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Box 9.1
A vignette: The World Bank

The World Bank has distinguished itself as a KM leader due to the swiftness with which
it was able to transform itself into the Knowledge Bank within only four years ( Pommier
2007 ). One of the major concerns that drove this transformation was being able to answer
queries faster and better — by drawing upon the collective knowledge of the Bank. In addi-
tion, the Bank faced the challenges of multiple databases and repositories, different IT
groups and tools, inconsistent information, and poor documentation and control. The
World Bank thus developed their KM mission statement: to develop a world-class reposi-
tory of their development experience and their cumulative knowledge.
One of the major success factors behind this rapid transformation was due to an inno-
vative technique, storytelling, which just happened to be developed by one of their own
employees, their KM champion, Stephen Denning. In fact, Denning came up with the
idea of a springboard story based on his years of frustration at trying to “ explain ” KM and
why they needed it to senior managers at the Bank. His idea was a story that would help
the audience — managers and decision makers — use the story as a springboard to leap to
an intuitive understanding of KM. Here is the story Denning used:
A health care worker in Zambia needed an anti-malarial preparation using only materials he had on
hand. He sent a query via the World Bank ’ s Web site and he had a workable solution within 48 hours.
He was able to harness the collective experience, expertise, and know-how of the World Bank to come
up with the best possible answer in a timely way.
The World Bank KM program was off and running. The World Bank transformed itself
into a Knowledge Bank through its strategic goal of putting knowledge at the core of the
World Bank ’ s work. The elements of this strategy included:
People A focus on knowledge workers and connecting them via knowledge communities
(CoPs)
Culture Shifting the culture from an individualistic focus to a team and knowledge-
sharing culture
Accountability Clear roles and responsibilities established for knoweldge managers and
coordinators
Technology System to capture, organize, and disseminate knowledge to all stakeholders
of the Bank
Process Implement a series of small steps or quick hits and continually promoted aware-
ness and buy-in through “ relentless repetition ”
The World Bank has implemented corporate portals, knowledge repositories (including
image banks), a library of learning objects, video on demand and web casting content, a
live database, an expertise locator system, communities of practice (called “ thematic
groups ” ), after action reviews, peer learning, and fi eld visits and site tours to enhance learn-
ing. The major focus was on the thematic communities to restructure the Bank. Today,
there are about 123 thematic groups or communities of practice overseeing key areas such
as poverty, community development, and rural information technology infrastructures.
A small KM Board composed of fi ve people oversees all communities of practice. This
core KM team has overall coordination and facilitation responsibilities. They identify any