The session will explore the role of leadership in leveraging knowledge and learning tools to introduce or sustain organizational change.  Taking  the experience of the World Bank – where knowledge management and communities of practice have been used to mobilize radically new ways of working and innovating – as a conversation starter, facilitator and author, Dr. Monika Weber-Fahr will engage with and interview her guests.   Together they will explore and debate the both the practical and the conceptual side of opportunities and hurdles emerging when an organization takes the knowledge domain as the entry-point to introduce, sustain or complete a change process. 

The IFAD Knowledge team is extremely grateful for those who attended and contributed to the IFAD Food4Thought event “Knowledge for Action: Silos to Solutions, Lessons from the World Bank”.

For those who missed it, the video of the event can be viewed here, and attached is the presentation delivered during the event.

Please note that our esteemed speakers are also co-authors and editors of the book “Communities of Practice at the World Bank”.

For IFAD colleagues, if you are interested in reading the book, kindly reach out to the IFAD library colleagues at: library-reference@ifad.org

The event centered on fostering initiatives like “Knowledge Silo Breakers,” aimed at enhancing collaboration and innovation across IFAD. These initiatives empower communities to independently manage knowledge, thereby increasing agility and responsiveness. Additionally, the event emphasized the significant role of leadership in cultivating a culture of knowledge citizenship through targeted initiatives that incentivize and recognize staff contributions for effective knowledge management.

Some highlights for your convenience:

• IFAD emphasizes using knowledge, evidence, and data to drive policy engagement at the country level, particularly as IFAD’s operations have become more decentralized, with country directors advocating for knowledge-driven approaches.
• IFAD integrates diverse types of knowledge (experience-based, evidence-based, data-informed, Indigenous, informal, and experiential) into their operations, enriching their understanding and decision-making processes.
• Knowledge and knowledge management have been central to IFAD’s impact delivery, especially in the context of AI and GenAI. Generating inferences to correct biases in data or AI algorithms has become crucial.
• Communities of practice, called “Knowledge Silo Breakers” at the World Bank, played a key role in breaking down internal silos and promoting knowledge flow across organizational divisions. These communities, with varied structures, fostered organic growth and collaboration, encouraging staff to challenge traditional boundaries and embrace innovation, thereby creating a “rebel culture” that empowered individuals to drive change.
• By empowering communities to manage their knowledge independently at the World Bank, there was a heightened sense of ownership and urgency among members to preserve and share critical insights and solutions. This decentralized approach aimed to make knowledge management more agile and responsive to organizational needs.
• Leadership needs to emphasize that critical knowledge often comes from country offices, where staff directly interact with stakeholders. Valuable insights primarily originate from field operations.
• Leadership plays a crucial role in promoting a culture of knowledge citizenship by consistently emphasizing the importance of knowledge in daily interactions, speeches, and discussions. This approach aims to engage all staff in knowledge management initiatives, recognizing that full adoption may take time. Therefore, smaller, focused initiatives—called islands of knowledge citizenship—should include incentives, recognition, and celebrations. 
• The World Bank’s help desks emphasize customization to meet specific sector needs, moving away from one-size-fits-all solutions. Each help desk provides networked support, centralizing and effectively managing queries. This approach draws on broad expertise to offer comprehensive responses, compiling relevant documents, projects, and contacts. It not only addresses immediate needs but also builds a reusable knowledge repository, nurturing knowledge across communities. 

Join us for a special “Learn KM with Us” session with guest speakers who will share the story of how knowledge management and communities of practice have been used at the World Bank to introduce a radically new way of working and innovating.

The speakers are a former World Bank Senior Director, a former World Bank Director and former CEO Executive Secretary of the Global Water Partnership (GWP), and a former World Bank knowledge and learning lead. ⁠

Here you can find more about them and the book “⁠Communities of Practice at the World Bank,” where the whole story is captured.

This is a great opportunity to invite your manager(s) to hear about the value of KM from other managers!

Thanks to all of you who joined the Cultivating Communities of Practice session, as part of the FITO Networks Festival with Dr. Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Philip Karp, and Dr. Monika Weber-Fahr, authors and editors of the recently launched book Communities of Practice at the World Bank. We would like to thank them for generously sharing their rich experiences and lessons, as well as to the KM4Dev community for co-hosting with us, and to the FITO Network for welcoming us to their Networks festival!

Session resources:

🗂️ Collective harvest: You can find the collective harvest with various nuggets and lessons in this Google doc
🎬 Session Recording: Watch the session recording, including the recording of the two “fireside chat breakouts” with Ede and Phil!
🎤 Virtual Interview with Ede: Watch this follow up conversation with Ede in which he answers questions that we did not have time to go through during the session.

This session was hosted by the Community Builders Community of Practice, a global network of professionals who work in the design or management of Communities of Practice in the international development, peacebuilding, and humanitarian sectors. You can learn more and join us through this form. We also invite you to engage with us on LinkedIn and YouTube.

Insight Thursday: Communities of Practice at the World Bank – Breaking Knowledge Silos to Provide Innovative Services to Clients

We had over 150 participants at the two events organized by the World Bank Group library. At the first event, we had introductory remarks by the Director of Strategy overseeing some of the key change processes in knowledge at the World Bank, followed by a presentation by the book’s three editors. For the second event, we had a deep-dive conversation on tools, techniques, and tips for knowledge management based on the key book’s lessons. Take a look at the video recording of the first event:

A 30 Minute live Video-Blog in the form of an Ignite Talk and a short interview with Barbara Bitondo, host of the “KBreak” series at the World Bank Group on March 6 2024 at 9:30 EST

In mobilizing interest for the formal book launch at the World Bank, one of our editors – Monika Weber-Fahr – was interviewed by Barbara Bitondo, host of the “KBreak” series. The Ignite Talk and Interview targeted knowledge workers from KM+L, IM & Comms Spaces and discussed HOW to use KM to improve operational client services; WHAT to pick from the KM “software” menu – e.g., communities, culture, & collaboration across internal silos – to create value and joy, and what leaders – at any level – should KNOW about KM tools & what these tools can do for staff development and growth.

Click to see the presentation. The recording will be added shortly.

Book presentation to the Middle East and North Africa Sustainable Development Team at the World Bank

In our first dissemination event for the Communities of Practice at the World Bank book, we had a seminar on February 1, 2024, with the Sustainable Development team of the World Bank working in the Middle East and North Africa region. This team has started a new set of communities of practice to tackle some of the most difficult sustainability challenges in the region. They are looking to break silos across the technical disciplines they cover: water, agriculture, cities, environment, and social development.

Click to view and watch our presentation and recording.

We want to invite you to two events at the World Bank related to our book.

The first one will be a general book launch on March 7, 10 AM-11:30 AM EST in hybrid format (connection information below and in person at the WBG Library, room MC C3-214). Qimiao Fan, Director of Strategy and Corporate Initiatives at the Sr. MD for Development and Policy Office, will give opening remarks. Please feel free to share the information to your colleagues and contacts.

The second event will take place at the same location in the afternoon (March 7, 3:30PM – 5:00PM EST) and it is more geared towards a practical discussion on KM tools and approaches for building communities, driving innovation, and mobilizing in-country institutions to share their experiences.