Great post!  I think it "is" directly related to records management.  This discipline is called Knowledge Management and is the sister or brother to records management and content management.  They all work hand in hand, as one hand can't clap!

In general terms, all knowledge begins as unorganized or unstructured data. Data is the raw material from which information is constructed. An example could be data contained within a spreadsheet.  Data are components of information, statistical analysis and correlations.  

Data becomes information when it is related to something, i.e. the who, what, when, where and why. IM professionals put context and structure to it and organize it to make it accessible.  This data now becomes information.  

How then does the information become knowledge?  It becomes knowledge when it is shared, through collaboration, through communities of practice and knowledge management tools, such as the one we are proposing today.

Knowledge is all around us.  It is in an explicit form contained in databases, electronic repositories, file cabinets, structured and unstructured drives, book shelves etc.  

It is also in a tacit form, which is contained in people's heads.  This is knowledge gained through life and work experience, as well as through lessons learned. 

Therein lies the challenge, how do we protect our organizational knowledge, especially that which is contained in the heads of our best asset, our employees, from disappearing.  

There are many ways to capture this knowledge, such as succession planning, employee exit interviews, ERMS/EDMS systems, communities of practice, good RIM practices such as retention and disposition, metadata and file naming conventions and so much more.  I would be interested in hearing what others think of this.

Cheers.

John A. Gervais
Program Manager
Policy and Guidelines Section
Information Policy and Governance Division
Statistics and Information Management Directorate 
Corporate Strategies and Business Development Branch 
Canada Revenue Agency
320 Queen St., Place de Ville, Tower A, 6th Fl., 
Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0L5 
Tel: 1-613-946-0245
Facsimile: 1-613-941-9649
E-mail: mailto:[log in to unmask]
 
 

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