Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 4 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 4(2023)

Donor organizations need to measure the effectiveness of their knowledge management systems, assessing how well they aid in achieving goals.

• Measuring Knowledge Management System Effectiveness: Donor organizations need to measure the effectiveness of their knowledge management systems, assessing how well they aid in achieving goals and maximizing social impact. This requires:

1) A unified stance and clear understanding among the management team regarding the benefits of knowledge and knowledge management system.

2) Competence in setting appropriate goals and planning outcomes for the process.

3) Skills in developing effective performance indicators.

4) A commitment to invest in monitoring processes for tracking the progress towards achieving the goals and the returns on investment in the knowledge management system.

• Fostering a Knowledge Management Culture for Collective Benefit: It is widely accepted today that strategic philanthropy depends on reliable information. Foundations and socially responsible companies have been gathering data for years, but to truly benefit and elevate their operations, a more challenging task lies ahead — developing a knowledge management culture within the donor community. This, of course, involves employee training and establishing mechanisms for knowledge exchange among organizations.

Inga Moiseeva, CEO of the Development Group consulting agency, observes, “Knowledge is the product of donors’ activities; it is part of social technology and the foundation of our work approach.”

Having a robust knowledge management process helps rapidly growing organizations stay grounded, adhere to their mission, and remain the institution their founders had envisaged them to be. Institutionalizing the knowledge management process involves developing specific principles, policies, and guidelines regulating this activity. The Potanin Foundation has a notable experience in this regard. They have crafted an internal policy that defines their approach to knowledge management. This document not only outlines the foundation’s definition of “knowledge” as “information about successful models, lessons learned, tested approaches and tools, potential risks and challenges that helps the foundation, its partners and beneficiaries to make their operations more efficient…,”[110] but also establishes principles for managing this valuable asset. These types of documents lay the groundwork for a culture of knowledge within an organization, involving all staff in the process. As stated in the document, “Knowledge management is a collective effort. The entire team of the Foundation participates to some extent in creating, capturing, disseminating, and utilizing knowledge to enhance work efficiency.”

Institutionalizing the knowledge management process involves developing specific principles, policies, and guidelines regulating this activity.

Svetlana Gerasimova, Partner of the Project Office “Strategies and Practices of Sustainable Development,” argues that learning from others’ cases is nearly impossible. “Consider the knowledge pyramid, which comprises practice, concept, and theory. Those at the practice level believe learning is only possible through hands-on experience. However, come to think of it, learning from others’ cases is not really feasible. You might gain analysis and benchmarks, but your environment, situation, resources, and people will inevitably be different. Learning requires a different level — that of conceptual understanding, where we can draw conclusions from practice. Even fewer people reach the theoretical level, either overlooking its importance or forgetting it, even though it is crucial for making predictions about future developments.”

DONORS AS DRIVERS OF PROGRESS

In discussing knowledge, it is essential to address the practices of investing in science in Russia and worldwide.