KnowledgeNow Project - Promotional Presentation

KnowledgeNow Networking Our Work Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario Association des Cliniques Juridiques Communautaires de L'Ontario KnowledgeNOW a Community Legal Clinic Knowledge Sharing initiative This project has received financial support from Legal Aid Ontario

Knowledge Management KM is the process of… Identifying Capturing Sharing Re-Using Creating Outcome: By doing this well, we are developing as a learning-organization : one which changes its behaviour to reflect new knowledge and insights Knowledge "know how"

Working Definition: “Knowledge”
What is “knowledge” for clinics?
Operational knowledge — how best to manage a legal clinic
Funder relations
Governance issues and working with boards of directors
Substantive legal knowledge
Knowledge of clients, community, services, resources, and service providers
Knowledge of legal and social developments that impact on our clients and community
“ How to” knowledge — how best to provide legal services through intake systems, individual client work, outreach, public legal education, community development, and law reform, including knowledge of how similar organizations are most effectively doing their work
Knowledge about legal aid and legal clinic service delivery including:
strategic initiatives and campaigns undertaken by others
how other jurisdictions deliver their services

Vision: Supporting clinic work
We practice knowledge management t o improve access to justice by
Knowing what we know,
Managing what we know,
Sharing what we know,
Creating new knowledge

Looking Forward
Knowledgeable individuals
Ad-hoc & silo-ed information sharing
Processes & culture limited knowledge capacity
Limited use of technology
Accessing, using and leveraging collective knowledge
Strategic, purposeful knowledge sharing
Processes and culture promote knowledge sharing and expand capacity
Technology used to facilitate effective knowledge management
From Here

Project Outcomes
Increase the desire to share and learn from each other.
Increase our capacity to share and work together
Strive to embody knowledge sharing as part of our collective culture and enhance this practice.
Retain the knowledge assets of departing/retiring staff
Develop a clear strategy for knowledge management
Increasing efficiency and expanding capacity to provide service to our communities by learning from evaluation and promising practices developed in clinics.
This project aims to improve our collective delivery of high quality, effective, and efficient poverty law legal services we will:

Background
Knowledge Management & Transfer (KMT committee formed, PLAC funded (2006)
Explored & Researched Knowledge Management
Produced a report in March 2010 (Link)
‘ Feedback’ Report in November 2010
Project Plan for KnowledgeNow
Knowledge Information Data Decision Making Synthesizing Analyzing Summarizing Organizing Collecting

Project Status
3-year project plan developed
Funded by LAO’s Poverty Law Innovations Fund for 1 year beginning October 2011, with the option of applying for further funding
Managed by the ACLCO through the KnowledgeNow Steering Committee (KNSC)
Project Manager now driving implementation

Project Team
ACLCO – project management/ finances
KnowledgeNow Steering Committee
KnowledgeNow Lead (Project Manager)
Manager of Clinic Learning & Training– co-management & coordination with PLAC (QSO)
Knowledge Champions

KN Steering Committee (KNSC) Strategic Partner Name Specialty Clinics Doreen Way (ARCH) LAO/ Quality Services Office (QSO) Carene Smith (QSO) Project Manager Paul Pinkerton (ACLCO) Clinic Resource Office (CRO) Gwyneth Pearce (CRO) ACLCO Board Anthea Millikin (WLC) Clinic Managers – COP (CM-COP) Christie McQuarrie (WSCAR) Community Legal Education Ontario (CLEO) Kim McCutcheon (CLEO) Provincial Learning Action Committee (PLAC) Michele Leering (HAST) General Clinics Chris Killoran (SOTT) Mgr. Clinic Learning & Development Marnie Hayes (QSO) General Clinic/ IT Advisory Committee (ITAC) Alastair Clarke (UHCS) SLASS Clinics Lisa Cirillo (DLS – UofT) General Clinics Erik Bornmann (SIMC) ACLCO (project sponsor) Lenny Abramowicz (ACLCO)

Project Context
Community Legal Clinics
77 community legal clinics across Ontario
60 geographic clinics serving every community in the province
17 specialty clinics
6 Student Legal Aid (SLASS) clinics
Approximately 550 clinic workers
Clinics receive approx. 20% of overall legal aid budget.
All receive core-funding through Legal Aid Ontario and some support services
Supported by the ACLCO

Important Principles
Clinic independence – Accountable to their communities
Funded by LAO – Accountable to LAO
Mandated to Engage in Systemic Work
Clinics accomplish more when they work together
History of established inter-clinic groups

Challenges Identified
Wide-spread knowledge
Risk of losing knowledge capital
Duplication
Not Systematic
Barriers

Knowledge Challenge
“ explicit” or documented knowledge
articulated, written down or codified, and stored
readily transmittable
books, manuals, documents and procedures
“ implicit” or “tacit” knowledge
people carry in their minds - difficult to access
what knowledge do I possess?
often more valuable
difficult to ‘transfer’ – needs extensive personal contact and trust
Estimated 42% of corporate knowledge is ‘tacit’
Two Distinct Types of Knowledge:

Advantages Identified
Wide-spread knowledge
Clinics already working together
Coordinated IT system
Cultural desire for greater collaboration

Inter-Clinic Groups
These are some of the groups clinics currently work together in:
Ontario Project for Inter-Clinic Community Organizing ( OPICCO )
Steering Committee on Social Assistance ( SCSA )
Legal Clinic Housing Issues Committee ( LCHIC )
Ontario Legal Clinics Worker’s Compensation Network ( WCN )
Le Réseau Francophone des Cliniques Juridiques de l’Ontario
New Caseworkers Orientation and Training Group
Clinic Managers-Community of Practice ( CM-COP )
All Websites – Community of Practice (LAO/Clinic)
Regional study groups – focused on a specific areas of law
Landlord Tenant (all regions)
Income Maintenance (all regions)
North Region – CICB; Aboriginal Affairs Study Groups

Advantages
Requesting Feedback
Sharing Information
Asking for Help
Talking about Errors
Edmondson (1999) , Borgatti and Cross (2003), and (Orr 1996) - referenced in Lead Users as Facilitators of Knowledge Sharing in a Community Setting, Lars Bo Jeppesen and Keld Laursen
DRAMATIC RESULTS: The groups that engaged more intensely in such activities performed better. Studies show that when teams collaborate by

Project Plan
Promote Knowledge Sharing
Knowledge Champions program
Regional Training Sessions
Newsletter
Proposal for e-collaboration space
Clinic portal to knowledge-sharing sites
Clinic managers website
Develop another e-resource for clinics
Reporting and future funding applications
The project implementation is focusing 6 priorities:

Wrap Up
Thank you for your interest in this project. For more information, please contact the project manager:
“ Canada is a great country, one of the hopes of the world. We can be a better one – a country of greater equality, justice, and opportunity. ” – Jack Layton Knowledge sharing contributes immeasurably to this end – our effectiveness is enhanced as we work together in the best possible fashion. Paul Pinkerton 416-847-1418 1-866-965-1416 x5177 [email_address]

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KnowledgeNow Project - Promotional Presentation

by Association of Community Legal Services of Ontario on Jan 30, 2012

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