory lies on negative deviants, such as addicts and criminals. This paper investigates the promise of positive deviants to bridging scientific research and local practices using empirical evidence from community-based participatory research of rice, a crucial subsistence crop in the Chitwan district of Nepal. Non-profit private and public stakeholders worked as boundary spanners, specifically to initiate stakeholder interaction with non-traditional partners, in spite of the lack of enabling environments to do so. Similarly, one of the members of a farmers' group developed a rice variety from a handful of seeds taken from a scientific experimental plot, initially without the knowledge of participating scientists. This research suggests that positive deviants have ingenuity to innovate, deviating from norms particularly when social and organisational environments limit stakeholder interaction for learning and innovation. This paper concludes that the collective intelligence of positive deviants can sustain or even stimulate innovation permitting people to survive, experiment new ways of doing things and even improve their living conditions under adverse social, political and agro-ecological circumstances.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"68 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131706936","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"On producing and sharing knowledge across boundaries: experiences from the interfaces of an international development research network","authors":"C. Zingerli, C. Michel, A. Salmi","doi":"10.1080/18716340903201538","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/18716340903201538","url":null,"abstract":"The number of large research networks and programmes engaging in knowledge production for development has grown over the past years. One of these programmes devoted to generating knowledge about and for development is National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) North–South, a cross-disciplinary, international development research network funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and the Swiss National Science Foundation. Producing relevant knowledge for development is a core goal of the programme and an important motivation for many of the participating researchers. Over the years, the researchers have made use of various spaces for exchange and instruments for co-production of knowledge by academic and non-academic development actors. In this article we explore the characteristics of co-producing and sharing knowledge in interfaces between development research, policy and NCCR North–South practice. We draw on empirical material of the NCCR North–South programme and its specific programme element of the Partnership Actions. Our goal is to make use of the concept of the interface to reflect critically about the pursued strategies and instruments applied in producing and sharing knowledge for development across boundaries.","PeriodicalId":169185,"journal":{"name":"Knowledge Management for Development Journal","volume":"36 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2009-11-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116650403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}