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Documenting knowledge
Every organisation harbours a wealth of knowledge – in the minds of its staff, in archived project reports, and in the experience gained from years of working on the ground. The problem is that this knowledge is often hidden, disorganised and fleeting. When experienced staff leave an organisation, they take a large part of this knowledge with them. When projects are completed without their findings being systematically recorded, valuable lessons are lost. Documenting knowledge means preventing this loss – whilst at the same time laying the foundations for an organisation to learn from its experiences, improve and pass on its knowledge in a targeted manner.
Why knowledge documentation is more than just filing
Many organisations confuse documentation with filing. Documents are created, stored in folders – and never looked at again. That is not knowledge documentation; it is digital hoarding. Genuine knowledge documentation takes a different approach: it records information in such a way that it is accessible, understandable and usable by others – including people who were not involved in the original work.
The difference lies in the intention. Those who document simply to tick a box produce documents that nobody reads. Those who document to pass on knowledge think from the outset about who will need this information later and what that person needs to know. This requires a little more effort – but it pays off many times over, because well-documented knowledge can be reused time and time again without having to be redeveloped.
For charitable organisations, knowledge documentation is particularly important. Organisations providing on-the-ground assistance that rely on volunteers, a changing workforce or international partners need effective knowledge management structures to ensure continuity. Well-documented processes, experiences and insights ensure that work continues smoothly even as people come and go.
What should be documented
The most important question when it comes to knowledge documentation is not ‘How do we document it?’, but ‘What is worth documenting?’ Not every piece of information needs to be recorded. The key is to identify the relevant knowledge – that which is actually useful to the organisation or for future projects.
Project knowledge and practical experience
The most valuable knowledge in project work is often that which arises from practical experience: What has worked in a particular context? Which approaches have not proved successful, and why? What unforeseen challenges have arisen, and how were they resolved? These insights are hard to find in textbooks – they arise from real-world practice and should therefore be carefully documented.
Particularly valuable in this regard are so-called ‘lessons learnt’ – structured reviews carried out at the end of a project that summarise the key insights. They should not only describe the successes, but also the setbacks and mistakes from which the organisation has learnt. Anyone who writes only about what went well is not documenting knowledge – they are merely engaging in self-promotion.
Processes and workflows
As well as project-specific knowledge, knowledge of internal processes is also worth documenting. How is a new project set up? What steps need to be taken when accounting for grant funding? How does communication with partner organisations work? This knowledge is often not written down anywhere because it is taken for granted – until someone new arrives and has to start from scratch.
Process documentation doesn’t have to be complicated. Clear, straightforward instructions that explain step by step how to carry out specific tasks are often perfectly adequate. It is important that they are kept up to date and are accessible to everyone who needs them.
How to successfully document knowledge in practice
In practice, the failure to document knowledge is often not down to a lack of will, but to a lack of a system. If it is unclear who documents what, in what format, and where the documents are stored, chaos ensues rather than order. A structured approach is therefore essential.
The following principles have proved their worth:
- Set out responsibilities clearly: Every member of the team should know which documentation tasks they are responsible for – and by when they must be completed
- Use standardised formats: if everyone documents information using the same format, it is easier to find and compare
- Integrating documentation into day-to-day work: Knowledge should not be recorded only at the end of a project, but on an ongoing basis – as an integral part of regular project work
- Create central storage locations: A well-structured digital filing system that is accessible to everyone involved prevents documents from getting lost or gathering dust in personal folders
- Schedule regular reviews: Existing documents should be reviewed and updated at regular intervals to ensure they do not become out of date
Knowledge as a common good
Ultimately, knowledge documentation is about a fundamental attitude: knowledge does not belong to individuals, but to the organisation as a whole. Those who share and document their knowledge strengthen the team, improve the quality of the work they do together, and ensure that experience is not lost but continues to have an impact. In an organisation that supports people in difficult life situations, this is no small matter. It makes a vital contribution to ensuring that the work carried out has a lasting impact – today, tomorrow and in the years to come.