I am fascinated by the possibilities that Knowledge Management holds for the world of associations. I believe it will eventually lead to restructuring associations from being information delivery systems to knowledge management and delivery systems. What is the difference? The association's value proposition to its members.
Consider this: Data is bits and bytes. Data becomes information when you notice patterns. Information becomes stronger when multiple sources confirm the patterns. Information becomes knowledge when people convert the information into actionable understanding for a specific context.. Knowledge = actionable understanding in a context. For successful CAE study, you must convert the information contained in the books into actionable understanding for a specific context--thus, the judgment style questions on the CAE exam.
So information becomes knowledge when it passes through a filter of practical or conceptual application to a specific context. In the past, wisdom gained from experience was that catalyst to turn information into knowledge. With the exit of baby boomers from the workforce, that wisdom factor is disappearing. So what will become the new catalyst? I believe it will be the association's curation of information into actionable knowledge. As a result, associations will need to become masters of creating, harvesting and then sharing actionable understandings of critical knowledge.
Excellent knowledge management systems cause associations to function as learning organizations, breaking down the silos of the internal organization and sharing information across the breadth of functional departments. This activity causes the association to function as an open system with information freely flowing throughout, but when feedback also flows and shapes the information into actionable understanding, we have new knowledge!
Many associations have the beginnings of knowledge management systems...mentorship programs--passing wisdom to rookies in a particular setting, research projects to create new knowledge, and of course knowledge sharing that we do in our educational programs. Certification personnel have developed a body of knowledge; others competencies for successful practice. But the question is: how do we connect all of these activities (programs developed in silos) into a cohesive association system? When you can create the cohesiveness, then you have a knowledge management system.
The key to all of this is rethinking internal communications, staff meetings, cross-functional workteams. Then the next step is to create a taxonomy to archive critical pieces of knowledge for re-use in other settings.
Here is my prediction for the future of associations: Coherent and cohesive knowledge management system development will eventually become the focus of every association. It can't happen, however, as long as we think in departmental silos.
