A Guide to Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy for a Food Security and Nutrition Program

The purpose of this guide is to assist teams to develop a knowledge management (KM) strategy that focuses on improving performance and the quality of implementation within international development programmes - specifically, within food security and nutrition programmes. The guide aims to provide practical guidance to staff at different levels within development organisations.

It is noted that "effective program teams embody good KM in their everyday operations. They do this in how they collaborate together; how they reflect on and review progress; how they adapt ways of working and approaches as a result of their learning; how they record changes or lessons; and how they communicate with the range of program stakeholders. Such participative and collaborative approaches are also an energizing influence..." There are many kinds of KM activities, such as developing and maintaining communities of practice, usually involving online tools, and participative knowledge sharing workshops, share fairs, and similar events.

The approach suggested in this guide rests on some basic assumptions about the process of developing KM strategies at programme level, such as the notion that strategy development is a continuous process; as programmes adapt and objectives are refined, so are strategies, both for the programme and the KM component. A KM strategy must be developed collectively with those involved in the programme. In that context, the guide aims to provide a framework that can enable teams to develop a KM strategy to:

• Define a vision for KM in the programme - how can it support KM objectives?
• Identify audience(s) and key stakeholders
• Confirm the definition of KM to be used in the programme (usually a combination based on organisational, donor, and national understandings and definitions)
• Audit the current KM situation based on a review of processes, people, and technologies
• Develop KM objectives and identify how they will be reviewed and measured (monitoring and evaluating KM within the programme)
• Develop a First Phase implementation plan

The guide also addresses 2 other areas necessary for the development of a KM strategy: (i) ways to identify the personal KM skills and competencies needed within the programme team to support the strategy; and (ii) the wider organizational context: ways to define and advocate for the support required from the organisation, including approaches to developing a "KM value proposition". Although there is no discussion of the many different perspectives on KM or its history, an indicative bibliography provides material for those interested in exploring further KM theories.

This guide is based upon the materials and exercises developed for the TOPS/FSN Network "Developing a Knowledge Management Strategy Workshop" which was held in March 2016 in Washington, DC. The idea for the workshop came from the members of the TOPS/FSN Network Knowledge Management Task Force, which brings together food security professionals from all technical sectors in a community focused on knowledge sharing for improved implementation of food security and nutrition programmes. Their thoughts and suggestions helped shape the workshop curriculum; those members who attended the workshop helped make additional refinements based on their experiences, and these refinements serve as the basis for this guide.

Led by Save the Children, The Technical and Operational Performance Support (TOPS) Program is a consortium funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and made up of the following partners: CORE Group (knowledge management), Food for the Hungry (social and behavioural change), Mercy Corps (agriculture and natural resource management), and TANGO International (monitoring and evaluation). Activities include technical capacity building, a small grants programme to fund research, documentation and innovation, and an in-person and online community of practice (the Food Security and Nutrition [FSN] Network).