KM in Humanitarian Aid Response to Haiti Earthquake

Tearfund is a Humanitarian Aid organisation whose current head of KM and IM is a charming lady called Astrid. I was recently copied on an email describing their current approach to KM:

“Our Disaster Management Teams are learning all the time so a disaster like this will benefit from the learning from the Tsunami response, the Pakistan earthquake and so on. There will naturally be a learning review and an evaluation done of this and so the wheel keeps turning. As well as the staff on the ground, staff here at Teddington will also review the set up process, and the appeals process in the months to come. Disaster Management Team have a learning system, where they are collecting learning and building good practice around sectoral and organisational issues systematically. The aim is to build this up and then make it publicly viewable as part of our accountability and transparency.”

Tearfund’s current CEO is a big supporter of KM in the organisation – he arrived with it in mind from his previous experience elsewhere.

Tearfund:

- Has learning for continuous performance improvement built into what it does as a matter of routine;
- Has clear management support and expectation that KM will be done;
- Understands the power of an effective Corporate Memory that is owned and maintained;
- Invests in KM for learning because they understand that the return is worth it.

Tearfund's knowledge management system was established by a former member of Knoco. We wish Tearfund well in their current and future efforts.

Knoco Ltd