Introduction

It is increasingly becoming the business of researchers, particularly in research for development, to be aware of how the knowledge they generate is used, and to do what they can to increase the likelihood of their work having an impact on the communities who can benefit from it. Traditional research approaches are often isolating, allowing for little interaction between researchers, and even less between researchers and end users. Moreover, the final outputs of research usually come in the form of an academic publication, the essence of which is expected to be communicated and disseminated by extension or communication staff - or even extracted by end users themselves. When end users are included in the research process from the inception, it is more likely that the knowledge or technology generated will serve them better.

IWMI's Knowledge Centre Initiative

Building on the hypothesis that research, and its impact, can be improved by sharing knowledge among researchers and involving users throughout the research process, IWMI embarked on a number of initiatives to test, learn about and implement knowledge sharing both on an institutional as well as research level.
To support its knowledge sharing work, IWMI developed a change management process known as the Knowledge Center Initiative (KCI) involving six main pillars of activities:

Through these activities, IWMI works to improve knowledge sharing both within IWMI and the CGIAR as well as with IWMI's external partners and stakeholders through the research process itself. The KCI, an institute-wide initiative, was started in order to foster the sharing of information and knowledge between researchers at IWMI. A major activity to which the initiative contributed is the 'Annual Research Meeting and Knowledge Fair', a re-envisioning of the institute's annual programmatic event which now involves greater participation and opportunities to share research experiences across the institute.

Knowledge Sharing at IWMI: Knowledge Sharing in Research Pilot Project

Through the Knowledge Sharing in Research pillar of the KCI evolved IWMI's Knowledge Sharing in Research Pilot Project (KSRPP) The KSRPP was jointly supported by IWMI, the ICT-KM Knowledge Sharing Project and the Challenge Program on Water and Food (CPWF). KSRPP was started in 2005 and over the next two years worked with a number of IWMI and CPWF projects to test innovative approaches to improve collaboration in projects between researchers, partners and end users in an effort to promote greater uptake of research results.

IWMI-supported system-wide Knowledge Sharing project

The CGIAR's ICT-KM Program recently secured funding for a second phase of knowledge sharing activities under the project 'Improving CGIAR Effectiveness through Knowledge Sharing (KS)': A project of the ICT-KM Program of the CGIAR. This project has two main components. The institutional component (IKS), led by CIAT, aims to introduce KS into organizational change management projects of CGIAR Centers, Programs and System Units. The knowledge sharing in research (KSinR) component, led by IWMI, aims to enhance research processes, uptake of research results, and overall impact of agricultural research through the use of innovative KS approaches that promote better collaboration and knowledge sharing through research activities.

For more information on the ICT-KM Knowledge Sharing project see the website: www.ks-cgiar.org

For more information, interesting discussions and a chance to share your views, check out the Knowledge Sharing project blog either through the website (www.ks-cgiar.org) or through http://ictkm.wordpress.com/category/knowledge-sharing/