Insight Thursday—Beyond the Headlines

Tacit knowledge resides in the minds of individuals but knowledge development thrives in a rich web of social contact among individuals, groups, and organizations. Insight Thursday-ADB's 30-minute seminars sparking stimulating discourse provides such a context. It brings together different groups to fuel understanding of regional or global debates, institutional challenges, and other significant topics.

Read the paper.

Empowering ADB-Hosted Communities of Practice

Communities of practice are groups of people who share a passion for something they know how to do and who interact regularly to learn how to do it better. Officially introduced in 2002 after a bank-wide reorganization, ADB-hosted CoPs were empowered under the Action Plan for Knowledge Management, 2009–2011. Interventions ranging from budget increases to integration in ADB operations have helped affirm CoPs as the heart and soul of knowledge generation and sharing in ADB.
Read the paper

Communities of Practice 101

The potential for communities of practice in an organization is enormous. But their success hinges on a wide range of factors—from readiness to structure, champions to members. Find out the basic ingredients needed in setting up productive and sustainable communities of practice.

Read the paper

ADB-Hosted Communities of Practice: Driving Knowledge Activities

To excel in their domains and live up to their potential as prime tool of organizational development, ADB’s communities of practice regularly perform the five core knowledge activities—identify, create, store, share, and use knowledge. How much progress have they achieved to date?

Read the paper

Building Narrative Capacity at ADB

ADB makes growing use of knowledge management tools, methods, and approaches but must better capture and store its wealth of tacit knowledge.

Read the paper

Mapping the Sea: Knowledge for Natural Resources Management

With loss of life from the devastating tsunami of 2004, knowledge of fishing grounds around Aceh was reduced: the locations of reefs and other underwater hazards became less clear to the remaining fishers; consequently, they frequently damaged or lost their nets. To restore knowledge of fishing grounds, the ADB-assisted Earthquake and Tsunami Emergency Support Project partnered with he Panglima Laot-Aceh's traditional fishing authority and with fishers to conduct a community-based bathymetric survey and map the ocean floor. The beneficiaries collected data to help produce maps of hazardous coastal areas, potential fishing grounds, and ocean currents. Because of the survey, the Panglima Laot and fishers learned to partner with others and their capacity to keep more transparent accounts was improved. By Pieter Smidt and Richard Beresford (No. 19 | October 2009)

Read the paper