FSN Network Knowledge Management Task Force Meeting
May 20, 2015
Agenda
1. Round robin introductions
a. Shelia Jackson, TOPS/CORE Group
b. Patrick Coonan, TOPS/CORE Group
c. Michelle Stern, ACDI/VOCA
d. Sarah Harlan, K4Health
e. Erin Shea, Save the Children/ Department of Global Health
f. Jessica Chen, Project Concern International
g. Vidhya Sriram, CARE
h. Mari Pierce-Quinonez, World Bank
2. Status of task force events and projects
a. July 20th In-person Facilitation Workshop with Lynette Friedman
b. Mid-June Webinar about Virtual Meetings
c. Commitment to Knowledge Management survey is now closed. We are looking to
interview people as a follow up. If you are interested in being interviewed, please let
Shelia, Mariella, or Harley know!
d. Mapping of KM Taskforce – 26 responses so far; Will share out results to the group soon
3. Presentation to consider for recommendation the new resource How to Hold a Successful Share
Fair from Sarah V. Harlan, Learning Director, Knowledge for Health Project. See below for
resource recommendation criteria and description How to Hold a Successful Share Fair.
4. Discussion: Developing core competencies for knowledge management professionals working in
international development
Criteria for recommending a resource by the KM Task Force
1.
2.
3.
4.
Easy to use/ field friendly
Found useful and effective
Successfully applied in appropriate context
Addresses a need/gap in the practitioner community
Resource description
How to Hold a Successful Share Fair is an essential reference tool for anyone who works in public health
or international development and wants to bring together a group of people to discuss ideas, address
challenges, and share best practices. This simple handbook guides users through the process of holding
a share fair and includes customizable planning tools and concrete examples.
Presentation Notes
What is a Share Fair?
- Participatory event that is focused on a single topic that involves discussion and sharing
-
Aim is to provide participants with opportunities to share experiences and learn new skills
Most important thing = knowledge exchange and sharing component
Why hold a Share Fair?
- Opportunity for people working in the same field to exchange knowledge
- Sharing information avoids duplication and “reinventing the wheel”
- Focuses sharing on tacit knowledge
Comparison of characteristics of Share Fair and Conference, including:
- Population
- Topics
- Information Delivery Methods
- Content
- Etc.
Planning your own Share Fair
6-9 months before:
- Budget
- Concept of event, pick a theme
- Co-sponsors/ collaborators
- Identify dates
- Select location, venue
- Set up action plan
* Suggestion to look at audience first and decide what they would want out of the event
Planning an Agenda
Coordinating Presentations
Event logistics
After the Event
Case Study #1: Global Health Knowledge Collaborative (GHKC) Knowledge Management Share Fair
Overall objectives:
1. Connect and communicate to collectively address things we care about
2. Share examples of what works and what doesn’t work
3. Build capacity and agency
Highlights from Share Fair:
 Graphic facilitation
 Knowledge café
 Paper table cloths to doodle out loud
 Marketplace (interactive exhibit hall)
 Breakout sessions
 Mobile polls for instant feedback – www.polleverywhere.com
 Right environment
Case Study #2: K4Health East Africa SF: Knowledge Exchange to Accelerate Progress toward FP2020’s
Goal
Objectives:
1. Demonstrate how KM can enhance FP programs (specific to family planning)
2. Share exapmles of successive FP programming in EA that have used KM
3. Build capacity of FP program managers in the deisgn, impletmentaion and evaluation
4. DID NOT GET THIS ONE
Highlights:
- Firecracker speeches
- Visual storytelling and report outs
- Knowledge Café
- Whiteboard video
- Learning from non-FP programs
- Hearing about regional initiatives
- Buzz session
Case Study #3: How the “Share Fair” Method Promoted Learning Among District-level Family Planning
Stakeholders in Indonesia
Goal – To improve maternal health by improving the use of long-acting by permanent methods at
district level
Knowledge Sharing in ICMM:
- To translate research results into advocacy activities
- Use lessons learned from the District Working Groups to support other DWGs
- “Sharing meetings” help us find out knowledge that is “in each other’s heads
Additional Resources
 Actual guide on how to hold successful share Fair
 Report of East Africa Share Fair
 Blog posts about East Africa Share Fair
 Blog posts about Indonesia Share Fair
QUESTIONS:
How do you select presenters for a SF?
- Participants’ level of knowledge about the topic
What are some methods for creatively delivering information (Posters, etc.)?
Coaching on creating innovative presentations?
- We do offer coaching. With an in-country Share Fair, we like the in-country teams to plan it and create
the content. We encourage people to keep their presentations short. We used posters as a way to
bridge the gap between conferences and share fairs, and to make it more interactive. SHOWING people
what an interactive, more informal, meeting can look like.
How do you go about choosing specific activities during the Share Fair? Is there is
- There is a section in the Guide about what kinds of activities to choose. Also depends on setting,
culture, topic, etc. It was surprising how much people got into the creative element in Indonesia. Use
storytelling or music, if those elements are strong within the culture that you’re working in.
What made you decide to turn your Share Fair experiences into a tool?
- Internally, several of us had worked on these Share Fairs, but not necessarily together, so we wanted
to learn from each other. We are planning another similar event before the International Family
Planning conference in November. We are beta testing this Guide while planning this event; this might
motivate a 2.0 of this resource.
Seems like there are a lot of similarities between TOPS events and K4Health’s, and I think the steps that
you outlined in your Guide are ones that can be used for any kind of knowledge sharing event!
NEXT STEPS:
1. TOPS will send out survey to the Task Force so people can vote on whether or not to
recommend this Guide as a “TOPS Recommended” tool.
2. TOPS will send out a survey where people can brainstorm skills/activities that could be the basis
for developing some core competencies for a KM Professional