Knowledge Management and Learning

The Asia-Pacific region shows two opposing faces to the world- one of unprecedented economic success, with many countries enjoying high growth rates, and another of persistent poverty, where roughly a third of the populace lives on less than $1.25 a day.

While the less developed part of the region exists, and gets worse with the economic downturn resulting from the 2007 global financial crisis, the need to acquire and apply knowledge to accelerate poverty reduction and pursue development remains critical.

ADB is in a privileged position to respond to this need.

• Access to local and global knowledge.
  It works closely with Asia-Pacific governments and international development partners, in the process acquiring first-rate country or global knowledge that allows it to distill lessons and identify trends within and across the region.

• Ability to apply knowledge.
  Through its wide array of lending and non-lending products and services, ADB can capture, test, replicate, or scale up critical knowledge, transferring them to its developing member countries.

Developing member countries recognize these abilities and look to ADB for comprehensive knowledge solutions that respond to their evolving needs. In response, ADB is upgrading its knowledge practices, services, and tools, guided by the knowledge management framework developed in 2004 and the action plan for 2009-2011 [ PDF: 1.62mb | 13 pages ].

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ADB's challenge is clear- to become a learning institution and a primary source of development knowledge in Asia and the Pacific.

Before it can conquer this challenge, however, ADB needs to address certain barriers that curtail its efforts to become a truly learning institution. These include:

• Respond to donors' agendas on knowledge management and learning.
  ADB is not immune from increasing donor expectations that development organizations should work smartly as well as hard.

• Deliver on Strategy 2020's commitment to provide knowledge solutions to clients.
  Strategy 2020 identifies knowledge solutions as one of five drivers for change, but is some way from translating this laudable intention into practice.

• Ensure leadership support and encouragement for knowledge management and learning.
  Staff members need clear, supportive messages and mandates on knowledge management and dissemination from their manager to prioritize activities on this area.

• Overcome organizational "silos".
  ADB is a large and complex organization. Particular attention needs to be placed on overcoming structural obstacles that can lead to a "silo" mind-set.

• Mobilize knowledge from inside and outside ADB.
  Staff members need to appreciate knowledge flows better, recognize that knowledge assets can be found or cultivated inside and outside ADB, and leverage these to satisfy client needs.

• Strengthen links among the knowledge services of ADB, including economic and sector work, research, learning and development, and the marketing of publications.
  While there are examples of progress being made, ADB would benefit from a more integrated system.

• Position and resource knowledge management and learning as a crosscutting issue.
  The cross-cutting nature of the knowledge management function should be considered in securing the best location and increased resourcing for it.

• Create incentives for staff involvement in knowledge management and learning.
  ADB's performance management system hinders staff members from committing time to knowledge development and learning. The issue of incentives should be addressed to make real progress.

• Build understanding of and capacity for knowledge management and learning-from day one.
  Understanding of what knowledge management means and why it is important is limited among staff members. The development of this understanding should begin as soon as a staff member joins ADB.

• Maximize learning from evaluation.
  ADB has taken some interesting initiatives to leverage greater learning from its evaluations, but the balance between accountability and learning would benefit from an increased focus on the potential for learning.

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These challenges may be considerable in scope but they are not insurmountable. ADB has identified specific and practical steps to overcome each one.

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