Analyzing knowledge profiles as a tool for the building of organizational knowledge

Résumé

Knowledge management instruments should ensure exchange processes between knowledge producers, providers and users. The present article analyses and compares the application of knowledge inventories, designed to support the transfer and conversion of individual into collective knowledge. Each inventory consists of several knowledge profiles by which knowledge is collected, analyzed, documented and made accessible in a compact and rapid form. The profiles are generated through individual or collective interviews with the participants if the knowledge area to be inventoried. This knowledge profiles are adapted from an approach developed by GTZ and IFAD (2009) for international development cooperation projects. The present paper makes a comparative analysis of the use of this instrument in for knowledge management initiatives in environmental policies and projects in Brazil. The institutional context of this area is characterized by a great diversity of actors and different visions and requirements for knowledge management. Institutionalization processes are still very recent, leading to high staff turnover and many cases of knowledge loss. In this context, approaches that focus on individuals as knowledge carriers are particularly suitable to introduce knowledge management concepts. The comparative analysis of the application of knowledge inventories shows that a very simple instrument can be helpful to build up institutional knowledge based on the experiences and perceptions of those directly involved. In addition, quality gains can be added to the process when future users of the knowledge are directly involved in the compilation of the inventories.