Evolution Networking Ltd

Online Conferences or 'Webinars' - Ooooh or Uurrgh?

2011-06-30T11:05:00.002+01:00

Have you attended an online conference or meeting ? How was your experience?

Was it fabulous, interactive, discussion filled and informative?

or a techno bore broadcast that could put you off 'webinars' for life?

I attended a webinar yesterday hosted by an 'expert' on presentation skills and hit the 'leave session' button 10 minutes in.

Why?

It was the most detached, impersonal, remote experience, with none of the delegates allowed to interact!

Discussing this experience with a colleague, it transpired she had had a similar experience at a recent online conference, but this one had lasted over 6 hours before any discussion was facilitated for delegates.

Can online meetings and conferences work? Are they Oooooooh or Uuuuuuurrrgghhhh?

Modern Conferences and Meetings - working smarter and greener

2011-03-20T13:09:00.001Z

www.evolution-networking.com

Online facilitated meetings and webinars

Offering a fully managed online solution for truly global communication, providing greater efficiency and impressive cost savings through more focused time spent in the meeting or conference, no venue hire, no travel costs, no need for back fill, no hotel bills

Evolution Networking Ltd will manage all the technical aspects of your meeting or conferencing requirements, ensuring all you have to do is concentrate on using the time online efficiently and productively.

Online Meeting Features include:

All administration, invitations and technical aspects managed during the meeting for a fully interactive, secure meeting space for up to 25 people.

Features include – full audio using voice over Internet protocol or telephone access where VOIP is not accessible to a delegate, screen sharing, slide shows, text chat, private chat with individual meeting members
A key feature is the ability to give control of meeting to any member at any point and for them to allow access to their machine to any other meeting member. This can facilitate instant, visible collaboration on document production

Coming soon- full high definition video meeting facility with up to 6 people viewed on screen simultaneously.

Online Conferences Features include:
We offer online conferencing for up to 100 people, with full administration and technical support pre/during and post conference, including handling of all fees charged for delegates to attend.

The online conference software mirrors the capabilities outlined in the meetings facility, though the usual preference is for only presenters and identified panel members have permission to broadcast using audio feed, delegates can respond using chat.

An additional feature available is to be able conduct instant polls, which can be either to gauge opinion on a subject, or to focus delegates back to the screen if the real time data shows that delegates are being distracted from attending the meeting (i.e. checking their emails or accessing other websites!)

Post conference, a full video recording can be made available in windows media format or similar. A report of all questions submitted by delegates via chat is also produced so presenters can either answer personally via email or, as is more usual, send an email out to all delegates that contains a document with all questions raised and the answers to those. A record can also be made available outlining how attentive delegates have been during the conference.

Equality Act 2010 and Mental Health - Free Webinar

2011-02-23T16:47:00.003Z

www.hsconsultancy.org.uk

Equality Act 2010 and Mental Health - Free Webinar

Thursday March 24 2011 09:00 - 09:45

This free 45 minute webinar will clarify how mental health services may meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in austere times.

Topics covered:

Details of how inequalities affect each of the groups covered under the Equality Act 2010
Requirements of public services under the Equality Act 2010 public sector duty that comes into force April 2011
Mechanisms for efficient and effective compliance

Speakers

Hari Sewell, Director, HS Consultancy
Sue Waterhouse, Deputy Programme Lead, National Mental Health Development Unit Equalities Programme
Marcel Vige, Policy and Campaigns Manager, Mind

Registration

Places will be limited to a maximum of 100 delegates on a first come first served basis, therefore early registration is recommended

To register for this event please complete the online form via this link

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Technical Requirements

Delegates wishing to join this conference will need access to the internet and a computer with sound. We recommend listening to the presentation through a pair of headphones, though speakers or built in laptop sound will work fine. The webinar will be presented with slides and live sound. If you plan to view this at your place of work, you may wish to check that your organisation will allow you to view content hosted on www.gotowebinar.com, if you are unsure, please check with your IT Department before registering.

System Requirements
PC-based attendees
Required: Windows® 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
Macintosh®-based attendees
Required: Mac OS® X 10.4.11 (Tiger®) or newer

HS Consultancy offers management consultancy specialising in change management, equality, human rights and social justice in mental health. Our associates have national profiles for their leadership and contributions to equality in mental health.

Getting ready to launch the business

2011-02-23T16:19:00.000Z

1st April 2011 will be the first official trading day of the new business

Really excited at the prospect, if a little nervous of no longer receiving a monthly pay packet!

March is going to be a full on month, tying up provider contracts and securing new work

Meanwhile spending some much needed time on the website, ensuring there is just the right amount of info about what we do and what we can offer

Fingers crossed for a busy trading year!

www.evolution-networking.com

What is Pushnote

2011-01-14T20:38:00.003Z

www.pushnote.com, was launched 14 Jan 2011

Ever wanted to comment on a website or web page but the site doesn't allow comments?

Wanted to discuss or share ideas on a topic?

Felt the urge to share a link relevant to the site or page you are visiting but couldn't because the site isn't interactive?

Pushnote allows all this with a little box in the top right of your browser.

Sign up for an account, which you can link to your twitter and facebook account if you want to.

Once signed up, add your profile pic and away you go.

If a web page you visit has already had comments posted about it by other pushnote users , you will see the little speach box in the top right of your browser turn green. Click on the box to read comments alreadt posted.

You can reply to comments, like or dislike them or post your own thoughts which others can then respond or rate. The more popular the comment, the higher up the view list they appear.

Clearly this is V1 of pushnote and there are obvious areas to develop - being able to edit posts or easily delete them, the 'follow function' needs further work and user profiles could do with more info but.......

The opportunities for debate, knowledge sharing, learning and the further development of Web 3.0 is VAST.

There are wider options to view 'hot topics' or the latest posts on pushnote too but I see the opportunity to 'pull' knowledge and people into debates as there for the nuturing!

The birth of Evolution Networking Ltd

2010-10-08T12:28:00.004+01:00

8th October 2010

I recieved confirmation from Companies House this morning that Evolution Networking Ltd has been accepted for incorporation.

Company Name: EVOLUTION NETWORKING LTD
Company Number: 07401470

Public Liability Insurance also sorted

An exciting day!

www.evolution-networking.com will be live within the next 24 hours

Evolution Networking Ltd works with public and private sector organisations to deliver value for money, best fit IT, web and knowledge management solutions

The KM expert bag carrier

2010-07-16T11:52:00.002+01:00

Week in week out a group of hardy professionals lug heavy bags round the world for mile upon mile for their employers, whilst demonstrating excellence in knowledge management.

As well as the physical demands of carrying many pounds of equipment, food, clothing these knowledge workers are expected to manage the whole ennvironment around them to ensure their employer has the opportunity to perform at their optimum level, without interruption from man, machine or animal.

The amount of information and knowledge of the macro and micro environments these professionals are expected to have to hand in an instant, working under extreme pressure and in the gaze of a global audience, scrutinised by the worlds media and press, is phenominal.

What happened when we were here last year? What did I do then? How did it turn out? What if I go long? What if we play safe? How far is it to that bunker? What is behind the pin? Where is the wind? What club did we use yesterday/2 days ago/last year/year before? Where did we end up? What's left of the pin? What's right? How far to the front? Where do I aim in this wind? Is the fairway hard? Is the green soft? Do I swing hard? Which way does this break?

Professional Golf Caddies need to be walking encyclopedia's of local knowledge at every venue they work at, not to mention psychologists, nurse maids, sounding boards and whipping boys!

No matter how good their boss may be, how talented and successful, he will always rely on his knowledge expert in order to be able to get the job done!
British Open Golf

Cuts, Cuts, Cuts- Where's the KM?

2010-07-16T09:20:00.005+01:00

Today is the closing date for UK Government departments to submit their proposals for cost savings in the coalition's comprehensive spending review. Figures of up to 40% reductions are being bandied about with seemingly little interest or concern from the general public on what this might actually mean.

Without going into the finer details of what 40% could really mean to departments, we are seemingly going to see massive reductions in staff numbers across government.

Effectiveness and efficiency, value for money, leaner, smarter, faster, handing power to the people and moving away from central government.

A quick glance at government websites and you will either see a standard message that the content of the site is under review, or indeed find you are looking at pages that have been removed and pasted into the national archive.

So a simple enough task to copy and paste web pages before they disappear, but what about capturing tacit and explicit knowledge, knowledge sharing and expertise of employees who make a difference, who know how systems work, how improvements get implemented, who do their jobs efficiently and effectively, but ultimately will be axed as 'cost savings'. How do you incentivise knowledge sharing (great blog by nick Milton) in a workforce that is being cut?

Fail to implement an effective strategy to capture at least the core knowledge and there is surely a risk that the short term cost savings will see a spill of valuable knowledge far greater in size than any oil leak.

Today, The Royal Society have written to the government outlining a case for investment rather than cuts to science funding
"The debate is taking place at a time when other countries, facing similar economic dilemmas, are accelerating their investment in science and innovation. France has announced a 35 billion Euro investment in its knowledge economy. Germany has increased its federal budget for education and research by 12 billion Euros and the US last year announced a $21 billion boost for science."

And the government are busy publishing each department's 'structural reform plans'

I hope we see our chief knowledge officers working in government step up to the mark in the coming months and use the moment as an opportunity to flag up the risks the cuts present and demonstrate how real investment in skilling up depts in effective KM cultures should be the way forward.

Tony Jameson-Allen

Founder of Evolution Networks
www.evo-net.co.uk
Linkedin Profile http://uk.linkedin.com/in/tonyjameson
Trustee of The Funzi and Bodo Trust www.funzi.org.uk

No. More Consultants!

2010-07-08T06:30:00.006+01:00

7 July

Working day over and it was time to head to Arup in Fitzroy Street, London who were hosting the latest Gurteen Knowledge Cafe.

A pleasant hour pre cafe spent catching up with all things KM with Judy Payne at a coffee cafe before a short walk to see a lot of familiar faces already starting conversations and welcoming new cafe goers into the fold. David described the cafe model to all and whistle in hand, allowed a quick session of speed dating introductions before we moved in to Cafe mode.

No more consultants. Can we do without them? was the topic put forward to the cafe by Geoff Parcell and Chris Collinson . There was a big turn out on the night, all of whom assisted Geoff and Chris work their way to winning a million in an interactive presentation hosted by David 'TV Tarrant' Gurteen. As the who wants to be a millionaire contestants Geoff and Chris (or was it Chris and Geoff?) made their way toward winning the big one, they answered a series of questions based on a recently published book called No More Consultants.

The pair of contestants seemed to have a rather in depth knowledge of their subject and safely moved up to a sizeable sum of winnings, suggestions from the cafe crowd that the pair of consultants should possibly take the money and run before sharing any further insights were met with more than the odd chuckle.

So having moved smoothly up to the big money, David, having spent the previous day studying clips of Millionaire, delivered in full Tarrant style, the final question:

"Is there a place for consultants in companies and organisations today, and if so, what is their role?"

Time to ask the audience.......

Cafe time! 15-20 mins at 3 diferent tables and the conversations really developed to ask some searching questions. As ever, with such a fascinating mix of people, experience and viewpoints, the discussions quickly moved away from trying to answer the question to examining what the question really meant and how or why has the use of consultants developed and what is a consultant anyway?

Key points that have managed to remain in the grey matter this morning:

The concept of loyalty and a one company career pathway is fast disappearing
Workforces are made up of individuals with specific, transferable skill sets
People are likely to be delivering time limited projects in their jobs and it is now becoming acceptable practice to then move on to another company for their next project
Fixed contracts have become accepted as 'the norm' in many organisations
How are fixed contract employees any different to consultants in all but name?
Given the shift toward a transient project focussed workforce and the apparent 'demonisation' of the use of consultants by government departments and the public sector, perhaps there is opportunity to examine how 'consultancy' is marketed and viewed
One conclusion? Perhaps the modern workforce are all consultants.......

Following table discussions, the cafe came back together to work through the 4 possible answers and in true cafe style decided to add a 5th option..... was there a definitive answer? Well that depends........

Cue applause for the contestants, demands by the cafe for a cut of the winnings and finally a big congratulations and thank you to David on the 10th Anniversary of the Gurteen Knowledge Letter . 120 Issues published and an ever growing readership now beyond 17,000 people worldwide!

Following the end of the formal proceedings, a chance at last to say hi to Ron Donaldson, who has also blogged on the cafe

Cafe part 1 finished, part 2 continued at a local watering hole, which proved rather lively due to a good number of spanish supporters watching the world cup semi final. A warm evening meant a pleasant pint outside (with plasma screens in view!) and a chance to chat with Chris, Geoff and network with good good people. Geoff spoke passionately about his previous work as senior knowledge advisor with BP and his secondment to the WHO UNAIDS programme, a perfect example of connecting people and communities with the relevant local information and knowledge required that leads to meaningful improvements to the quality of life through finding out from the real experts, what makes a difference. The world was then put to rights and armed with a number of new contacts who I'll be emailing after publishing this, I headed back across London which was seemingly transformed into a sea of celebrating red and gold. "Y Viva Espana"

Tony Jameson-Allen
Online & Knowledge Manager
www.nmhdu.org.uk

Founder of Evolution Networks
www.evo-net.co.uk

Say hello on Facebook: Tony Jameson-Allen

Trustee of The Funzi and Bodo Trust www.funzi.org.uk

Website or web presence?

2009-03-02T07:57:00.003Z

The more I see how web2.0 and social media is developing and being used, the more I am convincing myself that it is no longer necessary to have a "website" in the traditional sense.

Granted an e-commerce based business does still need a site that is optimized for SEO etc. But do smaller businesses really need to be search engine optimized?

The rise of twitter has been astounding as has the development by twitterers themselves of a huge variety of functions to widen it's use. Will we reach a point, or have we already(?) where twits start being written with SEO in mind?

Trying to start this debate online has not proved to be the most pleasant of experiences so far, on one site there was an almost instant tirade of abuse, which concentrated on defence of how one must have your own 'owned' website to be credible, one example of such a post being:

"Things like Twitter only work if you're already well known enough for a sufficiently large group of people to WANT to 'follow you' ANYWAY.

So it works for Obama and Branson and Stephen Fry and Chris Moyles. Unfortunately, no-one gives a **** whether I live or die, but that doesn't stop me having to go out and find work each day. If I paid people to listen to my twitterings they'd give the money back (twice over probably) because they actually want to get on with some work. (Something the nerds who invent these things fail to realise) My website is just a showcase. It will never generate me any business but may be useful to people who have heard of me or had me referred to them. That information could, of course, be hosted anywhere, but I and, I believe, the surfing 'business-public' will have a little more faith in the fact that I own my own web home rather than just lodge on someone else's. Sitting commercial content on a blog is no better than the 'mom and pop' sites which used to exist on homestead and angelfire."

The conversation I am still wanting to have is whether we will see a shift beginning where the 'traditional website' (definition?!) is no more. With a blog, an open source wiki and a forum all attached to my buisness url address, why would I need an owned 'website?'

Can I effectively create a credible 'web presence' with the tools above?

Brilliant I and other conversations

2009-01-13T21:51:00.008Z

"Sharing our brilliance to unlock the brilliance of others- Discuss," said Ray Shaw, chief facilitator and agitator to one of the groups at last nights Gurteen Knowledge Cafe.

I recognised the concept of this immediately, having been fortunate to meet, work for, with or alongside some truly brilliant, inspiring, empowering, uplifting people during my life and career. Some people with this magical brilliance are instantly recognisable, they captivate, engage, motivate, facilitate, inspire and nurture people around them. Their brilliance shines through and captivates, draws people in, sows the seeds for creativity.

How? What is the special ingredient? What makes their brilliance shine through?

Their ability to tell a great story. To lead conversation along a path that is rich in content, depth and debate. But conversation cannot be a one way process? Conversation requires active listening and participation, brilliant people do not preach, they do not focus on their own brilliance, they unlock the brilliance of others through their skills but also their humanity, recognition that every person has brilliance, but not every person has necessarily had the opportunity to convey this brilliance nor perhaps had their brilliance recognised and for want of a better word, confirmed.

So are we all brilliant?
Do we all have brilliance?
How do we say we are brilliant?
Are we allowed to say we are brilliant?

If the circumstances are right, then yes. If the context is right then yes. If the message is genuine and contributes to a conversation then yes.

Is brilliance always positive? Well no, some people are brilliant at being destructive, at using their skills to be subversive, belittle, block, dominate deconstruct or destroy. They may be brilliant storytellers, they may be brilliant speakers, but when it comes to conversation, their Ego dominates all and doesn't allow for opinion, debate or conversation.

The group debate I actually chose to join looked at whether it is possible to have depth and quality of conversation on the web?

Sure you can using VOIP, seeing the person, being able to converse with a person visually adds depth and meaning to the words and content. On reflection, the key element face to face communication allows is spontaneity and flow.

How often do the truly memorable conversations we have head off at several tangents and conclude having been on a journey that has lead to a place we didn't expect to visit?

I'm not sure the vast majority of web2.0 applications facilitate these facets. The 140 character limit of twitter may be great for copywriters and those skilled in media and advertising, but how are other twitterers able to discover if the person is truly brilliant, or just out to self promote for their own gain?

Something struck me last night as truly odd. The term "followers" as used by twitter. I have 190 "followers". What does that mean? I can't help but think of Monty Python

I am not the messiah; I am not Brian, so would you all just please leave me alone.....

Facebook, Myspace, Bebo et al are great for finding people, keeping in touch, sharing photos, but conversations that inspire and lead to greater things? I think not.

Wikis? Maybe, the beauty of wikis to me is that the background & creation of an idea, a project, an aim is clearly there to see. You can see the context, follow how it grows, people can actively contribute and comment.

Is it possible to convey your brilliance on the web in the same way you can in person?

I don't know.

I kind of wish this particular post was on a wiki, I want to explore this with as many people as possible but how?

Your brilliant comments and debate would be appreciated :-)

(smiley emoticon to convey my warmth and genuiness)

FunziBodo

2009-01-11T21:01:00.002Z

www.funzibodo.org.uk

Funzi Island, Kenya

People living in the Kenyan villages of Funzi and Bodo often live without the basics of life like safe running water and electricity. Others have missed out on the opportunity to be educated or to have a job. This makes it hard for them to feed and support their families who often suffer poor health as a result of these conditions.Standards of accommodation can be very bad. Some villagers rely on Red Cross parcels to survive and have few clothes or possessions. When disability or serious illness intrudes they can’t pay for treatment or the facilities don’t exist.The Funzi and Bodo Trust (FAB) exist to try and change things for the better. Working with local people we are creating the conditions for a better environment where people can reach their true potential and where at least the basics of life are available affording a decent quality of life for all.

Let's Respect

2009-01-11T20:28:00.003Z

Let's Respect the Mental Health Needs of Older People

The presentation lasts 6.30minutes

For more info go to www.olderpeoplesmentalhealth.csip.org.uk

Are we there yet?

2009-01-06T08:45:00.007Z

Flying into 2009 with maximum motivation, determination and hope, yesterday was an unusual first day back in the working world. I normally endure a few days of post holiday blues, followed by a lack focus before the cogs start whirring at full speed once more. However, from the off, once the inbox was clear and I started to link in once more with the virtual networks available online I felt a real sense of direction and clarity.

Many of the bloggers and twitterers I enjoy following filled me with hope and optimism that web2.0 really will make a difference to businesses this year. Well I for one hope they are right!

Away from my day job I am helping a Charitable Trust to raise their online profile. The huge range of no cost communication channels available via the web offers a massive opportunity for the Trust to get their message out to a wide audience by ensuring they have an interesting and dynamic website, linked of course via groups or pages on facebook, myspace, bebo et al plus of course establishing a regularly updated blog and using a number of other web2.0 apps to get their message out there. The work the Trust has carried out is quite amazing but this hasn't been captured or shared with the wider world, so later this month I will be attending their AGM to run through some of the options they might consider utilising.

Whilst there are numerous no cost options to outline, the question in my mind will be, how to ensure we put the most effort in to the areas that will hit our target audience and how will we know when we have reached them?

We should get some idea from web analytics, blog comments, details of social media group members and numbers of enquiries about how to help out that we are making progress, we shall see....

Blogging and the Life Story

2008-12-14T10:46:00.007Z

Story telling is one of the most powerful means of communication that has existed for centuries. Stories well told capture our hearts, our minds and our imagination. They allow us to build up a picture and set of values and beliefs around the subject. Stories can be highly effective in Knowledge Sharing, they can also make the difference to the care and treatment we receive within health and social care.

Life stories, pen pics, picture albums, reminiscence books; all these resources are sometimes used in health and social care to help staff delivering care to see the person beyond a set of health needs.

Responsibility for the creation of these resources often lies with spouses, partners or siblings, who may find the process of compiling their loved ones story therapeutic for themselves, often the process does not commence until the ‘subject’ has received a diagnosis of a terminal illness and may already have cognitive difficulties that reduce their participation of authoring their story. The challenge that lies within is can anyone other than yourself accurately reflect ones own wishes values and beliefs?

This leads me to wonder if in the near future, our own blogs, facebook profiles, myspace pages and twitters could be used to compile our own life stories and even our advanced wishes for care and treatment?

Having a somewhat unique surname, a quick google for me would now produce a number of snapshots of my interests for anyone looking to put together ‘my story’. Though these of course would not reflect my values and wishes, some of my photos would go some way to strangers who were caring for me to see beyond any illness I may be experiencing or any assumptions they may make based on my age, race or gender.

Then there are my blog entries, this is one of the blogs I try to use to record my personal thoughts and reflections. Visiting my blogs in the future may go some way to help paint a picture of my values and beliefs.

Social Networking sites and the web offer an enormous opportunity for health and social care to deliver truly person centred care, if we can remove the barriers of fear & mysticism IT & technology hold still for many.

There are a number of interesting developments taking place around the use of online technology in the field of Life stories. Caring memories is being used in Scotland and is an application that can be downloaded to create an album (not dissimilar to mac’s iphoto albums) the interesting feature is that once complete, users can purchase a facility that emails those involved in the care delivery of the person specifically tailored individual activities and care plans.

Combining life stories, touch screen technology and video conferencing, Connect for Care are developing a product that I like the look of. It combines use of web2.0 communication applications with high tech touch screen. Though in its infancy the simplicity of its use is exciting.

Effective story telling has a multitude of benefits, combining this with the development of the web and social networking has the potential of making a huge shift in social values.

Any comments, thoughts & further resources you wish to share would be very welcome!

How was it for you?

2008-12-04T06:36:00.000Z

Gurteen Knowledge Café -September 2008, London

Walk into room, slightly anxious, first time amongst these experts, will I be the only first timer? Everyone engaged in conversation, time to turn around? Maybe, just grab a drink, need one after a frantic journey to get here, whilst pouring drink am greeted by 2 folk, both are also first timers, ah phew…..

30 minutes later, having had really interesting discussions, I’ve already exchanged 2 business cards with folk I want to continue conversations with, but now its time for the facilitated KC session to start.

David introduces the café, giving us cafe ‘virgins’ an overview of what the session will cover and how it will work before introducing Luis Suarez. So now for an interesting 2 hours from Luis on how to stop using emails….15 minutes later he’s finished, taking a few questions, what? 15 mins and that’s it??!

But now its back to David…time for the cafe to begin, ah, now we begin to talk, in small groups… debate, discuss, play with ideas, share knowledge…whistle blows, change tables, continue debate with another group….now I get it, 1 hour later the café has discussed the use of email, is it a good thing? Could we live without email?

A 30 min session, back as the whole group, to further explore the topic. In 2 ½ hours I’ve met experts, I’ve met people starting out in the world of KM, I’ve listened, heard, shared and learnt of alternative view points, ideas, KM, communication and networking tools & formulated a clarity of thought around how I want to use the learning I’ve gained from the café.

But what did I get from the cafe that made a difference?

Plenty. “Google me” said Luis Suarez at the start of is session. Talk about a chain reaction. Prior to the KC I had used the usual social networking applications to predominantly to socialise, not in day to day work…now I saw what was possible. Gurteen Community to Elsua, twitter to friendfeed, personalbrain to mybloglog. Out of these came further thoughts, ideas, discussion & a personal light bulb moment.

Prior to the café I knew where I wanted to go with my KM work, I knew how I wanted to get there, I had a good idea of the tools I might use. What I was maybe lacking was ‘it’. The thing that would truly engage colleagues, the ‘route map’ towards embedding a KM culture but also the questions I would ask myself to reflect on implementations during the journey.

I realise the more I share ideas with colleagues, the more I get back, the more I share ideas on the net, more and more resources appear to explore, the more I explore, the more I learn, the more I learn, the more I share with my colleagues….one 2 ½ hour café led to so much personal and professional development. This is what the café is all about for me.

December-
Back for my 2nd Gurteen café tonight, with the blessing of my boss, who has fully embraced KM culture and the benefits my attendance at the KC brings to my work. lots of 1st timers appear along with a lot of faces I recognise and want to have further conversations with. Catch up with some, make more contacts, link up with people I have brief conversation with about story telling.

The world and the world of KM just got a whole lot bigger and a whole lot smaller at the same time.

Big thanks to Ron Young for leading me in David’s direction originally, what a journey, wonder where it will take me next?

How do I know if my Knowledge Management Programme is Effective?

2008-12-04T06:21:00.000Z

Gurteen Km Café, December 2008, Deloitte, London.

Initial discussion by Mike, Chris & Kevin from Deloitte

How do I know my km programme is effective?

Mike opened the session looking at what does a bad KM programme look like?

A KM programme with lots of separate KM projects, some good some bad, everyone working in it has different view of what is working or not. People using different tools, different views on what km is, no single set of agreed ways of what you should invest in. The programme has a business plan but nothing measurable. Expectations rise that km is all things to all people, but how could you justify your programme is effective??

Kevin then went on to outline three main areas of challenges-

1.Governance and the organisation itself- in no particular order. Lack of a sponsor, no owner- how can you measure how effective it is across programme. Stakeholders can’t say what the advantages are. Articulating the idea of tacit knowledge but what does it mean and how do we measure it

No common portfolio- who’s doing what?- What are their roles? A lack of visibility of people portfolios- hard then to measure success of KM programme

KM assets trapped at top level- leaders don’t look at tracking and measuring the km assets.

2 Cultural and change challenges- who to share, where and who we should share with.
Linked in with business processes- how can measure if it is not embedded in the business process. Not adequately supported in terms of a change programme. Getting people engaged from the beginning, giving ownership.

3 Measuring the programme over a longer period of time- shifting from command and control KM, so its harder to measure the activity going on as more flexible tools are used e.g. web2.0

KM fatigue! Are you measuring what success is today, not what has happened in the past?? Lack of a decent baseline understanding of where the business is, makes it tricky to identify where the KM programme is.

Chris wrapped up the intro session with food for thought- a prescription for KM

Solutions- Making it work- not unique! Positioning of the business case- continuous measurement of the programme

• link KM improvements to real business values- faster product thru sharing knowledge?
• Make sure stakeholders have a shared vision of Km
• Establish accountability for KM
• More tangible measures?
• Creating a baseline for KM maturity- find a fair way for stakeholders to report
• Business comparison with other organisations- be careful! May be disappointing and
disheartening
• Targets- clearly communicated
• Regularly revisit baseline
• Collecting measures – systems- analytics- anecdotal stories
• Flexible tools still need governance-
• Measures need to be connected to business value- e.g. reduce travel
• Be wary of too many measures- can confuse stakeholders
• Map out KM initiatives- projects- need to be managed as a portfolio.

An excellent intro to what proved to be another lively, interesting and stimulating David Gurteen Knowledge Cafe.

*content of this blog is based entirely on my own notes and interpretations of content and are not an accurate representation of the presenters.

Social Marketing

2008-10-17T09:51:00.000+01:00

The views contained in this blog are my own personal thoughts and not attributable or credited to my employer

Weds 15th October 2008

Well this afternoon was truly useful, some excellent story telling of 4 case studies around Social Marketing really grabbed my attention. All the presentations through the day inferred that KM underpinned all the marketing work, there was a general agreement when I asked the panel if in fact the KM aspect was indeed central to the process yet still offered much development potential, particularly around sharing of info, successes etc.

The National Social Marketing Centre 'Realising the potential of effective social marketing http://www.nmsc.org.ukis DH backed and a potentially valuable resource. They will be upgrading their website in January (who isn't!) to include more practice examples and interaction. DH have recently launched Ambitions for Health a strategic framework relating to social marketing and health promotion. Is it the new garlic bread of communication within KM?

There were some really excellent communicators presenting. Prof Gerrard Hastings, Director and professor of social marketing from Stirling university focussed on marketing, demographics and lifestyle choices. He presented a shocking statistic relating to the Calton district of Glasgow, where male life expectancy is.... 54, FIFTY FOUR!!!! his book, Social Marketing: Why should the devil have all the best tunes? Butterworth Heinneman 2007 was plugged by the panel as an excellent read on the subject of social marketing.

Clive Blair-Stevens of the NSMC presented total process planning- liked his analogy- there are many ways to skin a rabbit BUT, there also many types of rabbit to skin!

Dr Ray Lowry, Senior Lecturer at newcastle University really got everyone going with a lively session. The guidance he gave around social marketing planning is applicable to much of our work. He said we should consider the following 3 points when looking to commence work through focus groups:

Who is the potential audience?

What does the world look like through their eyes?

What can we offer to make it better?- to this, when engaging we need to remove inhibitions, empathise and deal with the emotions

Commercial Advertising, according to Ray doesn't try to sell you a sausage, it sells you the sizzle. He felt the opposite should be true in social marketing, it should concentrate on the actual product itself, but all too often is too much sizzle and not enough sausage!!

Commissioning a social marketing campaign, presented by the COI & DH talked of forming a "Blended Project Team" quite liked that term, which they use in place of collaborative.