ReliefWeb

Introduction

Knowledge management is simply the practice of capturing, storing and sharing knowledge so that we can learn lessons from the past and apply them in the future.
The application of knowledge and learning is vital to improve the quality of humanitarian and development work that ultimately seeks to alleviate suff ering, develop local capacity and reduce poverty.

‘Less is more’

Prioritizing our knowledge management output and producing quality publications is what this toolkit aims to achieve. Producing a few well-researched, quality products that really support practitioners working in post-crisis countries is more useful than producing a multitude of inferior-quality reports and knowledge products.
We have to consider the absorptive capacity of our target audience, particularly the UNDP country offi ce colleagues who are frequently inundated with too much information. The goal of this toolkit is to encourage strategic planning and production of cutting-edge knowledge products that are clear, coherent and address identifi ed knowledge gaps. We are advocating delivering products that meet the ‘golden rules’ – explained in the toolkit – to package UNDP experience with CPR in a professional and accessible format and echo agreed-upon policies.

Target audience

This toolkit aims to explain the theory and outline the tools used in knowledge management for UNDP staff working in crisis and post-crisis situations. It is targeted at both BCPR staff and members of the wider Crisis Prevention and Recovery (CPR) Practice Area within UNDP. However, many of the suggestions given here are not strictly CPR-specific and can be applied to knowledge management in other UNDP Practice Areas.

Purpose

This toolkit aims to provide ideas and entry points to a wide range of tools and methods that can help us to better share and apply the knowledge that exists within UNDP on crisis prevention and recovery. By working to simplify and standardize knowledge management products and methodologies, we can cut out the timeconsuming process of ‘reinventing the wheel’ every time we embark on a knowledge management-related task. This toolkit is one step along the road to advocating for a simplifi ed and standardized approach towards knowledge management in the CPR Practice Area.