Knowledge is a quality of human entities acquired through the use of information, practice or performance of some actions. Knowledge results from the combination of experience, values, contextual information and expert insight. Organizationally, knowledge is embedded in documents, repositories, processes, routines, practices and norms. Knowledge Management consists of a set of principles, tools and practices that enable people and organizations to create knowledge and to share, translate and apply what people in the organizations know to create value and improve effectiveness.

Knowledge Management practices in the public organizations typically include:

1. Training of public officials to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills required to perform their specific work;
2. Networking by linking public officials and teams through networks, and supporting other possibly informal networks to share and extend knowledge;
3. Knowledge repositories for providing information on government business;
4. Using knowledge to support actions and decisions made by public officers; and
5. Making relevant organizational knowledge available to government stakeholders to support their decision-making activities.

KM initiatives in government include online government policy briefings, communities of practice, e-knowledge repositories, and knowledge-sharing platforms for government.

Completed

1. Aim

This project aims to develop policy recommendations, and establish the technical direction and guidelines for the development of a Knowledge Management Program for Macao SAR Government. It also aims to assist government agencies in developing their strategic, organizational and technical capabilities in the area of Knowledge Management.

2. Objectives

The project will be designed to achieve the following objectives:

1. Prescribe policy guidelines for the development of KM capabilities in MSAR Government Agencies, based on outcome of the survey carried out in 2008 on international KM practices
2. Build comprehensive processes for developing selected KM initiatives in government
3. Provide training program on KM practices for government officials in Macao
4. Disseminate project outcomes through the e-Macao and UNU-IIST-EGOV portals

Deliverables

1. Knowledge Management in Government - Assessment Toolkit: The toolkit contains an overview of various approaches for KM assessment and provides a methodology for assessing the state of readiness for KM in public agencies and for government as a whole. It contains a number of examples for practical applications of KM and the KM Glossary. The toolkit was applied for the KM assessment in Macao SAR and can be exploited for further self-assessment by individual agencies.
2. Knowledge Management in Government - State-of-Practice in Macao SAR: This report documents the state of readiness for KM in various agencies of Macao SAR Government, based on the e-Macao KM survey, and formulates an overall state of KM for MSARG as a whole. Findings help identify and understand the nature of the KM practice across various agencies and elaborate on policy recommendations for further KM development.
3. Knowledge Management in Government - Implementation Framework: The framework provides a set of guiding principles which provide a direction on how to develop KM policies and strategies to ensure a sustainable and effective KM practice. It follows different levels of public management and integrates the key KM aspects, elements and components derived from existing government-oriented KM frameworks.
4. Knowledge Management in Government - Policy Recommendations for Macao SAR: A set of policy-level interventions are recommended within this report to assist MSARG in promoting KM and responding to the current demand for KM and the challenges faced by many agencies. The guidelines were based on the current state of the KM practice in Macao SAR Government and the lessons learnt from the countries with well-established KM practices in government.
5. Knowledge Management in Government - Courseware: A course on KM in government contains annotated slides for two modules: foundations - containing basic concepts and frameworks, and maturity models and assessment.
6. Knowledge Management in Government - Project Website: The current page of the e-Macao Portal describes the aim, objectives, deliverables and status of the project.