Knowledge Management – South-South Cooperation
Project: Solution Exchange
BACKGROUND
The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world’s time-bound and quantified targets for tackling the many dimensions of extreme poverty by 2015. More than half of the fifteen-year timeframe for achieving the Goals is over. While progress has been impressive in some areas and regions, much remains to be done. To support the
process, the United Nations (UN) Country Team i n
India in 2004 decided to set up in-country knowledge
sharing networks, called ‘Communities of o f
Practice’. Professionals with similar interests connect in these communities to share knowledge
and experience towards the common objective o f
problem solving. This was seen as an efficient way of promoting the MDGs and India’s Development
Plan. SDC was the first donor agency to believe in this initiative and to provide significant financial support and is still continuing to fund it. The initiative was named Solution Exchange (SE) and was conceived as a knowledge sharing platform for development practitioners both in-country and worldwide. SE helps address development challenges within India as well as across the developing world and is based on an alternative vision to achieve the MDG: the determining factor is not money but people and their knowledge. An exchange of information and knowledge encourages faster learning, smarter working and more efficient use of already existing solutions. SE helps development workers to accomplish more in less time. SE has been developed in India and the model is now replicated in other countries, namely in Bhutan, Thailand, and Indonesia. Solution Exchange has brought several United Nations agencies together. In this project they collaborate jointly, which supports the efforts of the United Nations to work as one.
GOAL
Solution Exchange optimizes knowledge sharing between development practitioners in India and in other countries to reach the development goals. The promotion of knowledge sharing is at the centre of the SDC Programme in India and this initiative provides an ideal platform for SDC and its partners to capitalize on and share knowledge within India and between developing countries.
BUDGET
January 2008 to July 2011 (2nd phase): 900,000 Swiss Francs.PARTNER
United Nations Country Team, India.Project
Location
India, and replication in other countries (Indonesia, Bhutan and Thailand etc.). KM GG Phot o © R ichar d G erst erSUCCESS HIGHLIGHT
“Solution Exchange in India, which was launched in April 2005, has 16,000 members as of March 31, 2009. In Indonesia, Solution Exchange was launched in November 2008 and there are 1,441 members and 3,513 subscriptions for the Communities of Practice. Bhutan, started in March 2007 and has 785 members. Thailand started in 2008 and so far has 750 members.”
LINKS
India: www.solutionexchange-un.net.in Bhutan: www.solutionexchange-un.net.bt Thailand: www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/Thailand/AIDS Indonesia: www.solutionexchange.or.idAPPROACHES
• Development actors from Government, NGOs, the private sector, donors and academia come together as “Communities of Practice” around themes relating to the eight MDGs and India’s Development Plan. Each of these Communities gathers development practitioners, both virtually, through mail groups, and through face-to-face interaction, working towards the common objective of problem solving. • SE offers an innovative approach to build national capacities around development challenges, tapping into local expertise and experiences for solutions that otherwise would have been referred to outside experts. • The knowledge network also aims at encouraging policy makers, officials and policy research institutes to participate in producing more relevant policies and more effective programme implementation. • Donors and other sponsors are encouraged to improve the design of their projects and programmes.• To help field workers who
face unfamiliar challenges, SE supports sharing of experience with peers. • SE engages with researchers and academics to help them identify relevant issues for further in-depth exploration. • Private sector professionals
can find counterparts in SE to help them make out business opportunities as well as potential possibilities for corporate social responsibility.
RESULTS
During the devastating floods in the Indian State of Bihar in August 2008, SE contributed to finding solutions to challenges faced by relief workers. Solutions for water purification technologies were shared for example with over 250 organizations in Bihar and with the National Disaster Management Authority. The IT Community through UNESCO managed to get web-based software from Intel to improve communication and coordination among relief workers.
In India, the Ministry of Rural Development, responsible for the National Employment Guarantee Scheme, asked for support to connect the participating District Collectors. The Ministry of Panchayati Raj Institutions, responsible for the Backward Regions Grant Fund, requested support to connect the participating Panchayat authorities. In Bhutan, after a request from UNDP, Solution Exchange Community initiated a brainstorming session with members and the Election Commission of Bhutan, the National Commission for Women and Children, ministries, and UN agencies on ways to get women more interested in politics. In Thailand, a question from the director of the reproductive health division of the Ministry of Public Health on HIV/AIDS led to a dialogue on standards for health facilities delivering services to young people. This involved the design of workshops supported by UNICEF, UNESCO and WHO. The President of Indonesia asked the Solution Exchange Communities for ways to promote innovation and leadership to strengthen democracy and good governance. Suggestions and examples of approaches provided by respondents will be considered in the designing of public service improvements.
SDC participates in different communities of practices, e.g., the Decentralisation Community. The dissemination of experiences from the SDC supported ‘Capacity Development for Decentralisation in Kerala’ (CapDecK), led to an exposure visit of elected representatives to the project. Replication of the SE model is being persued in other countries. The number of communities currently stands at twenty, spread over four countries - India (11), Bhutan (1), Thailand (1) and Indonesia (7).
