Enhancing Knowledge Sharing to Support the Poverty Reduction Process in Africa:
ECA’s Experience
Economic Commission for Africa Addis Ababa
Ethiopia
February 2008
Table of Contents
i) List of abbreviations, 4 ii) List of tables, 5
iii) List of boxes, 5 iv) List of annexes, 5
v) Executive summary 1. Introduction, 14
2. Background: Conceptual Framework of the Project 2.1. Knowledge and development,16
2.2. Knowledge and MDGs, 19 2.3. KM and development, 20 2.4. KM and the MDGs, 22
2.5. Knowledge sharing and development, 22 2.6. ICTs and knowledge sharing, 23
2.7. CoPs and development, 24 3. The Project
3.1. Origins of the project, 29 3.1.1. The PRSP-LG, 29
3.1.2. “Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa”
project, 30
3.1.2.1. Objectives of the project, 30
3.1.2.2. Expected outcomes of the project, 31 3.1.2.3. Components of the project, 32 3.1.2.4. Beneficiaries of the project, 33 3.1.2.5. Project inputs and personnel, 34 3.1.2.6. Project Monitoring and Evaluation, 35 4. Project implementation
4.1. Project activities implemented, 37
4.1.1. The PRS/MDGs knowledge audit, 37
4.1.1.1. Objectives of the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit, 37 4.1.1.2. Design of the knowledge audit instrument, 38
4.1.1.3. Pilot testing the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit questionnaire, 38 4.1.1.4. Administering the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit, 39
4.1.2. The PRS knowledge sharing network (KSN) platform, 45 4.1.2.1. Description and purposes of the KSN platform, 45 4.1.2.2. Design and development of the KSN platform, 45 4.1.2.3. Key functions of the KSN platform, 47
4.1.3. E-roundtables
4.1.3.1. Design and implementation of the e-roundtables, 49 4.1.3.2. The 1st e-roundtable, 50
4.1.3.3. The 2rd e-roundtable, 55 4.1.4. Trainings
4.1.4.1. Training 1, 56 4.1.4.2. Training 2, 51 4.1.5. Research, 51
4.1.6. Dissemination of output of the project, 59
4.1.6.1. Awareness creation presentations of the project, 59 4.1.6.2. Awareness creating tools prepared by the project, 59 4.1.6.3. Dissemination of outputs of the project, 59
4.2. Challenges encountered in implementing the project, 60 4.2.1. Beneficiaries-related challenges, 60
4.2.1.1. Availability and quality of ICT infrastructure, 60 4.2.1.2. Experience and skills in knowledge sharing, 61 4.2.1.3. Time constraints, 62
4.2.1.4. Organizational support and incentives, 63 4.2.2. ECA-related challenges, 63
4.3. Lessons learned, 63
4.3.1. Lessons learned: knowledge audit, 64 4.3.2. Lessons learned: KSN platform, 64 4.3.3. Lessons learned: e-roundtables, 65 5. Conclusion, 67
6. The way forward, 69 7. Annexes 72
List of abbreviations
ACGSD African Center for Gender and Social Development of the ECA AERC African Economic Research Consortium
APRM African Peer Review Mechanism
BOND British Overseas NGOs for Development CIDA Canadian International Development Agency COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa CoPs Community of Practices
DCs Developed countries
DESA United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs EA-SRO East African Sub-regional Office of the ECA
ECA Economic Commission for Africa ECOSOC Economic and Social Council GDN Global Development Network GDP Gross domestic product GT Growth theory
ICE Intergovernmental Committee of Experts of the ECA ICT Information and Communications Technology IM Information management
ITDG Intermediate Technology Development Group KM Knowledge management
KSN Knowledge sharing network LDCs Least developed countries M&E Monitoring and evaluation MDGs Millennium Development Goals
MDGs/PAMS MDGs/Poverty Analysis and Monitoring Section of the ECA NEPAD New Partnership for Africa’s Development
NGOs Non-governmental organizations
OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OL Organizational learning
PRS Poverty Reduction Strategies
PRSP-LG Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers Learning Group RAWOO Netherlands Development Assistance Research Council REC Regional Economic Community
SADC Southern Africa Development Community SROs Sub regional offices of the ECA
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development UNDP United Nations Development Program
URL Universal Resource Locator USSR Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
ii) List of tables
Table 4.1: List of African countries covered by the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit, 39 Table 4.2: Distribution of countries of respondents of the PRS/MDGs knowledge
audit by ECA sub-regions, 39
Table 4.3: Distribution of respondents of the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit by language, 40
Table 4.4: Distribution of respondents of the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit by type of organization, 41
Table 4.5: Knowledge sharing constraints identified by national PRS practitioners (n=38), 60
Table 4.6: Encouragement factors for African PRS practitioners to participate in the PRS knowledge-sharing network (n=38), 61
iii) List of boxes
Box 1: Key issues and challenges faced by African countries engaged in the preparation of PRSPs, 35
Box 2: Reactions and suggestions of African PRS/MDGs practitioners in visited countries on the PRS/MDGs knowledge sharing project, 42
Box 3: Key findings of the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit, 43 iv) List of annexes
Annex 1: List of project staff, 69 Annex 2: List of project outputs, 70
Annex 3: Project proposal and ESPD revision, 72
Executive summary
1.
IntroductionThe report presents the experiences of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in implementing a project entitled Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa that has been implemented from September 2005 to April 2008. The main purpose of the report is to document and share the experiences that ECA has garnered in enhancing knowledge sharing among PRSs/MDGs experts in Africa as a result of its involvement in developing and implementing the project.
2. Background: Conceptual Framework of the Project
The intellectual motivation of the project arises mainly from ECA’s realization of the role of knowledge and knowledge management practices in economic and social developments of countries, including in achieving the MDGs. Well proven ICT-based knowledge sharing tools and communities of practices (CoPs) are discussed as the key knowledge management strategies used to implement the project. Furthermore, the conceptual framework section discusses relevant concepts and their implications to the project, including knowledge and development, knowledge based development, knowledge aid, knowledge and the MDGs, knowledge management and development, knowledge management and the MDGs, knowledge sharing and development, ICTs and knowledge sharing, CoPs and development 3. The project
3.1. Origins of the project
“Enhancing knowledge sharing to support Poverty Reduction Process in Africa” project has been initiated in 2005 by the African Learning Group on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP-LG) of the ECA. PRSP-LG is an African forum established by the ECA to facilitate African peer learning and serve as a mechanism through which Africans could articulate the centrality of African-owned and led poverty reduction strategies to address the continent’s development challenges. It particularly focuses on facilitating systematic knowledge sharing on poverty reduction among diverse stakeholder groups in African countries. Since its
establishment, the PRSP-LG has undertaken a number of activities, including the initiation of the project Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa. The project was initiated with support from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
3.2. Objectives of the project
The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of African countries to meet the MDGs, especially the goal of reducing extreme poverty in half, and to nurture African- owned PRSs through knowledge sharing mechanisms connected to the PRSP-LG.
The specific objectives of the project are to
1. Amplify the value-added of the PRSP-LG by developing mechanisms to facilitate ongoing knowledge sharing and peer learning;
2. Encourage and capacitate national PRSs experts to interact on an ongoing basis with their counterparts in other African countries;
3. Link these practitioners with a wider community concerned with poverty reduction in Africa such as resident in research, academic, think tanks, international agencies, and policy advocacy institutions throughout the continent as well as in the Diaspora; and 4. Strengthen and broaden policy and analytical research on poverty reduction in Africa by
African experts, through demand-driven research and training on PRSs/MDGs related issues.
3.3. Expected outcomes of the project
The project expects to achieve the following specific outcomes, which are in line with addressing the PRSs/MDGs knowledge capacity needs of the continent to effectively implement PRSs and achieve the MDGs:
• A strengthened knowledge base on practice among African countries on national PRSs and the MDGs
• Strengthened linkages between PRSs country teams and in-country as well as regional and Diaspora research institutions and networks, towards more demand- drive research on poverty; and
• Improved capacity of member States for economic and social policy formulation and management.
3.4. Components of the project
To achieve the specified objectives and outcomes, the project has been designed as a three- tier structure as follows:
• Country Team Knowledge Network: This component aims to create a network of African practitioners working on PRSs/MDGs in their respective countries.
• Electronic Roundtable: This component aims to facilitate electronic roundtable that would allow for discussion of key themes and issues raised during the LG, as well as the country team network discussions, by a wider community of interest, including academic and policy research institutions, international agencies, and civil society advocacy networks.
• Research and Training Support: The objective of this component is provision of research and training support to the PRSs/MDGs processes in Africa through (a) demand-driven policy relevant research on PRSs-related issues (to be undertaken by PRSs/MDGs Research Fellows), and (b) provision of training to practitioners on specific technical and policy issues related to PRSs/MDGs design and implementation.
3.5. Beneficiaries of the project
The principal beneficiaries of this project are African PRSs/MDGs experts that are members of national PRS teams of their respective countries. African academic institutions, research institutions, as well as individual researchers; existing initiatives aimed at building statistical capacity for poverty assessment and tracking progress in meeting the MDGs – particularly on halving poverty and extreme hunger by 2015; non-governmental policy advocacy activists and networks as well as other civil society stakeholders; the wider international poverty reduction community; and the content’s development partners are also expected to benefit from the project.
3.6. Project inputs and personnel
• Funding: The project has been financed by the Developments Accounts of the UN.
The project has been initially a two-year project (2005-2006). However, the financing of the project has been extended up to mid 2008 in order to allow for the completion of some of the key activities of the project that could not be implemented for unavoidable reasons during the 2005-2006 project period.
• Project staff: The project has been implemented using a combination of external consultants and ECA’s internal staff.
3.7. Project monitoring and evaluation
Systematic feedback has been collected through survey questionnaires administered to participants after each e-roundtable discussion and trainings. An external evaluator has also conducted end-of project evaluation in 2008.
4. Project activities implemented
4.1. The PRS/MDGs knowledge audit
One of the major activities carried out by the project has been conducting a PRS/MDGs knowledge audit. The PRS/MDGs knowledge audit has been conducted broadly to determine the PRS/MDGs knowledge gaps of the African PRS practitioners and the appropriate actions to address the knowledge gaps through knowledge sharing and peer learning.
4.2. The PRS knowledge sharing network (KSN) platform
The second main activity implemented by the project has been the selection, design, and development of electronic platform to support the different knowledge sharing, documentation, and retrieval of shared documentary and other resources among the PRS practitioners in Africa. The knowledge-sharing platform is a web-based system designed to support the key knowledge sharing activities among the African PRS practitioners and other related stakeholders on the continent and outside.
4.3. E-roundtables
The third main activity implemented by the project has been e-roundtables that have been designed to facilitate African PRS practitioners’ access to the wider PRS community using ICT-based knowledge sharing tools. The wider PRS community includes international development agencies and donor community, think tanks, academia, research, civil society and other advocacy groups, individuals, and others working on or interested in poverty reduction in Africa. The e-roundtables particularly aim to provide a global forum for discussing key PRS/MDGs issues arising during the interactions among PRS/MDGs practitioners in member’s only area as well as the PRSP-LG meetings.
4.4. Trainings
The fourth main activity implemented by the project has been training of African PRS/MDGs practitioners on PRS knowledge sharing and peer learning using the different tools developed by the project. The trainings are intended to expose the practitioners to the tools, taking selected PRS issues as a case for practicing the application of the tools.
4.5. Research
The fifth main activity implemented by the project has been carrying out demand-driven policy relevant research on PRSs-related issues, namely, Growth, poverty reduction and inequality in Nigeria; Research Networks; and Interventions for achieving the Health MDGs in Africa: Any role for national health insurance schemes? The outputs of these researches have been well accepted and will be disseminated to PRS experts and policy makers on the continent as well as the wider PRS community through different forums.
4.6. Dissemination of output of the project
The project has also been engaged in promotion and dissemination of project activities and outputs.
5. Challenges encountered in implementing the project
Beneficiaries- and ECA-related challenges and constraints have been encountered in implementing the project. Beneficiaries-related challenges are constraints that the national PRS practitioners face in terms of ICT, knowledge sharing skills, time to devote to knowledge sharing, and organizational support. ECA-related challenges are primarily funding constraints to sustain the initiated knowledge sharing processes and to expand the activities and coverage of the project to more than the current 15 African countries.
6. Lessons learned
The project has created opportunities for the ECA and project staff to learn important lessons related to implementing knowledge sharing programs in African context. The key lessons include
• Constant contact with the PRS practitioners is necessary to have clear and up-to-date picture of their knowledge needs and knowledge sharing requirements. And the contact should use a combination of communication mechanisms to achieve sufficient contact, including face-to-face interviews/questionnaire, online questionnaire, and evaluations of project activities because the communication mechanism appropriate for each occasion and target group varies from country to country and within each country.
• Design of ICT-based knowledge sharing tools, such as websites, in Africa should take into account the low level of technological and technical capacities of target users. Knowledge-sharing platforms that can be accessed or allow to upload/download resources with the low bandwidth Internet connection, limited ICT skills, and low capacity computers prevalent in Africa is imperative to facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning in Africa.
• Electronic platforms can help create a forum for knowledge sharing and peer learning in African context as well.
• Timing and schedule of e-roundtables are important to ensure active participation from the target audience.
7. Conclusion
Although the African PRS/MDGs experts have a long way to go in making knowledge sharing and peer learning a regular part of their PRS/MDGs activities, the project has given the ECA a unique opportunity to build experience and gain insights useful to support African countries develop their knowledge capacities through knowledge sharing and peer learning. In the process that led to the formulation of the project “Enhancing knowledge audit in support of PRS processes in Africa”, ECA has established the need for building the knowledge capacity of African countries as one way of addressing the lack of capacity in designing, implementing, and monitoring national PRS/MDGs programs in most of African countries. The process has also revealed the particular importance of creating an ongoing forum where African PRS experts come together to share their experiences and knowledge, air their views and concerns, and develop shared view and consensus on common issues of both international and regional nature.
The PRS/MDGs knowledge audit has further helped in identifying existing gaps in PRS/MDGs knowledge, knowledge sharing practices, and technological and technical capabilities of the national PRS/MDGs expert. The process of identifying, developing, and operating electronic platform to facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning in African context has also shown the importance of taking into account the experiences, technological, and other infrastructure related issues specific to the continent. Training to equip the PRS/MDGs experts with the skills and tools to participate in the knowledge sharing and peer learning have proved to be the key to bridging some of the gaps identified through the PRS/MDGs knowledge audit.
The experiences and the achievements so far are just the beginning in realizing knowledge sharing and peer learning among PRS/MDGs practitioners in Africa. More work, building on the current experiences, are needed and are articulated in the way forward section of this report.
8. The Way Forward
Strategies need to be devised to ensure that knowledge sharing and peer learning among the national PRS/MDGs experts are widely practiced and to build on the experiences that have been gained so far. The growing enthusiasm and appreciation for knowledge sharing and peer learning among the national PRS/MDGs experts also need to be strengthened further.
ECA has to again take the lead in moving the project forward due to its role as a policy knowledge hub in Africa, its mandate to work for and on behalf of Africa, and its experience as initiator and implementer of the current project. The key activities that could result in continuity of the positive impact of the project on the effort to reduce poverty and achieve the MDGs in Africa are listed below as a way forward for the project.
• Securing long term funding to ensure the continuity and amplification of knowledge sharing and peer learning enthusiasm and experience in support of poverty reduction and achieving the MDGs.
• Extending the coverage of the project to African countries that are not currently included in the project to make sure that the whole of the continent benefits from ongoing knowledge sharing and peer learning
• Refining the technological platform and tools for knowledge sharing and peer learning based on the experience gained so far
• Updating the knowledge needs of the practitioners, which will have influence on selection of areas of knowledge for training, topics for discussions, problem areas for research, and topic areas for organizing the PRS CoPs
• Extending the areas of activities of the project to ensure that adequate support is provided to member states
• Involving the ECA’s sub-regional offices (SROs) more in coordinating and facilitating knowledge sharing and peer learning within their respective sub-regions
• Involving other regional organizations that are in a better position to extend the reach of some of the project activities
Chapter 1
Introduction
This report presents the experiences of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in implementing a project entitled Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa that has been implemented from September 2005 to April 2008. The project has been initiated by ECA under its Learning Group on Poverty Reduction Strategies Papers (PRSP- LG) in response to the expressed and anticipated capacity needs of African experts involved in the development, implementation, and monitoring of national PRSs/MDGs programs.
The focus of the project has been facilitating knowledge sharing and peer learning among African PRSs/MDGs experts in support of reducing poverty and achieving the MDGs in Africa.
The main purpose of the report is to document and share the experiences that ECA has garnered in enhancing knowledge sharing among PRSs/MDGs experts in Africa as a result of its involvement in developing and implementing the project. The report is organized under the following five chapters, including the introductory chapter 1.
Chapter 2 presents the conceptual framework of the project. In this part, the intellectual motivation behind selecting and implementing a knowledge sharing project in support of PRSs/MDGs process in Africa is highlighted. Also in this section, knowledge management strategies that informed the design and implementation of the project are highlighted. The discussions of this section are also intended to shed light on the expertise and experiences that ECA has accumulated due to its involvement in the project from conception to implementation.
Chapter 3 gives full description of the key features of the project: origins, objectives, expected outputs, components, beneficiaries of the project, input and personnel of the project, and the monitoring and evaluation arrangements of the project.
Chapter 4 presents the implementation of the project, where project activities implemented as well as challenges faced and lessons learned in implementing the project activities are described at length. In this chapter, the decisions considered and taken, the processes followed, outcomes achieved and other aspects of project activities are described with the view to share with all interested the experience that ECA has garnered in the process of implementing the project. Target beneficiaries-related and ECA-related, as implementer of the project, challenges encountered in the implementation of the project are also presented in this chapter. The lessons learned from the project are also presented in this chapter organized by the major activities implemented by the project.
Chapter 5 provides conclusions while Chapter 6 will be on the way forward.
Chapter 2
Background: Conceptual Framework of the Project
This chapter provides a conceptual framework of the project. To this effect, on the one hand, the chapter attempts to give insights into the intellectual motivation of ECA for embarking on the PRS knowledge sharing project. The intellectual motivation of the project arises mainly from the realization of the role of knowledge and knowledge management practices in economic and social developments of countries, including in achieving the MDGs. Accordingly, the discussions under sections 2.1 – 2.5 of this chapter are meant primarily to give insights to the intellectual reasons and beneficial expectations that ECA has in embarking on enhancing knowledge sharing among PRS practitioners and policy makers in Africa. On the other hand, the chapter describes the key knowledge management strategies that have been considered in the design and implementation of the project. In this connection, sections 2.6 and 2.7 of the chapter describe use of well proven ICT-based knowledge sharing tools and communities of practices (CoPs) as the key knowledge management strategies that informed the design and implementation of the project..
Therefore, the chapter provides the conceptual framework within which the project has been conceived, designed, and implemented, with the aim of sheding light on the knowledge base and experience that ECA has accumulated in the course of designing and implementing the project.
2.1. Knowledge and development
Knowledge has always been the foundation of human activities and development.
Everything humans do is informed by what they know about their situations, the options they have in dealing with their situations, their goals, and the consequences of their choices and actions. This forms the basis for sustaining the continuity and well being of society as Nath (2000) succinctly describes it: “Knowledge is empowering. Lack of knowledge is debilitating. Knowledge enables an individual to think, to analyze and to understand the
existing situation, and the inter-linkages and externalities of each action. Knowledge empowers an individual to form his or her own opinion, to act and transform conditions to lead to a better quality of life…”
Many experts from diverse fields of knowledge (economics, sociology, management, information science and similar others) agree that society has entered into a new stage of societal development, widely known as the knowledge society, that is characterized by increased use, production, and distribution of knowledge for its economic and social development (Passerini, 2007). The economically advanced nations of the world, the OECD member countries for example, are already characterized by a workforce largely involved in knowledge works and by creating more than half of their GDP based on the production and distribution of knowledge (The World Bank, 1999).
Due to the reality of the knowledge-based society and other parallel developments, knowledge has started to receive unprecedented importance as a key factor of human development and well being since recently (Nath, 2000; UNCTAD, 2007; The World Bank, 1999, 2002; UNDP, 2003). UNDP (2003) in its Human Development Report notes, for example, that poor countries differ from rich ones not only because they have less capital but because they have less knowledge. Human development here refers to about achieving economic growth of nations as well as creating an environment in which people can develop their full potential and lead productive, creative lives in accord with their needs and interests.
Recognition of knowledge as the most critical factor of economic and social developments (“more than land, than tools, than labor”) has made knowledge increasingly the center of development discourses and strategies among the major global economic institutions, development agencies, academics, research, donor countries, and the development community at large. And this growing recognition of knowledge in the context of development has evolved to what some call a paradigm shift in approaches to economic and social development (Ludin, 2003; ITDG, n.d.). The emerging development paradigm is widely known as “knowledge-based development” (also referred to as knowledge-driven development and knowledge –oriented development). According to Carrillo (2003) knowledge-based development is a theoretical and technical approach that is derived from
the convergence of Growth Theory (GT), which focuses on the understanding of macroeconomic principles determining increases in total production of countries/regions, and knowledge management (KM), which primarily emerged in business as a response to the need of identifying, valuing and capitalizing knowledge. The objective of knowledge-based development approach is sustainable development through the mobilization of real knowledge creation in poor countries (The World Bank, 1999).
According to the knowledge-based approach to development, knowledge production, distribution, and application explain disparities in developments among countries (such as between LDCs and DCs). For example:
It has been shown that the difference in acquisition and application of knowledge has been the main factor explaining the disparity in economic growth witnessed in the past 50 years between the East Asian economies (Republic of Korea, for example) and developing country (Ghana as a case) that were in a similar state of economic situation in 1950s (The World Bank, 1999). Comparison of the economic evolution of Ghana and the Republic of Korea between 1958 and 1990, which had virtually the same income per capita in 1958, shows that by the early 1990s Korea’s income per capita was six times higher than that of Ghana, which, according to many, is due to knowledge-based development strategy that the Republic of Korea adopted.
Based on analysis of data of the World Bank’s knowledge assessment methodology database, the UNCTAD (2007) also shows that there is a significant disparity in knowledge production, distribution, and intensity between LDCs and DCs that is believed to explain the difference in economic and social development between these two groups of countries.
It is further shown that the disparity observed in economic and social development between some industrialized countries (the former USSR) and the fast grown East Asian economies to be due to differences in knowledge-based strategy that the East Asian economies have adopted (The World Bank, 1999).
Accordingly, a country’s capacity for knowledge production, distribution, and application (i.e, knowledge capacity) is now widely argued to be the driver of social and economic development (ITDG, n.d.; Nath, 2000; The World Bank, 1999, 2002; UNCTAD, 2007;
UNDP, 2003, 2006). Nath (2000) observes that “the capacity to acquire and generate knowledge in all its forms, including the recovery and upgrading of traditional knowledge, is perhaps the most important factor in the improvement of human condition…” The World Bank (2002, p.6) contends that “The ability of a society to produce, select, adapt, commercialize, and use knowledge is critical for sustained economic growth and improved living standards.” Consequently building the knowledge capacity is the widely recommended development strategy for LDCs and other developing countries (Armington et al, 1998;
CIDA, n.d.; RAWOO, 2005; UNCTAD, 2007; The World Bank, 1999, 2002).
A number of countries have already shown the feasibility and impact of the knowledge- based development approach for economic and social development (Evers, 2002; The World Bank, 1999, 2002). The OECD countries are described as creating more than half of their GDP based on the production and distribution of knowledge (The World Bank, 1999). The same report also attributes the fast grown economic and social developments of the East Asian countries primarily to their knowledge-based development strategies. The success story of Bangalore, the capital of the Indian software industry, is also argued to have been essentially due to its technical innovations and the competitive use of knowledge (The World Bank, 1999).
The wider recognition of knowledge, and the need to build the knowledge capacity of African countries to enable them realize their development goals has been one of the consideration by the ECA in embarking on the PRS knowledge sharing project. For ECA, enhancing peer learning and knowledge sharing between PRS/MDGs experts and with wider communities of expertise constitutes a critical means to the overall goal of building capacity in Africa.
2.2. Knowledge and the MDGs
The MDGs, which respond to the world's main development challenges and set to be achieved by 2015, have become development targets of many countries, including the LDCs.
As development targets, they largely define development discourse and strategies of particularly the low in-come countries. It follows then, from the perspective of knowledge-
based approach, knowledge is the critical resource for the LDCs to achieve the MDGs.
Similarly, building the knowledge capacity of LDCs is the key strategy to achieving the MDGs in these countries. In this connection, a number of countries and international development agencies have adopted the knowledge-based approach particularly to realize MDGs (CIDA, n.d.; Hamel, 2005; RAWWOO, 2005). According to CIDA’s strategy on knowledge for development:
Information and knowledge are among the resources fundamental to the development process. Access to information and knowledge, other than strengthening civil society, contributes to poverty reduction by allowing individuals and communities to expand their choices. This information and knowledge can relate to, for example, financially viable markets and income generating opportunities, or availability of government services, education, and skills development programs. Also, recognition and dissemination of the indigenous knowledge possessed by the poor, especially women, can contribute to development, competitiveness, and productivity. (CIDA, p. 1)
Hamel (2005), noting that development for at least half of Africa is far from being on track, stresses the need for putting in place enabling knowledge environments in LDCs in order to ensure that key MDGs targets are met. Thus, the key development strategy for LDCs that are committed to achieving the MDGs as a path to sustainable economic and social development should be developing their knowledge capacity that would allow them to generate, absorb, distribute, and apply MDGs-related knowledge.
2.3. KM and development
The development of capacity for knowledge production, dissemination, and application require purposive efforts and commitment on the part of countries. The purposeful efforts according to the World Bank (1999), for example, consist of national policies for Knowledge production, knowledge absorption, and knowledge application. Another alternative framework to engage in purposive efforts of knowledge capacity building on the part of countries is KM at national, regional or global levels. KM is a more comprehensive, and increasingly becoming popular, purposeful effort to ensure that relevant knowledge is acquired and appropriated for the benefit of individuals, communities, organizations, and countries (Carrillo, 2003; Swan et al, 1997; Pang et al, 2004; Passerini, 2007). For example,
Passerini (2007, p. 116) observes that “growth [economic] is a dynamic and fluid process that returns higher value through managing the process of knowledge identification, organization, transfer, and application...” The World Bank (2002, p. 6) also notes that “underlying long- term growth rates in OECD economies depend on maintaining and expanding the knowledge base”. Although KM has been conceptualized and applied in organizational context from the beginning, the processes, principles, and models of KM (for example Nonaka’s knowledge spiral) apply in broader contexts such as a country and a region (Passerini, 2007).
Consequently, in the context of economic and social development, KM can be defined as the optimization and strategic integration of the generation, dissemination, translation and application of knowledge for societal effectiveness and problem-solving (After Pang et al, 2004). It can also be defined broadly as “encompassing any processes and practices concerned with the creation, acquisition, capture, sharing and use of knowledge, skills and expertise” (Swan et al, 1999, p. 264). In development context, it would typically involve the identification and analysis of available and required knowledge assets and knowledge- asset related processes, and the subsequent planning and control of actions to develop both the assets and the processes so as to fulfill societal objectives (After the University of Edinburgh). The purposes of KM in development context also remain similar as in the business context (Freeze and Kulkarni 2007, p. 94; Pang, et al, 2004; Swan, et al, 1999), and include leveraging knowledge assets/capabilities to meet stated objectives and targets;
providing strategy, process, and technology to increase learning; and enabling innovation through facilitating the embodiment of knowledge in tools, systems, products, and services.
All these activities should be geared towards developing and utilizing knowledge capacity of the country in tune with its development needs.
This notion of KM for development is also reflected in the emerging development assistance strategy of some international development and donor agencies, under the name
“knowledge aid” or “knowledge-based aid”. Knowledge aid has been described as consisting of three key elements: “firstly that development agencies develop knowledge strategies for dealing with IM [information management] and OL [organizational learning]; secondly that partnership mechanisms are developed for the transfer of knowledge and learning to the
South; and thirdly that work is undertaken to build Southern capacity to absorb, apply and provide knowledge...” (Pasteur et al, 2006, p. 8). UNCTAD (2007) treats knowledge aid as an emerging form of international aid to intensify the role of knowledge in development and describes it as an international aid which supports knowledge accumulation in partner countries through the development of their knowledge resources and their domestic knowledge systems. Thus, KM, including knowledge sharing, is widely recognized strategy for developing the knowledge capacity of countries to enable them engage in knowledge- based development, including achieving the MDGs.
2.4. KM and the MDGs
Knowledge-based development approach to achieving the MDGs also require mechanisms to ensure that the required knowledge is acquired and appropriated. The need as well as the benefits of KM in achieving MDGs has been reflected in different contexts. RAWOO (2005) considers KM as a means to owning and meeting the MDGs by the LDCs. Hamel (2005) calls for the establishment of knowledge-enabling environments for the acceleration of economic growth in LDCs, including achieving MDGs. It is also pointed out that KM, including knowledge sharing, is required in LDCs in order to enable these countries identify and utilize local and national knowledge stores, which according to the writer are “lost or underutilized in these countries due to inadequate mechanisms and practices of dissemination and systematization” (El Salvador, 1999). Local or indigenous knowledge is considered more important for LDCs to resolve their own development challenges (UNCTAD, 2006).
2.5. Knowledge sharing and development
Knowledge sharing is a key feature of KM activities both in business organizations and development contexts (Dalkir, 2005, Pasteur et al 2006). According to Pasteur et al (2006, p.
7) the core elements of KM for development consist of “…a set of practices geared around the notion of sharing knowledge with Southern counterparts and the poor, and a further set which addresses knowledge economies in the South and attempts to overcome issues of the
‘digital divide’.” Knowledge-sharing can occur at all levels: between countries, within a
country, between communities and among individuals as well as from local to global, from poor to rich and vice-versa (Nath, 2000). Furthermore, knowledge sharing is a comprehensive KM activity as it allows not only to distribute/share knowledge, but also to create new knowledge through exposure to continuous learning and social networking.
Knowledge sharing is particularly recommended as key aspect of KM programs of countries where knowledge production and distribution capacity is severely constrained, like in LDCs.
In this connection, knowledge sharing is called for building the knowledge capacity of LDCs for two key purposes: (1) for developing and utilizing local and national knowledge; and (2) for acquiring and absorbing development knowledge from global knowledge sources (Derek et al, 2004; ITDG, n.d.; UNCTAD, 2006, 2007; The World Bank, 1999).
However, LDCs are not taking advantage of developments in knowledge sharing for development purposes for different reasons. Doodewaard (2006) states, for example, that Africa is not still familiar with knowledge sharing. RAWOO (2005) also notes that in general recognition to knowledge as a key strategy for meeting MDGs or specifically reducing poverty is generally absent in LDCs as observed in the PRSP of the countries. This calls for concerted efforts by the countries individually and collectively in order to ensure that knowledge plays its role in their effort to meeting PRS and MDGs.
According to Krohwinkel-Karlsson (2007) “the form and location of the knowledge, the recipient’s learning predisposition, the source’s knowledge sharing capability, and the relationship between the source and the recipient” are some of the important ‘success factors” of effective knowledge sharing in development context. This calls for determining the existing knowledge gaps and capabilities of intended participants in embarking on knowledge sharing initiatives (Henczel, 2000).
2.6. ICTs and knowledge sharing
Although it is widely agreed among the KM practitioners that ICTs should not drive the knowledge management efforts, but rather respond to the needs of the beneficiaries, advances in digital technologies have transformed knowledge sharing to a critical mechanism
for facilitating the flow of knowledge globally (CIDA, n.d.; Dalkir, 2005; Gannon-Leary and Fontainha, 2007; ITDG, n.d). The Internet technologies and tools, including interactive web portals, tools to create online communities of practice and informative e-mail services, in particular have become the backbone of organizational and global knowledge flow.
With regard the technological tools in particular, Gannon-Leary and Fontainha (2007) argue that the technology for effective virtual CoP should be usable and in this connection Internet standard technologies such as listserv, bulletin boards and accessible web technologies would be useful. They also point out that (citing Moule’s 2006) “a virtual learning community will need to ensure participants have the technological provision and necessary IT skills to support mutual engagement.” As has been noted in this chapter and elsewhere, effect use of usable ICTs is one of the critical success factors of knowledge sharing (Gannon-Leary and Fontainha, 2007; Krohwinkel-Karlsson, 2007).
Harnessing proven knowledge sharing techniques and tools, as well as policy and knowledge sharing expertise resident in a wide network of institutions, have been considered by ECA as a key to achieving the overall objective of the knowledge sharing project.
2.7. CoPs and development
One of the key KM strategies considered by the project is organizing the PRS practitioners in communities of practices (CoPs). CoPs are one of the key KM strategies, both for capitalizing knowledge and improving the experience and knowledge of those involved (Daele et al 2007). CoPs are groups or networks of people who share a common interest in a specific area of knowledge or competence and are willing to work and learn together over a period of time to develop and share that knowledge by meeting online or face-to-face, or both (Daele et al, 2007; Gannon-Leary and Fontainha, 2007; Wenger, n.d.). CoPs of professionals that are geographically dispersed and communicate through online technologies are commonly known as virtual CoPs.
CoPs are multipurpose. Among others, CoPs are key strategies for facilitating learning among peers. Learning is widely regarded as involving participation in a community of
practice (Daele et al 2007; Smith, 2003; Wenger, n.d.). CoPs are also called for facilitating collaborative problem solving and innovations (Lelic, 2001; Nickols, 2003; Wenger, n.d).
CoPs are also viewed increasingly as the foundations for the emerging knowledge-based development strategy as noted by Wenger (n.d.):
There is increasing recognition that the challenge of developing nations is as much knowledge as a financial challenge. A number of people believe that a communities-of- practice approach can provide a new paradigm for development work. It emphasizes knowledge building among practitioners. Some development agencies now see their role as conveners of such communities, rather than as providers of knowledge.
According to Gannon-Leary and Fontainha, (2007) the critical success factors (CSFs) particularly for a virtual CoP “include usability of technology; trust in, and acceptance of, ICTs in communication; a sense of belonging among members; paying attention to cross- national and cross-cultural dimensions of the CoP; shared understandings; a common sense of purpose; use of netiquette and user-friendly language and longevity.”
Virtual CoPs or CoPs with geographically dispersed members particularly rely on communications online. Due to this reliance design and selection of technologies for CoPs take into account the requirements and technological capacities of members of the CoPs. In terms of requirements, the technologies should provide support to learning, knowledge sharing and creation, as well as socialization and participation (Daele et al 2007). In connection with considering the technological capacities of the members of the CoPs, the technologies should be usable in terms of design and skills required of the members (Gannon-Leary and Fontainha, 2007, Wegner, n.d.). One of the key challenges in taking advantage of CoPs is developing and sustaining them as they can easily wane and fade away unless care is taken (Wenger, n.d.). Since ensuring peer learning among African PRS/MDGs expert is the goal of the project, use of CoPs lies at the center of the KM strategies employed by the project.
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Chapter 3
The Project
3.1. Origins of the project
“Enhancing knowledge sharing to support Poverty Reduction Process in Africa” project has been initiated in 2005 by the African Learning Group on the Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSP-LG) of the ECA.
3.1.1. The PRSP-LG
PRSP-LG is an African forum established by the ECA to facilitate African peer learning and serve as a mechanism through which Africans could articulate the centrality of African- owned and led poverty reduction strategies to address the continent’s development challenges. It particularly focuses on facilitating systematic knowledge sharing on poverty reduction among diverse stakeholder groups in African countries. ECA established the PRSP-LG in 2001 as a part of its strategy to integrate poverty in all of its policy analysis and advisory activities and to assist African countries reduce poverty and meet the MDGs within the set timeframe. Given the persistence of extreme poverty in much of the continent, and the fact that many African countries have adopted national PRSs to address poverty concerns and achieve faster and sustained growth, ECA gives priority to supporting to African countries involved in PRSs/MDGs processes. As an important strategy to fulfill this commitment, ECA hosted, in 2000, a workshop for African countries and launched a high- level mission to several African countries engaged in the PRSP process to determine the PRSs-related needs of the countries and the type and nature of support that it should provide to the countries. From the workshop and the country missions, ECA was able to establish that, among others, there is an urgent need for African forum that would create the stage for African countries to engage in peer learning on PRSs, reflect on their PRSs experiences, and articulate the centrality of African-owned and led PRSs to achieve the continent’s development goals.
On the basis of the findings of the workshop and country missions, and in line with ECA’s mandate, ECA established the PRSP-LG to facilitate systematic knowledge sharing on poverty reduction among diverse stakeholder groups in African countries. The forum has been well received by African countries and received by other regional development bodies such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) as an important forum to support the poverty reduction and MDGs efforts in Africa. Since its establishment, the PRSP-LG has undertaken a number of activities, including the initiation of the project Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa.
3.1.2. “Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa”
project
During its annual meetings, it became clear that convening of the PRSP-LG on an annual basis was not sufficient for African practitioners to stay abreast of the rapidly-evolving poverty reduction policy environment. In response to this demand by the participants, and cognizant of the importance of PRS knowledge sharing as a means to building the knowledge capacity of African countries, ECA initiated the project Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa in 2005 with the goal of facilitating an ongoing knowledge sharing and peer learning in support of the PRSs/MDGs processes in Africa. By enhancing knowledge sharing among national PRSs/MDGs experts, the project aimed to contribute to strengthening African capacity to prepare MDG-consistent poverty reduction strategies and thus contributing to progress towards the MDGs. The objectives of the project are in line with ECA’s broader objective of strengthening African capacity, as well as with the overarching objective of NEPAD to strengthen African ownership of policies and programs. The project was initiated with support from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).
3.1.2.1. Objectives of the project
The overall objective of the project is to strengthen the capacity of African countries to meet the MDGs, especially the goal of reducing extreme poverty in half, and to nurture African- owned PRSs through knowledge sharing mechanisms connected to the PRSP-LG.
The specific objectives of the project are to
5. Amplify the value-added of the PRSP-LG by developing mechanisms to facilitate ongoing knowledge sharing and peer learning;
6. Encourage and capacitate national PRSs experts to interact on an ongoing basis with their counterparts in other African countries;
7. Link these practitioners with a wider community concerned with poverty reduction in Africa such as resident in research, academic, think tanks, international agencies, and policy advocacy institutions throughout the continent as well as in the Diaspora; and 8. Strengthen and broaden policy and analytical research on poverty reduction in Africa by
African experts, through demand-driven research and training on PRSs/MDGs related issues.
By meeting these objectives, the project aimed at establishing ongoing mechanisms for enhanced sharing of existing knowledge and creating new knowledge relevant for tackling poverty in African countries as well as directly building capacity by providing research and training support.
3.1.2.2. Expected outcomes of the project
The project expects to achieve the following specific outcomes, which are in line with addressing the PRSs/MDGs knowledge capacity needs of the continent to effectively implement PRSs and achieve the MDGs:
1. A strengthened knowledge base on practice among African countries on national PRSs and the MDGs
2. Strengthened linkages between PRSs country teams and in-country as well as regional and Diaspora research institutions and networks, towards more demand- drive research on poverty; and
3. Improved capacity of member States for economic and social policy formulation and management.
3.1.2.3. Components of the project
To achieve the specified objectives and outcomes, the project has been designed as a three- tier structure, namely, Country Team Knowledge Network, Electronic Roundtable, and Research and Training Support. Each tier is designed to help achieve specific objectives of the project. The three tiers make up the components of the project and are briefly described below:
Country Team Knowledge Network: This component aims to create a network of African practitioners working on PRSs/MDGs in their respective countries. The network is designed to foster ongoing knowledge sharing and to expand their access to available and emerging knowledge on poverty-focused policies, processes, and institutional set-ups. The network is established incrementally, beginning with 15 countries initially. This component is the first tier and is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and peer learning strictly among African PRSs/MDGs experts. It provides the African PRSs experts with closed virtual space to allow them to share their experiences, common challenges, and expertise and other resources. The virtual space also provides the PRSs experts with a closed space to debate and articulate African position on its development issues to ensure that the continent’s development directions are African owned. The Network, to be accessed through assigned codes, also provides a shared archive of PRS/MDGs knowledge base for PRS Country Teams. The country team network facilitates primarily generation of new knowledge and validating and sharing existing knowledge, including knowledge and experience indigenous to the continent. This component aims at helping meet mainly objectives 1 and 2 of the project.
Electronic Roundtable: This component aims to facilitate electronic roundtable that would allow for discussion of key themes and issues raised during the LG, as well as the country team network discussions, by a wider community of interest, including academic and policy research institutions, international agencies, and civil society advocacy networks. This component is the second tier and is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing between African PRSs experts and the global community involved in PRSs and the MDGs. The second tier extends the reach of African
PRS/MDGs experts to a wider circle of PRS/MDGs community. It provides open space for the African PRSs experts to interact at regular intervals with diverse set of PRSs/MDGs organizations and individuals that are not members of the national PRS country teams. This component facilitates primarily the transfer of PRSs/MDGs knowledge and experience from global knowledge sources. It also facilitates generation and sharing of PRSs knowledge as well as development of knowledge networking, partnership and collaboration with the wider PRSs/MDGs community. This component aims to help meet mainly objectives 1 and 3 of the project.
Research and Training Support: The objective of this component is provision of research and training support to the PRSs/MDGs processes in Africa through (a) demand-driven policy relevant research on PRSs-related issues (to be undertaken by PRSs/MDGs Research Fellows), and (b) provision of training to practitioners on specific technical and policy issues related to PRSs/MDGs design and implementation. This component is the third tier, and facilitates primarily developing the PRSs/MDGs knowledge capacity of the continent by generating in-demand PRSs/MDGs knowledge through demand-driven research and by exposing the experts to in-demand PRSs/MDGs knowledge and skills through trainings. This component focuses on helping meet mainly objectives 1 and 4 of the project.
3.1.2.4. Beneficiaries of the project
The principal beneficiaries of this project are African PRSs/MDGs experts that are members of national PRS teams of their respective countries. They will benefit significantly from the ability to engage with each other on specific PRSs/MDGs issues and problems. Additionally, they will be able to tap into prospective analysis on issues of direct concern in their specific country settings, and will benefit from access to wider communities of expertise that can assist in preparing and reviewing strategies.
The following are also expected to benefit from the project:
• African academic institutions, research institutions, as well as individual researchers
• Existing initiatives aimed at building statistical capacity for poverty assessment and tracking progress in meeting the MDGs – particularly on halving poverty and extreme hunger by 2015
• Non-governmental policy advocacy activists and networks as well as other civil society stakeholders
• The wider international poverty reduction community
• The content’s development partners
3.1.2.5. Project inputs and personnel
3.1.2.5.1. Funding: The project has been financed by the Developments Accounts of the UN. The project has been initially a two-year project (2005-2006). However, the financing of the project has been extended up to mid 2008 in order to allow for the completion of some of the key activities of the project that could not be implemented for unavoidable reasons during the 2005-2006 project period.
3.1.2.5.2. Project staff: The project has been implemented using a combination of external consultants and ECA’s internal staff.
o Consultants: The project secured the services of four categories of consultants: one Senior Knowledge Sharing Expert to operationalize the project, build the CoP, enable the roundtable and assess project impact; two Knowledge Networking Specialist to put in place the content as well as technical architecture, tools and capacity required to kick start and sustain the knowledge sharing network; one Technical Roundtable Moderator to design and facilitate the organization of the first two electronic roundtables; and two fellows to conduct demand-driven policy relevant research on PRSs-related issues and to provide PRSs/MDGs-related trainings to African policymakers.
The project will also use external evaluator at the close of the project.
o ECA staff: The Project Coordinator and Program Assistants/Supervisors of the project who have been responsible for coordinating project implementation have been provided by ECA. In addition, selected ECA staff is involved in providing ongoing feedback to issues emerging from participating PRSs experts, moderating and participating in e-discussions,
providing trainings, making presentations, and leading country missions as required.
3.1.2.6. Project monitoring and evaluation
The project has been designed to be monitored using the indicators of achievement identified for the project, drawing on new outcome mapping approaches being developed as part of ECA’s Institutional Strengthening Program. In addition, systematic feedback has been collected through survey questionnaires administered to participants after each e-roundtable discussion and trainings. Similar evaluations will be conducted involving participating member states on the usefulness and relevance of the project to their work on poverty and the extent to which they will use the knowledge acquired. Supervisors of participants may be invited to assess how participation in the knowledge sharing network is, or is not, contributing to improving the quality of the analytical work of the participant. The research products of the Fellows will be peer-reviewed to assess their depth, analytic rigour, overall quality, and practical relevance to policy. Finally, an external evaluator will conduct end-of - project evaluation in 2008.
Reference
ECA. 2005. Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa: the project document. ECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Box 1: Key issues and challenges faced by African countries engaged in the preparation of PRSPs
The workshop and country missions that ECA carried out in 2000 to assess the capacity needs of African countries engaged in the preparation of PRSP consultations have identified the
following issues and challenges:
• The linkage between PRSPs and existing national development plans;
• Tensions between ownership of national poverty reduction strategies on the one hand, and the required joint World Bank-International Monetary Fund (IMF) assessment as a condition for access to concessional resources and debt relief, from these institutions;
• The trade-off between time required to prepare comprehensive and African-owned PRSs and the urgent need for debt relief; and
• Multiple demands placed on weak national capacities by the requirements for participatory and consultative preparation of PRSPs.
Source: Enhancing Knowledge Sharing in Support of Poverty Reduction in Africa: the project document, 2005, ECA, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
