Bruno Laporte

Manager, Knowledge and Learning Services

World Bank

USA

My name is Bruno Laporte and I am in charge of the Coordination of the Knowledge Sharing Program at the World Bank. I took over the coordination of KS at the Bank in 2001, when Steve Denning decided to pursue another career as a writer and as a "master" in the area of story telling to support knowledge management, organizational learning, and change management.

In my current responsibility, I oversee several teams working on knowledge management, learning, and internet strategy and applications. One of my main responsibilities is to ensure that knowledge sharing is an integral part of the Bank corporate agenda, to provide advice and support to all organizational units across the Bank, and to ensure that the internal organization is aligned to provide an environment conducive to knowledge sharing. I joined the World Bank in March, 1985 and worked extensively on education, training and employment issues in Africa, Middle East and North Africa, Eastern and Central Europe, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In 1995, I transferred to the Human Development Network where I managed the first KS pilot, an innovative global best practice system in education, organized around Thematic Groups and the Education Advisory Service.

Prior to joining the Bank, I worked as an advisor in the Ministry of Finance and Planning in Ivory Coast and in the private sector in France. I have a keen interest in contributing to the shift in development paradigm, based on multi-directional knowledge and learning flows, and aimed at building capacity and providing opportunities for countries to identify their own development solutions.

Judy Light

Manager, Knowledge for Development Program

US Agency for International Development

USA

I’m looking forward to this week’s workshop! What an interesting opportunity we have, coming together to share knowledge, ideas, and experience from our work in the knowledge management arena. My USAID colleagues and I were delighted to be part of the planning and organizing team. Currently, I work in USAID’s Bureau for Policy and Program Coordination. My boss, Susan Wallace, has already introduced herself, so you probably know a bit about our Knowledge for Development (KfD) program.

In the 14 months since I joined USAID, my responsibilities have included facilitating and being part of the core team that designed and developed our KfD strategy, which is moving from the planning stages into implementation. In early 2004, we developed and conducted our first Knowledge Coordinator workshop for regional and local program officers in Southern Africa. My real passion is in facilitation and organizational change. Prior to joining USAID staff, I spent 17 years as a contractor/consultant, most recently as Senior Associate for Management Systems International and before that, in a similar role for a sister organization providing information technology solutions to government ministries and non-governmental organizations in Africa and Asia. Assignments in strategic planning, communications, team building, organizational change, and performance measurement took me to USAID bureaus and offices and into field missions in every region of the world. The work spanned every technical sector, with emphasis in democracy and governance, education, environment and natural resources management, and health and nutrition.

Working as a private sector consultant, I spent six years as staff facilitator for several U.S. government agencies in addition to USAID: the Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of the Interior (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service), and the Department of Labor. I have a Ph.D in Educational Psychology (organizational theory). And in my first life, I was a dancer and musician. I am sure this week’s learning event is doomed to succeed!

Kim Lowery

Program Manager

Kabissa - Space for Change in Africa

USA

I'm Kim Lowery, the Program Manager at Kabissa, a small nonprofit that helps African civil society organizations put the Internet to work for the benefit of the people they serve. We are approaching the topic of Knowledge Sharing from a somewhat different perspective than most of you. We are not looking for ways to share knowledge internally (we have only 5 staff members in one location), but instead work with a network of over 700 civil society organizations in over 30 African countries.

One of our main goals is to leverage the power of Internet tools to encourage these organizations to network and share information with each other. This workshop comes at a perfect time for us as we are currently looking at new tools, methodologies and strategies for providing a space for this interaction to happen.

Danielle Lucca

Information Officer

World Bank

USA

I have been working at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) for approximately 10 years. More precisely, I am located at the CGIAR Secretariat, in the World Bank. The World Bank is one of our co-sponsors, thus the location of my office. For those of you who don't know what the CGIAR is, below is a short description:

The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) is a strategic alliance of countries, international and regional organizations, and private foundations supporting 15 international agricultural Centers, that work with national agricultural research systems and civil society organizations including the private sector. The alliance mobilizes agricultural science to reduce poverty, foster human well being, promote agricultural growth and protect the environment. The CGIAR generates global public goods that are available to all. Alternatively, you may wish to look at our web site at www.cgiar.org

I am an information officer and wear several different caps: I am the webmaster for the corporate site, I run the CGIAR Library which is part of the Bank/Fund Library Network (there are 13 libraries between the Bank and the Fund), I am in charge of records management for the CGIAR Secretariat and recently rolled out a digital system called IRIS. I also assist with the production of corporate publications, manage the image/photo collection and liaise with the CGIAR Research Center information officers and librarians. Despite our far-flung geographical locations, The CGIAR librarians enjoy a close working relationship and share resources daily.

Jeff Malick

Program Manager

Academy for Educational Development

USA

Abdulnasser Minkara

Knowledge Management Officer

Islamic Development Bank

Saudi Arabia

Elizabeth Kibabu Mwangi

Knowledge Management Coordinator

World Vision Kenya

Kenya

I am very excited at being a member of this Knowledge sharing group. I currently work for World Vision Kenya [WVK] as national Knowledge management coordinator. It is a new role in this office and my greatest challenge is developing a strategy that will work in our context. For many people, KM is a new world and some see it as being another IT product. I would like to know what change management techniques work for you in creating a Knowledge sharing culture because its not that easy. I don't want to create a product that people will be excited for a season. How do we maintain the momentum?

I am bachelor of Commerce graduate with a post graduate diploma in HR. Before joining WVK I worked with KPMG in Kenya as the regional knowledge Analyst and content manager for 3.5 years. The job was exciting and my greatest challenge was that though KM is very key to the current business we were viewed as just an administrative arm of business because the KM concept in this country is still quite new. I later moved to Deloitte and Touche where I worked as a HR Consultant.

I am very excited about KM and have made presentation s to different audiences on the same. Everyone gets excited but no one want to commit their money to it because the return is long term and not necessarily seen.

I am looking forward to meeting all of you and hope that during our conference we shall get a breakthrough for each of our initiatives. If any of you has written a strategy before, please share with me as I am in the process of writing mine.

Barbara Myers

Director, Knowledge Management

Catholic Relief Services

USA

I am responsible for overseeing the knowledge management strategy for Catholic Relief Services. I am particularly interested in learning from the experiences of workshop participants in promoting a culture of collaboration and learning. My organization is large (4,000 employees), geographically dispersed (over 50 offices around the world), and has a fairly decentralized management culture. So it is difficult to get people to invest time and energy into sharing their own knowledge -- or to seek out what others may have learned about a particular issue. We have a variety of initiatives underway to capture data about our programs and make it available, but very little progress has been made in terms of sharing actual knowledge or learning.

Marcos Neto

Deputy Regional Manager

CARE International

USA

I am currently a Deputy Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean for CARE, which is a large international NGO. At my current position I am in charge of leading the region onto the implementation of a Resource Mobilization and Constituency Building strategy. Part of that strategy looks at knowledge as one of the most important resources to fight poverty. Not only organizational knowledge but above all the knowledge of societies to fight poverty, what we are calling "Social Learning". To spear head this new approach at CARE we will have our first Knowledge Fair this September in Atlanta, you are all invited by the way!! I will take some more information about that to our workshop.

I have been with CARE for 10 years, mostly involved at field work in Asia and Latin America. I was also responsible to opening and became the first CEO of CARE Brasil. Prior to joining CARE I was a Lawyer and practice law both in my native country - Brazil, and in Portugal.

My expectation for this workshop are mainly in two areas: 1) to gain information about some KM tools, including the start up of KC and the design and implementation of knowledge products; 2) To find out about your experience on the area of KM and make good contacts.

Ha Diep Nguyen

Knowledge Management Officer

World Bank

Vietnam

I'm responsible for staff and client training, capacity building programs, act as World Bank Institute country coordinator to promote the process of knowledge sharing between the bank and the country through partnership, networking, seminar, workshops. I've been in this position for more than two years. Before that I worked for an IFC managed facility on institutional capacity building programs, but mainly for the private sector. I look forward to an opportunity to get known knowledge experts from many part of the world, share and learn from them on good practices.

Ariel Pablos-Mendez

Director, Knowledge Management and Sharing World Health Organization

Switzerland

Dr. Pablos-Mendez is a Mexican physician and epidemiologist, is an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine and Public Health at Columbia University in New York. Dr. Pablos-Mendez worked on the emergence of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis in New York City in 1991 and, in 1997, led the Global Surveillance Project on Anti-Tuberculosis Drug Resistance. In both instances, this research brought about significant policy changes. Starting in 1998, he spearheaded the program "Harnessing the New Sciences" at The Rockefeller Foundation, targeting product development for orphan diseases through public-private partnerships. In 2000, working with other international agencies and donors, Ariel's vision and leadership drove the creation of the Global Alliance for TB Drug Development to shorten and facilitate the treatment of the disease in poor countries. He also led a rethinking of the Rockefeller Foundation's program in AIDS, which brought about a new AIDS care research initiative in Africa and contributed to a program for the treatment of mothers with AIDS and their families (MTCT-Plus) in 2001. In 2002, Ariel championed the creation of an international Center for the Management of IPR in Health R&D (MIHR) and in 2003 fostered a Joint Learning Initiative on Human Resources for Health. He was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2003, and serves in various Boards and Advisory Committees. After serving as Deputy and Acting Director of the Health Program at the Rockefeller Foundation, Ariel moved to Geneva in May 2004 as Director, Knowledge Management & Sharing, of the World Health Organization.

Geoff Parcell

Knowledge Management Advisor

UNAIDS/UNITAR

Switzerland

I come from the private sector, BP. I am currently seconded to a joint UNAIDS/UNITAR programme, developing AIDS Competence. I have found that the differences between private and public sector are not as great as people told me! I was identified to help develop an approach using KM techniques and to build up global networks, because I am co author of a book "Learning to Fly" sharing some practical ways that BP shares knowledge. I know that some of you have read and used it. On this programme I have learned a lot and it has stretched my horizons. I have encountered a different portion of the world. And at its heart is people, people who care.

Virginia Ellen Pierce

Senior Advisor, Program Innovation & Learning

CARE USA

USA

I am currently serving as Senior Advisor for Program Innovation & Learning with CARE's global sexual and reproductive health (SRH) program. CARE is a large international NGO, and I'm posted at CARE USA's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

My position was created recently in recognition of the need to promote innovation in our program approaches to SRH, to be much more effective at learning from what CARE and others are doing in the field, and to capture and disseminate this learning in practical, systematic ways, both within CARE and to the international public health community.

My colleagues and I view the effective creation, capturing, sharing and application of knowledge as key to becoming a true learning organization and to being an effective partner in development. I am currently developing a strategy to facilitate coordination of our program's myriad technical exchanges, learning events, workshops, cross visits and documentation efforts into a more cohesive, systematic approach to learning and sharing.

I truly look forward to the exchanges that will take place during the WB-sponsored meeting on knowledge sharing. Like my CARE colleague, Marcos, I'm very interested in the nuts and bolts of initiating and supporting knowledge communities across a global organization. I would also like to learn more about non-IT dependent approaches to knowledge management and sharing, as many of the staff, partners and communities with whom we work do not have consistent (or even intermittent!) access to computers.

Jeff Porter

Contractor

US Department of Agriculture

USA

My name is Jeff Porter, I'm contracting to the US Dep't of Agriculture - Foreign Agricultural Service. Primarily looking at improving the way our overseas offices collect and promulgate market information and other 'in-country' knowledge. I'm Australian, with a background in electronics, computers, Small - Medium business, Business Process development and improvement.

Tony Pryor

Senior Manager, Knowledge Systems

International Resources Group

USA

My name is Tony Pryor, with the International Resources Group (IRG) based in Washington, DC. I am a Senior Manager at IRG, responsible for our work in knowledge sharing and management. IRG is a firm specializing in technical support in the environment, natural resource management, energy and agriculture sectors, as well as in conflict resolution and mitigation. We're not an IT firm, instead our interest in KM comes from a deep concern about how the development community can best access and use knowledge to solve sector specific problems. Among other things, we're managing several knowledge management systems for USAID, including on natural resources management and on microenterprise.

Prior to joining IRG, I was with USAID for 18 years, both in Africa and in Washington, involved in sector projects and design (mostly in the natural resources or energy sectors), and in program procedures, policies and organizational reinvention and reform.

I personally see KM as being inextricably linked to human resource issues - how people see themselves in terms of a career, how organizations track and manage tacit knowledge, how a number of organizations involved with development are increasingly emphasizing management while "outsourcing" knowledge based skills. I also am concerned that we've not yet grappled with the relationship between formal structures and informal communities, in a manner which is practical and realistic.

Finally, I still worry that the KM community is not fully understood by, or in many instances, understands the core development cadre - the engineers, health workers, extensionists, government officials and NGO field staff who end up making much of development happen. I think we still tend to oversell KM; in most instances knowledge is part of what is needed, but without political will or other enabling conditions it is not the "silver bullet" that we sometimes implicitly talk ourselves into.

Which is why I am thrilled by the mix of participants at this event, and look forward to our sessions on the building blocks of KM! It should be very stimulating!

Joe Rabenstine

Knowledge Sharing Facilitator

US Agency for International Development

USA

I am Joe Rabenstine, a Knowledge Sharing Facilitator at USAID (through the Agency's Development Information Services contract with the Academy for Educational Development). I have been in this position for the last two years, assisting the Agency with the development of its knowledge management program, Knowledge for Development (KfD).

Although I am relatively new to international development, I have almost thirty years experience in the Information Systems field. My background is primarily in business applications software development, strategic informations systems planning, project management and, for the last seven years, knowledge management. I was the Chief Knowledge Officer for an Enterprise Resources Planning consulting firm specializing in HR and financial applications. I was also an Executive Consultant with IBM's knowledge management consulting practice.

Pasi Rajala

Communications Officer

United Nations Development Programme

USA

Ben Ramalingam

Knowledge Management Strategist

Overseas Development Institute

United Kingdom

I am working on knowledge management and organisational learning for the Overseas Development Institute, the UK's leading independent think-tank on development and humanitarian issues. Research on KM in a variety of sectors suggests that most organisations can be placed at distinct phases in the implementation of their KM / OL vision. These (intertwined and iterative) phases may be described as follows:

Phase 1: Pre-design phase, comprising experimental pilot efforts, often ad-hoc in approach

Phase 2: Strategic development phase, in which the specific organisational approach to KM is developed in a structured fashion, and priorities established

Phase 3: Implementation phase, when a variety of KM initiatives are rolled out in line with the strategic vision

Phase 4: Alignment phase, when refinements and adjustments to initiatives are made in accordance with the overall strategic vision

The core of my work is focused on the development and practical implementation of a KM Strategy for the Institute. In the last 10 months, I have focused on progressing our internal KM / OL work from Phase 1 to Phase 3 described above. This has included designing and undertaking a knowledge audit and developing a KM strategy.

I am also undertaking research in which I aim to understand in a systematic fashion how different development-focused organisations have managed to move between these phases. Of specific interest are the mechanisms and tools used, the key roadblocks faced, and the benefits realised.

Given this practical and theoretical background, I think that the workshop and subsequent conference will provide excellent platform for gathering new ideas, sharing experiences, making new acquaintances and establishing ongoing dialogue.

I hold a Bachelors of Science degree in Management from the London School of Economics, and am currently working (part-time) towards a PhD on knowledge management in international development, with specific reference to HIV-AIDS responses. Prior to joining ODI, I worked in strategy consulting, investment banking and systems & process analysis.

Alvaro Rodriguez

Policy Support Coordinator

United Nations Development Programme

USA

I am Alvaro Rodriguez, Policy Support Coordinator for the Bureau of Development Policy of UNDP. I am originally from Chile, but now am a Canadian citizen. I am based in our New York HQs since January and prior to that had assignments spanning 14 years in Kenya, China, Thailand and Australia. My responsibilities include oversight of several Community of Practice networks on UNDP priorities, including Poverty, Governance and Energy and Environment. Furthermore, I oversee 8 SURFs (Sub-regional Resource Facilities) of UNDP across the world. The SURFs consist of advisory teams of UNDP staff who provide policy advice and technical backstopping to UNDP Country Offices in the sub-regions in which they are based.

Prior to work in UNDP HQs I was head of the Bangkok SURF which serves Northeast and Southeast Asia and the Pacific. As part of that, our team in Bangkok initiated several networks to promote knowledge sharing both between UNDP Country Offices and with centres of excellence in the region. Currently I am involved in a new more strategic approach to KM in UNDP which we hope to discuss at our event.

Alfredo Romero

Technology Transfer and Training Coordinator

Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias/Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agrícolas

Venezuela

Although I am not a KM expert, I have self-learned a great deal in the last two years, and offered this proposal to the Planning Team, and they accepted and appropriated it as a institutional policy for the 2005-2009 Institutional Strategic Plan.

Merle St. Clair Auguste

Knowledge Management Coordinator

Organization of Eastern Caribbean States

St. Lucia

I am Knowledge Management Coordinator at OECS - Organization of Eastern Caribbean States, Education Reform Unit. I started full time in this position in April 2004. I have the task of establishing a Knowledge management network within the education system of 9 small countries.

My back ground is in Libraries, and systems. I have a first degree in Information and Library studies and Film and Television Studies, and Masters in Information Studies, focusing on Information systems design, analysis etc. I am very excited about the possibilities of the future for my region and hope that I can bring the opportunity of KM to them in a way that they too will get on board. I am from the island of St. Lucia. I am truly looking forward to this workshop to meet all of you in your various capacities.

Matthew Sattah

Knowledge Management Advisor

US Agency for International Development

USA

I am currently serving as a Knowledge Management Advisor to the Bureau for Global Health at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). My experience in KM comes from both the private and public sector.

I hope that the workshop will provide everyone (including myself) with an opportunity to listen and learn from the stories of KM approaches taken by the represented organizations. More importantly, it would be mutually beneficial for the participants to get plenty of chance to connect and perhaps to establish the foundation for partnerships.

Jee-Yeon Seo

Knowledge Management Analyst

World Bank

USA

Currently I am a member of the Knowledge Sharing and Internet Strategy & Applications teams at the World Bank. I am responsible for updating the Knowledge Sharing websites and helping the WBI partnership team to create an extranet with the British Council (a website developed to facilitate the sharing knowledge between these two organizations). My role is to bring in a different perspective and my expertise to the learning programs and knowledge initiatives of the World Bank Institute.

Since 1992 I have worked in the various creative fields such as advertising, animation, software, and PR companies in South Korea and the United States. My academic background is in graphic design & fine arts. I have developed an interest in culture, art and technology issues in development projects. This enthusiasm comes from both growing up in the 70s-80s in Korea where rapid economic transition occurred and from working at the World Bank for the last six years.

My expectations for this workshop are to learn about other organizations approaches to adapting new technologies and to identify barriers for communities of practice and ways to solve these issues.

Ujol Sherchan

Node Manager, Asia Pacific Mountain Network

International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

Nepal

I am an economist by training, and have been working as node manager of the Asia Pacific Mountain Network (APMN), the Asia Pacific node of the Mountain Forum (which is a global network for mountain communities, environments and sustainable development) for the past four years. FYI, the APMN is an ongoing Swiss-funded project managed by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

I am also part of the ICIMOD team that is working toward developing a strategy as well as proposal for creation of a Mountain Knowledge Inventory (MKI) of knowledge related to sustainable mountain development of the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. Dr. Sanjeev Buchar who introduced himself to this D-group list earlier and I are in this team. Our team leader is Dr. Zbieg Mikolajuk, Senior Knowledge Management Specialist, whom some of you probably already know.

I am eager to learn how to reach people living in remote parts of countries (where there is no Internet or e-mail connectivity) through Knowledge Management tools and methodologies - as well as how to bring their voices up to policy level to inform policy making. I am a national of Nepal.

Yarissa Lyngdoh Sommer

Program Officer

World Bank

USA

I work at the World Bank Institute (WBI) as a Knowledge Management Officer for the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN). Briefly, the GDLN, a World Bank initiative, facilitates the cooperation between its Affiliates (GDLN Centers ). Jointly, GDLN Affiliates offer their facilities, services and interactive distance learning techniques to the

development community to organize and implement capacity enhancement, knowledge

sharing, training, consultation and dialogue events. Clients using GDLN are able to reach across the world and bridge geographical distances cost-effectively. For more information on GDLN please click on the link:

http://www.gdln.org/index.html

In my capacity as a KM officer I support GDLN Centers in the Middle East and North Africa Region with training, Center set-up, Center Launches. I'm also responsible for developing communities of practice among GDLN Center staff by organizing monthly regional consultation videoconferences. These monthly VCs are an opportunity for Center Staff to meet informally with each other and with members of the GDLN Services staff at WBI to discuss and solve management issues - such as pricing issues, technical problems, reporting and performance management, accounting, content development and delivery etc. In addition, I develop Knowledge tools to support Center staff and GDLN Clients. Currently, I am working on producing a GDLN Center Management Toolkit. I am also in charge of

managing the GDLN Advisory Desk and other such knowledge sharing initiatives for

the group.

I'm an Urban Planner by profession and I joined the World Bank at the India Country Office, where I worked in the water sector for a year before transferring to the East Asia Urban Development Unit in Washington DC prior to moving to GDLN. Unlike most of my fellow participants in the workshop, I consider myself more of a Land Management Specialist (with 5 years of pre-Bank experience in Housing, Real Estate Management, Urban Land Management, and indigenous land management) than a Knowledge Management Specialist. I look forward therefore to meeting experts at the workshop to help develop this particular skill. From the introductions I have read so far, it seems I am at the right place and I look forward to meeting all of you.

Don Soules

Program Officer

US Agency for International Development

USA

Siv Tokle

Sr. Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist

World Bank

USA

I am a Senior Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist in the independent M&E Unit in the Global Environment Facility (GEF), where I also cover knowledge management. I have worked with many aspects of KM in different posts. As Evaluation Advisor in UNDP I worked with evaluations of knowledge systems, developing knowledge products and strategies, as well as revising the organization's monitoring and evaluation framework with emphasis on results and feedback. We are currently looking at how best to generate and integrate GEF learning within our implementing agencies' KM systems, as well as how to strengthen learning from evaluative evidence and feedback loops.

I have a Masters in Economics and Business Administration from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration in 1986, with a specialization in international economics and strategic planning.

Iris Tutuarima

Project Manager, Change Management

Bank of Indonesia

Indonesia

I am the project manager for the change management project in the newly established information management unit. There are two areas which I am responsible for, the change management and the implementation of the Knowledge Based Organization (KBO). The initiative to implement KBO has just started last year. As to many other participants, I am looking forward to hearing other colleagues' experiences especially in developing the blue print and road map to implementing KM. We are now in the middle of prototyping.

I have always been with the central bank and have been in charge of the public relations and library before. I have an undergraduate degree in linguistics and a graduate degree in communication. I am taking KM now in the faculty of psychology.

Walter van Opzeeland

Information Access and Training

World Agroforestry Centre

Kenya

My name is Walter van Opzeeland and I am public awareness officer at the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) in Nairobi Kenya. My organisation works on agroforestry research projects that study trees on farms (fruit trees, timber, medicinal trees, etc.) in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Our team is responsible for internal and external communication. This includes promoting our work and research findings on trees on farms to amongst others the media, farmers, donors and a more general audience. I have a background in IT/telecommunications and I am a trained journalist.

I am new to the KM/KS field and during the workshop I hope to share experiences with other participants how to make a system of knowledge management and sharing as effective and efficient as possible and ways to improve exchange of information between different regional offices.

Peter van Rooij

Chief Technical Adviser

International Labour Organization

Switzerland

My name is Peter van Rooij and I work for the International Labour Organisation in Geneva. We are commencing a knowledge sharing project on employment creation, with a focus on small enterprise development and basic education, including skills training. Our 'clients' consist of twelve projects in different parts of the world. These are all in a start-up phase and one of the challenges is to create ownership of and commitment to knowledge sharing. Related to this is the priority which will be given to knowledge sharing within and between those projects.

This project is one of several knowledge sharing initiatives over the last years at the ILO. Knowing who is working on what aspect of knowledge sharing is a discovery as well, not only for those working at headquarters but even more so for our colleagues in the regions who may easily be confused about who does what on knowledge sharing.

I have recently returned from an 18 months' staff exchange between a private sector company and the ILO. This has been very useful, also in terms of knowledge sharing. I started in the ILO in 1995. Prior to that I worked in Thailand, Bolivia and the Sudan for different UN agencies. I hold an M. Sc. in development economics.

Richard Van West Charles

Area Manager, Information Knowledge and Management

Pan American Health Organization

USA

I am the Area Manager for Information and Knowledge Management for PAHO/WHO. This Area consists of the Units for Research, Bioethics, Regional Centre for Scientific and health Information (BIREME); The Web and the Library. In addition the Area is responsible for strategic issues related to the change process related to Knowledge management within the Organization. We have just concluded a report on a Knowledge Sharing which addressed four components viz Organization and Governance; Personnel; Content management and Technological Resources.

Gary Vaughan

Knowledge Management Officer

US Agency for International Development

USA

Here is a (rather late!) posting of my bio in advance of this workshop. It has been interesting looking at others’ introductions (Tony Pryor, for example, is an old colleague). In fact we both attended Bellanet's excellent KM workshop in Ottawa in May of last year, and this looks like an equally distinguished group and program!

I am a Foreign Service Officer with 25 years experience with USAID. I have worked as a Project Development Officer, Private Sector Officer, and am currently Knowledge Management Officer with the Bureau for Economic Growth, Agriculture and Trade. I've served overseas with USAID in Ecuador, Guatemala and Egypt, and at various regional bureaus in USAID/Washington. Prior to USAID, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Colombia and a credit analyst at Mellon Bank.

I come to the KM topic with a combination of political, business management and IT perspectives, and have had some experience (and lessons learned!) in designing and administering an IT CoP at USAID in 2002-2003. I am active with USAID's Knowledge for Development Team, organized some seminars in advance of the successful Agency Knowledge Fair last Fall, and am currently working with my Bureau colleagues to design and build a web-based KM Toolkit for average users. This toolkit would include a basic administrative info reference section (much demanded by users!), "translation" of KM and related IT tools into plain English, a list of practical and relevant knowledge-sharing models in our Bureau and elsewhere, and a directory of help resources.

Looking forward to meeting you all at the workshop and sharing ideas! I agree with Tony’s message (below) that KM does tend to be “oversold”, and that political will and enabling environment are key conditions for KM success. Thanks to the Bank for hosting for what looks to be a great program!

Susan Wallace

Division Chief

US Agency for International Development

USA

I chair the USAID Knowledge for Development (KfD) Subcommittee. This group is tasked with moving the KfD (our KM program name) efforts forward. We will be presenting the first module of the workshop, sharing some of the building blocks (and stumbling blocks) we've encountered in our somewhat young program.

I have been with USAID one year (this week, in fact). My main job is Chief, Development Information and Support Division. I was tapped to chair the KfD efforts shortly after I arrived in USAID. It's been a great experience, with both great challenges and great successes thus far.

Prior to joining to USAID, I served as a career US Army officer, and retired in 2002. I did not have a KM background, but did recognize that USAID goals were very close to the Army Knowledge Online, the Army's KM program. I also enjoyed working with the international community very much while in the Army, with postings in Germany, South Korea, Japan and Belgium, where I worked on NATO Headquarters International Military Staff as the only American on staff.

I look forward to hearing your experiences in moving forward your organization's knowledge sharing efforts. Even more important, I am pleased to be able to expand my circle of knowledge practitioner colleagues and friends.

John Young

Director, Research and Policy in Development

Overseas Development Institute

United Kingdom

My name is John Young. I run a programme called Research and Policy in Development at The Overseas Development Institute in the UK. We do research, advisory and public affairs work to promote more evidence-based policy making among development researchers, policy makers, and practitioners in the north and south. You can read all about it at http://www.odi.org.uk/rapid

Knowledge management and learning is one of the key themes to our work, & together with Ben Ramalingam we've been developing a KM strategy for the Institute as a whole as well as looking at KM in other development organisations. You can find a literature review which has informed some of our thinking at:

http://www.odi.org.uk/rapid/Bibliographies/KM/Background_Review/KM_Review_00. html

I'm a veterinarian by training, mainly working in developing countries, initially on livestock-service related projects, then more recently on public-service reform. My work has always involved action-research to develop and test new approaches, then public awareness and institutional reform processes to promote wider uptake in policy and practice - where good KM and communications have always been at least as important as the research itself.