Welcome to the resource on Knowledge Management. Effective Knowledge Management (KM) is becoming increasingly recognised as a vital component in successful organisations, so PCTs within NHS South East Coast and Humana Europe have created this new section of the website to explore the value of KM in commissioning healthcare.
So what is Knowledge Management? There are a lot of definitions around, but essentially KM is a strategy, framework or system that enables organisations to create, capture, analyse, apply and reuse knowledge in order to achieve their goals. Whatever the tools and processes might be – and they will vary from organisation to organisation – KM adds up to being a means of creating and supporting organisations that are able to maximise the use of knowledge to achieve sustainable high performance. You can find out more about what KM is here. A simple phrase that encapsulates a core aspect of Knowledge Management is "getting the right knowledge to the right people at the right time in the right format”. A simple phrase, but not necessarily a simple task! And that is the purpose of this resource: to help you incorporate Knowledge Management into your organisation at every level.
The resource offers some general insight into the world of Knowledge Management and its applications across a variety of sectors and organisations. It also explores specifically how and where KM supports the achievement of the World Class Commissioning (WCC) Competencies.
You will find two primary components, a Status Assessment Tool, and a Knowledge Library.
Status Assesment Tool
The Status Assessment Tool asks a series of questions about how your PCT currently uses Knowledge Management in relation to the WCC Competencies. Along with the interviews we have been conducting, this will help us to assess how well your PCT is using KM at the moment, and how it can make greater use of this key discipline in the future.
Knowledge Library
The Knowledge Library offers a breakdown of how KM relates to each of the eleven WCC Competencies, with links to relevant articles and other helpful resources, all of which have been summarised and given a combined rating for relevance, accessibility and usefulness.
You can go directly to each Competency to find out more:
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Competency 1 – Being recognised as the local leader of the NHS
- Competency 2 – Working with community partners to optimise health gains and reduce inequalities
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Competency 3 – Engaging with the public and patients to shape services and improve health
- Competency 4 – Engaging with clinicians to inform strategy and drive quality
- Competency 5 – Using Knowledge Management and needs assessments to understand current and future health needs
- Competency 6 – Prioritising investment to meet local needs within the values of the NHS
- Competency 7 – Stimulating the market to meet demand and secure the right clinical, health and wellbeing outcomes
- Competency 8 – Promoting quality and outcome improvements through clinical and provider innovation
- Competency 9 – Securing the procurement skills to ensure robust and viable contracts
- Competency 10 – Managing systems and working with providers to ensure contract compliance, continuous quality improvement and value for money
- Competency 11 – Making sustainable commissioning and investment decisions to secure improved health outcomes
You may also find the following, more general resources useful in gaining a broader and deeper understanding of Knowledge Management and how it works.
If you would like to explore the topic further, you can find a list of links and suggested reading materials here. Or visit NHS South East Coast's own knowledge management website which provides access to a wide range of dashboards, tools and models, discussion forums and information to support commissioners. Click here.
