Government

Why KMI for the Government?

Since the dawn of the services sector, and now the "Knowledge Age," knowledge management (“KM”) has been an often misunderstood topic in the Federal Government. KM is usually associated with the IT field, though it easily encompasses IT and nearly every other branch of a department or agency. KM is simply a practical, process-orientated approach to how agencies and departments capture institutional knowledge and learn from it. KM’s primary goal is to measurably improve individual and organizational performance.

The Federal Government, via the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), has its own definition of Knowledge Management which is critical to understanding how the Federal Government views Knowledge Management:

[KM is] “A system that ensures continuity of leadership by identifying and addressing potential gaps in effective leadership and implements and maintains programs that capture organizational knowledge and promote learning.” (OPM, Policy Data and Oversight – list of definitions).

To be truly successful in implementing effective KM strategies, Federal Government departments and agencies need to be prepared to implement knowledge solutions that support change by storing knowledge in a central repository, providing secure access to support agents, employees or citizens, and allowing easy access to the knowledge that’s appropriate for each user community.

As a part of this process, the Federal Government needs to build a strategy which includes plenty of training and communication with various departments to prepare for the new model of working and tracking measurable changes within the organization. The Government needs to manage dated solutions which federal workers use to get their job done because these avenues have been defined as inefficient, ineffective, or too costly to maintain. 

As a solution to this trend, KM Institute has enabled and empowered government workers:

• from Certification at the individual and team level,
• to building roadmaps for action for the department and even agency-wide – to overcome such obstacles,
• to adopt new knowledge-intensive activities, and
• to effectively change the culture

KMI and Government

With KMI headquarters located just outside Washington DC in Northern VA, we have built a strong following over the years from not only our Federal Government neighbors, but State and Local municipalities, as well as State-run Universities and Institutions.

KM Institute has deep roots with KM in the Government, going back to the original “Washington DC Chapter” in the late 90s - when many agency reps joined monthly meetings to discuss this new phenomenon – to today, where government personnel typically take up 50% of our classes.

Like corporations, Government agencies also have a tendency for siloed, decentralized workplaces, with overbearing content management platforms and a workforce that leans toward knowledge hoarding and a fear of change, rather than an open learning environment that sparks innovation. 

KM Institute is here to help with whatever your agency needs, whether it's a change in the culture, guiding the KM team, or just one individual needing to lead the way.  Leverage KMI's proven training methods and our consulting partners to your advantage.  Act today!