Geoff Parcell, former Knowledge Management expert at BP and co-author of the best-seller Learning to Fly: Practical Knowledge Management from Leading and Learning Organizations, offered some insights into how to effectively capture and share knowledge within an organization such as UNITAR on the occasion of UNITAR’s Brown-Bag Lunch on 6th March.

“Knowledge sharing works when people see value in it. Start by creating the right environment for people to share experience”

Knowledge sharing happens among the people when it’s of value to them, says Geoff Parcell. He also suggests that it can be fostered through the creation of the right environment that would stimulate a shift in behaviors and attitudes. The guiding principle should be “I don’t have time not to share the knowledge”. Read more Another important contribution would be the creation of knowledge assets within the organization starting from collecting people’s experiences from which principles can be deduced and illustrated with concrete stories.

Referring to his experience as a Senior Advisor within British Petroleum’s knowledge management team, Geoff Parcell admits that their team sought rather to institutionalize the flow of knowledge that was taking place than to impose a new system. Knowledge sharing is about connecting people and it is people-driven. Simple and light processes may be put in place to facilitate the right environment and document experiences accumulated within the organization so they can be easily accessible and re-used by others.

An interactive session was set up during the Brown-Bag Lunch to demonstrate how the flow of knowledge takes place in reality and to encourage knowledge-sharing behaviors. Pointing to the fact that UNITAR possesses an enormous amount of knowledge on how to run training, Geoff Parcell stresses that the Institute has an overall niche that makes it distinctive. By capturing real experiences and using them for consolidating its expertise on training would enhance further UNITAR’s distinctive edge.