Transferring knowledge for a humanitarian cause

ODI’s mission is to inspire and inform policy, leading to the reduction of poverty, the alleviation of suffering and the achievement of sustainable livelihoods in developing countries.

ODI operates a commercial organisation and is reliant on income from major research and consulting projects for research foundations, internal organizations and other companies.

The ever increasing staff numbers at ODI frequently work on assignments overseas and the need to easily access and exchange information is vital. As the marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, such access is an even more important determinant when responding quickly to market opportunities. “Research institutes need to produce tenders quickly and efficiently to bring more work in,” explains Peter Gee, Head of IT at ODI. “It is often most efficient to re-use some of the information in other tenders or seminars, but it has always been difficult to access that information.”

ODI began a KTP project with London South Bank University, hiring Ben Ramalingham as the KTP Associate. Ben began the process by interviewing staff about their work and the existing knowledge management systems in place. Using the information gathered he planned how ODI could develop a system to give access to shared knowledge. Implementing interdepartmental working groups, incentivising staff, opening up an information centre and producing a knowledge-and-learning tool kit were all employed to ensure staff sharing and the breakdown of organisational and cultural barriers.

Once this breakthrough had been achieved the second phase of the KTP could begin. Associate Paul Matthews was brought in to install the IT systems designed by Ben. Paul has developed an intranet system and website content management system that will be adopted throughout the company’s internal network. The new system has reduced unnecessary duplication of work which has allowed maximum extraction of valuable knowledge. The system will allow users across the globe to access knowledge based on easy-to-navigate parameters such as country, sector, seminar theme and previous tender.

“A research institute such as the ODI is dependent on research contracts. This system enables us to reduce the amount of time taken to produce a tender,” said John Young, Knowledge Management Supervisor at ODI. “This allows us to compete more effectively, to win more research contracts and to boost our income.”

The first of two articles on this ODI’s KTP project was published in ‘Knowledge Management Magazine’, co-written by Ben and Academic Supervisor Mikko Arevuo. These articles are a testament to the success of the project and highlight the Universities range of expertise. Professor Vic Lane, second academic supervisor on the project explains the personal benefits that he has derived from working on the project. “Working with an organization of researchers is an excellent experience for me. I have been able to broaden my contact base and hone my commercial skills. I would highly recommend participation in a KTP project to any academic.”

“Without a KTP It would have been impossible for ODI to complete this project,” commented Peter. “The ideas, resources and support KTP provides were the catalyst for us. Though we knew this project was needed we would not have managed to implement it without the KTP framework.”