Local governments are now becoming an ever-increasing group seeking ways to manage their knowledge that is evident by their concerns of knowledge loss.
This interest is also noted by an emphasis on the value of people, as the creators of knowledge, the source of solutions and the deployment of ways for the sharing and reuse of knowledge.
With new organizational models of local government based on shared responsibility between a City Commisson and a City Manager in some cases, the Mayor is not always the Chief Executive Officer. Certainly in what is a much more business-like environment, those responsible for the administration and management of local government need access to the best information and knowledge available.
I agree, local govs need to do a better job of knowledge management. I see it at happen all of the time, people come and go, whether they are elected, appointed or are employees. When they leave, so does their “institutional knowledge.” Some employees may feel a false sense of comfort with the thought that they have institutional knowledge. On our local town council, we make decisions that will affect the town for many years to come. We recently signed a 20 year agreement, where things need to happen in year 14 in order for the agreement to continue. How do we “remind” those in charge that in 2023 such as such needs to happen?
When I am working with departments drafting contracts, I always say the scope of work to be provided must be detailed so that when the employee hits the lottery and leaves, someone else can take over and know what is expected. Some departments are better than others (and some services are easier than others) at making the scope of work sufficiently detailed.