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Pushing boundaries in knowledge management
Tuesday, 12th June 2012 Please login to be able to star items

Abstract:

The expression "doing more with less" appears to have become the official slogan for the information profession during the economic crisis – and for good reason. The implication is that even though times have been tough, we can still push boundaries and seek better and more efficient ways of delivering the information service our organisations and users need.

Article:

The collection of articles in this month's FUMSI Magazine is a clear indication of this ethic, with tools and disciplines to ensure we are at the top of game and to demonstrate our willingness to evolve and add value.

A useful platform for innovation and development in the provision of information services is an "information audit". You will be forgiven for thinking that such an audit is just a device to identify and weed-out unused resources. However, Cindy Shamel’s article highlights that when used effectively it can create a number of other positive outcomes including improving access to resources and creating savings in time and costs. Cindy notes that another beneficial outcome is a "gap analysis" to reveal what resources are missing and therefore opportunities for information professionals to provide innovative solutions.

Melanie Browne's article argues that information professionals need to foster an entrepreneurial spirit and be catalysts for change. We all know that there can be various barriers to innovation in the work place, as well as ensuring that an idea delivers the desired results. Melanie tackles this with guidance on overcoming implementation challenges as well as an "Idea Assessment Axis" tool to help us evaluate and select the best ideas.

Brainstorming sessions will often produce a variety of potential solutions, but which is best? The Axis is a valuable tool to assist us in choosing the right path.

Working collaboratively is an important facet of pushing boundaries by using a team’s collective knowledge to formulate and test ideas. Equally important is the medium where this interaction takes places, which can be difficult when information teams are unable to meet in person. Colleen Sullivan's article considers this point and other forms of communication to enable us to choose the best channel for a particular context.

With an array of communication technologies at our disposal it is useful to have some guidance about those appropriate to our needs. We can easily get bogged down with a barrage of emails exchanges or back-to-back conference calls and valuable information can easily get lost in the mix. The right choice of communication, as Colleen notes, can improve relations and produce positive results.

It could be argued that competitive intelligence (CI) is more important in a downturn than an upturn to help our organisations spot and utilise opportunities and become risk adverse. Yulia Aspinall’s article considers the role of CI research as an information discipline and its application to the biopharma industry, with suggestions of resources relevant to this field.

There are many lessons we can learn from CI as a concept and the methodology demonstrated by Yulia. We are also prompted in the article to consider whether we should be providing this service, or refining a current offering, which is certainly food for thought.

If we are to remain at the cutting edge of knowledge management and central to the work our organisations undertake, it is important for us to keep pushing boundaries. How should we do this? The contributors to this issue demonstrate some of the knowledge management tools and disciplines we can engage with to help us achieve this goal.

By Dean Mason

Dean Mason is the Library and Information Services Manager in the London office of Salans LLP. He has a more than keen interest in current awareness technologies and in the last couple of years he has researched, developed and rolled out a current awareness service in the firm's London office. He wrote a chapter for the BIALL Legal Information Handbook on current awareness technologies, which is due to be published in late 2012 or early 2013. He is also a member of the BIALL Publications Committee, which includes editing the association's newsletter published six times a year. His achievements on the committee include a rewrite of the Legal Research Packs and redesign of association's newsletter.

You can follow him on Twitter @deanjmason, or connect with him on LinkedIn.