The evolution of Knowledge Management and where we are as the RUFORUM Network

Knowledge Management in the context of the RUFORUM Network (Part V)
From the table below it is evident that Knowledge Management has been taking place in the RUFORUM Network in many forms. What has been lacking is an intentional KM Strategy that could be periodically evaluated in terms of the effectiveness of KM in the RUFORUM Network. We have also been lacking a dedicated team to manage KM activities. We have done well in setting up ICT infrastructure. A great deal still needs to be done to improve content management. Capacity building in KM also needs to be strengthened. The culture of learning in the network could also be reinforced. There is an opportunity for the RUFORUM Network to leverage its collective knowledge by holding knowledge cafes during network meetings, convening strategic conversations that would result in new knowledge and using social networking to capture different views.

STAGES OF KM EVOLUTION	WHERE WE ARE AS A NETWORK
	Secretariat Level	Member Universities Level	Wider Agricultural Network Level
KM as ICT or Information Management	Technical infrastructure –  LAN: collaboration via email, intranet based systems & file servers; cloud based MIS: Website; Platforms for communities of practice: mailing lists, social media – blogs, Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube,	ICT Situation Analysis to track Infrastructure development in member universities (2009): 86% had campus backbones 58% had ICT Policies in place 60% had central ICT units to manage and monitor ICT projects	ICT infrastructure in Africa getting better.  Beginning of 2012: 650 million mobile subscriptions; 68,000 km of submarine cable; 615,000 km of national backbone networks had been laid - increasing connectivity across Africa.
KM as Human Resource Development or Human Talent Development	Culture for learning & improving through staff training, work procedures, team work & performance management systems	Training agricultural professionals in MSc Agricultural Information & Communication Management; Supporting universities to adopt open access policies;	Partnering with strategic partners to facilitate training in Agricultural Knowledge Management;
KM as organizational approach	KM Unit to be established; Culture for learning & improving through staff meetings	Promoting collaborative research through the RUFORUM granting mechanism – encouraging learning together with academia, communities, private sector and other stakeholders	Facilitating networking for learning through conversations during the RUFORUM AGM, biennial conferences, national forums and various other network learning events
KM as an integral approach, optimizing knowledge ecosystems	Monitoring, Evaluation & Learning framework; Draft Communications Strategy; Knowledge repository; We-based Information Mngmt System; Vibrant Website and Social Media Platforms Documenting processes and sharing lessons learned Strengthened governance, management & leadership	Inspired member universities to establish knowledge repositories	Working with strategic partners to increase reach  and reduce duplication of efforts Communicating via – social media, website, knowledge repository, print media and other platforms - SciDev, university world news, etc.

Part VI will discuss selected Knowledge Management Models.