Knowledge and Expertise Networks – A framework for Managing Information and Knowledge in Organizations

Presented by Joel Alleyne, President of Alleyne Inc., at InfoNexus 2016 in Montreal, Canada. Visit http://info-nexus.org/ for more detail.

Transcript

1. Knowledge and Expertise Networks – A framework for Managing Information and Knowledge in Organizations Joel Alleyne McGill – InfoNexus 2016
2. 2 Protein Network Neural Network Synaptic Network City Network Topographic Network Tree Network Small World Network Patterns
3. 3 Internet Connections Network Electricity Grid Network Airline Hub & Spoke Network Transportation Network River Network Energy Pipeline Network Small World Network Patterns
5.  Expertise networks are the social, technical, and organizational networks that connect experts with novices and other experts.  A type of analysis (lens) that uses social networks that model the distribution of expertise in a domain and make explicit the level of expertise of the actors with respect to that domain Novice(s) Expert(s) Intermediate(s)
6. “The economic problem of society … is not merely a problem of how to allocate ‘given’ resources – if ‘given’ is taken to mean given to a single mind … It is rather a problem of how to secure the best use of resources known to any of the members of society … a problem of the utilization of knowledge which is not given to anyone in its totality.” Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society, American Economic Review, No 35 (September, 1945) pp. 1 – 18
7. http://www.idea.gov.uk/idk/core/page.do?pageId=8155834
8. “For each individual among the many has a share of excellence and practical wisdom, and when they meet together, just as they become in a manner one man, who has many feet, and hands, and senses, so too with regard to their character and thought..” Aristotle, Fourth Century BC, Politics
9. “There is no kind of problem that baffles one or a dozen experts that cannot be solved at once by a million minds that are given a chance simultaneously to tackle a problem.” Marshall McLuhan
10. Many years ago, I dreamed that people were talking seriously about the potential of harnessing a technological and social nervous system to improve the collective IQ of our various organizations. What if, suddenly, in an evolutionary sense, we evolved a super new nervous system to upgrade our collective social organisms? Then I dreamed that we got strategic and began to form cooperative alliances of organizations, employing advanced networked computer tools and methods to develop and apply new collective knowledge. I called these alliances Networked Improvement Communities (NICs). ... from “The Engelbart Hypothesis: Dialogs with Douglas Engelbart” by Valerie Landau and Eileen Clegg in conversation with Douglas C. Engelbart
11. Help, I need somebody Help, not just anybody Help, you know I need someone Help!
12.  Expertise Management (Kotlarsky, Oshri, & Fenema, 2008)  Expertise Sharing (Ackerman, Pipek, & Wulf, 2002)  Expertise Location (Ackerman & McDonald, 1998)  Advice Networks (Stephenson, 2006)  Automated discovery of expertise (search vendors like Autonomy and Mitre.org)  Knowledge Network/ing (allee, 2003; Skyrme, 1999) (References are examples only)
13.  Expertise Communities / Communities of Experts (Benton & Giovagnoli, 2006; Hakkarainen & European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction., 2004)  Expert Directories / Yellow Pages (Collinson & Parcell, 2001)  Talent Networks / Talent Management (Bryan & Joyce, 2007); (Cappelli, 2008) (References are examples only)
14. The Smart Swarm: How to Work Efficiently, Communicate Effectively, and Make Better Decisions Using the Secrets of Flocks, Schools, and Colonies
15. Too Big to Know: Rethinking Knowledge Now That the Facts Aren't the Facts, Experts Are Everywhere, and the Smartest Person in the Room Is the Room
16. The Problem • A user-centered design initiative was undertaken to explore the use of “personal pages” (a corporate yellow pages of experts) as an aid for locating expertise across the Firm • A small group (partners and associates) formed the core of this exercise The Study • Shah, Lam, Alleyne, 2004, “Development of an Expertise Location System for a Large Canadian Law Firm” • available from: http://www.kmdi.org/graduate/students/documents/Expertise%2 0Location%20in%20a%20Law%20Firm.pdf Case I: A Large Law Firm
17. Key findings • Work-Product facilitates location of experts • Expertise networks appear to operate in stratified layers within the Firm (year of call to the bar) • Social networks / connections facilitate expertise location • The best expert is not always the one contacted • Technology support for expertise location varies from – broadcast emails, to – use of bios Case I: A Large Law Firm - Findings
18.  Initiatives in several jurisdictions  Goal: to optimize the use of health human capital (expertise)  Effective, efficient, economical  Reduce fragmentation and lower costs (Retchin, 2008)  Several (overlapping) terms used in the health care literature Case II: Inter-Professional Care / Education (IPC/IPE) • Inter-professional • Collaborative • Interdisciplinary, • Trans-disciplinary • Multidisciplinary, • Multi-professional • Coordinated • Transprofessional
19. Defining IPC Inter-Professional Care occurs where two or more professions work with each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care. As Derived From: "Inter-professional Education occurs when two or more professions learn with, from and about each other to improve collaboration and the quality of care" CAIPE uses the term "inter-professional education" (IPE) to include all such learning in academic and work based settings before and after qualification, adopting an inclusive view of "professional".(CAIPE, 2002)
20. Characteristics  Roles  Professional  Information  Boundary spanners  Gate keepers  Knowledge translation  Etc.  Power and rank  Diversity of skills  Heterogeneity
21. Terminology  inter‐  (working together toward a goal)  (interdisciplinary work, which is done jointly by researchers in different disciplines)  multi‐  (working independently toward a common goal)  (multidisciplinary work – parallel or sequential (but still independent) work from researchers in different disciplines)  Think also about group or individual decision making (Retchin, 2008)
22.  This appears to be fertile ground for the examination of expertise networking  Experts in IPE/IPC cross disciplinary boundaries  Removing / transcending traditional cultural and organizational barriers appear to be a challenge (*ref) Case II: IPC/IPE – Preliminary Findings
23. (Retchin, 2008)
24. (Retchin, 2008)
25. Cowboys and Pit Crews
26. – Better understanding of expertise networks will facilitate: • Identifying and locating experts and expertise • The sharing of knowledge, wisdom, and experience. • Access to hidden or tacit knowledge resources. • The improved networking of a firm’s intellectual (and human) capital assets. • An important channel for the acquisition, sharing, trading and distribution of knowledge – Also … leads to optimization • When optimized – should pay dividends for an organization – Goes beyond general repository-based approaches to knowledge management
27. Within Expertise Networks • Knowledge practices, knowledge sharing, knowledge transfer, knowledge translation (from research to practice) • Collaboration, coordination and communication • Informatics Support – Shared record keeping – the electronic record (necessary but not sufficient) – E-learning, e-cases – Social / Knowledge Media – Modeling and simulation / case based – virtual worlds? Gaming? – Directories Opportunities
28. Key (Related) Concepts  Knowledge Networks  Knowledge Markets  Knowledge capital life cycle  Create, grow, trade / share, sustain, renew  Knowledge optimization  Social networks  Communities of practice  Collaborative / collective / connected intelligence  Personal Knowledge Management
29. Related Concepts Cooperative Work / Learning CSCW /CSCL Social / Organizational Networks Social / Knowledge Media Complex Networks Communities of Practice Knowledge / Expertise Networks