1. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 The Added Value of Knowledge Management Alec Vuijlsteke EBSLG Continental Meeting Ljubljana 25 March 2004

2. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 These values are supported by effective KM Values of business schools Professionalism Synthesis of theory and practice International perspective Entrepreneurship

3. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Definition of KM My definition of KM ›Every process or practice of knowledge creation, acquisition, use and share ›With the goal to improve performance and learning in an organisation

4. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 KM at VLGMS Tasks of the Librarian ›Academic Library ›Research support Working papers & publications Research intranet... ›Knowledge management Closely related to research support Limited to explicit knowledge, not tacit knowledge

5. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Ms Access database for input Online version for users Research Database

6. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Principle: create once, use many times Research Database Retroactive tool ›For who is who ›For Academica vitae ›To trace who is working on what ›To extract research data for eg. accreditations

7. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Create once, use many times

8. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Research evaluation tool What research is planned?

9. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Research evaluation tool What research is effective = has been realised?

10. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Scope of KM activities Management of information in the School is OK, Knowledge Management is not OK Need for more KM-initiatives: ›Supported by information management ›Responding to the needs of the organisation ›Taking into account the specificities of an academic institution!

11. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Scope of KM activities Why have more KM initiatives? ›Clear needs To share (more) knowledge Of incentives for employees to share knowledge Of more structured knowledge sharing instead of “ad hoc” and “acidentally” To prevent loss of knowledge when an employee leaves te organisation The Librarian could supply added value by undertaking such initiatives

12. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 KM in academic environments A lot of literature exists on KM ›Mostly in (multinational) company settings academic educational institutions have a specific situation Specific situation in comparison with companies: ›Less corporate culture of teamwork and mutual trust that facilitate KM ›Intellectual autonomy and academic freedom

13. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 KM in academic environments ›“Sub-cultures” with own vocabulary ›Scepticism about each other’s methods and research ›Knowledge management is often not optimal Often loss of knowledge Duplication of knowledge Well managed knowledge is not always considered as a competitive advantage Fear of central manipulation of data

14. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 KM in academic environments Knowledge is nonetheless THE business of academic institutions, in 3 domains: ›Education and Learning ›Research and Training in Research ›“New” activities technology transfer consulting partnerships with companies spin-off entrepreneurship lifelong learning and “work-based learning”

15. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Internationalisation Increasing market competition Virtualisation through ICT Teaching and Learning Research New activities KM in academic environments 3 forces influence these 3 domains

16. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 KM in academic environments “ICT virtual world” facilitates KM initiatives ›Electronic learning environment with online learning material “today’s students log on rather than read the book on the train” ›Course websites and discussion fora complement traditional teaching methodes

17. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 KM in academic environments ›ICT makes more and more information sources on an equal basis available to researchers as well as students ›ICT supports virtual research teams ›Academic institutions want to inform customers and stakeholders about research via ICT E-newsletters Knowledge portals = platforms that offer all sorts of digital research objects

18. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Example INSEAD Knowledge portal

19. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Example Knowledge@Wharton

20. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Role of the Librarian? Broaden traditional information management with KM initiatives A lot of institutions do not see how the Librarian can be linked to KM! But the Librarian has certain advantages: ›“unsuspected party” ›Feeling with different disciplines and cultures ›Can promote the knowledge culture across the different research centres ›Can offer KM-tools to the whole community

21. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Role of the Librarian? Conditions for successful action ›Strong consciousness of the social and culture factors that influence knowledge sharing ›Attitudes more important than tools ›Support of the management board ›Tackling of politicking ›Good co-operation with other parties: HR department, researchers, IT department,…

22. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Role of the Librarian? ›Develop the communication and motivation skills to make clear the new role of the Librarian: Someone who encourages people to share (tacit and explicit) knowledge and to learn from each other across borders

23. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Role of the Librarian? Approach ›Raising consciousness ›Needs analysis + which knowledge networks do already exist? ›Processes that generate a lot of frustration are opportunities for KM initiatives ›Go where the energy is: take KM initiatives towards groups that have to share knowledge

24. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 The future? For typical information management tasks the Librarian will have an increasingly “back office” function For new KM activities: a “front office” function is possible?

25. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 The future

26. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 The future Amazon becomes starting point for book searches? Is this book available in my library?

27. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 The future? The librarian/knowledge manager: KM developer ›In co-operation with researchers and student administration manage digital ‘objects’ (Knowledge portals) KM integrator ›Integrates knowledge in education and research ›Acts as “knowledge broker” between persons and information sources

28. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 KM educator ›Trains employees in information skills & how knowledge can be organised, stored and shared KM researcher ›Uses information science and technology for new possibilities in KM

29. Alec Vuijlsteke 2004 Thank you for your attention Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School - Library Reep 1 - B-9000 Gent library@vlerick.be