The intent of a knowledge audit is two fold. On the one hand you would conduct one if you wanted to find explicit knowledge such as documentation, records etc. On the second hand you would conduct one if you wanted to find out what kind of tacit knowledge you had within your organisation - in other words; knowledge built up over a period of time that has been developed and used by an individual or a team that is not recorded - but just used as any everyday event.

For the most part, and this is Sanseman Governments experience, a knowledge audit is a combination of the two. Invariably a knowledge audit takes place because a specific issue has been raised or a problem is looming on the horizon that has an effect on the organisation, or in some cases a nation.

It could be as small as succession planning for the replacement of one strategic knowledge asset upon retirement or it could be addressing the issue of a maturing workforce. In some instances, where there are declining numbers of people entering the public service, a knowledge audit could act as a "stock take" on what currently resides within an organisation.

Sanseman Government has conducted a number of knowledge audits and we follow a clearly defined process dependant on the customers requirements. This will usually entail a combination approach of an on-line survey system followed up by analysis and then face to face interviews. Once that part of the process has been completed we work to develop a series of recommendations and solutions on how the issue can be addressed.

Generally speaking a Sanseman Government Knowledge Audit has several key aims:

1. To provide an organisation with an organisational knowledge map showing where strategic knowledge assets are and what knowledge of relevance is contained within specific spaces. This is then connected as a network of knowledge across the organisation.

2. To provide an organisation with a resolution - for example: How can we address the maturing workforce problem we currently have in our organisation? The role of Sanseman Government is to provide not just the analysis but the solution as well. This is layered with a level of measurement that can provide benchmarking for every phase of the audit process

3. To combine both the tacit and explicit forms of knowledge into a process of innovation where old knowledge can be re-used and newly discovered knowledge put to work.

The average timeframe of the Sanseman Government  knowledge audit process can be as short as two weeks or take as long as three months.  

To find out more about an SG KM Audit please  email us at info@sansgov.com and let us know a little about your organisation and its requirements.