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Ever since Nonaka and Takeuchi introduced the concept of knowledge management in the mid-1990s, companies, educational institutions, and associations have spent millions codifying their knowledge assets and improving access to them. Simply put, the goal of knowledge management is to improve efficiency and productivity by reducing the need to reinvent the wheel. If our staff, volunteers, and members can get easier access to relevant thought on a given topic, they can start their new work at a higher level.

But a knowledge management strategy can bring more to an association than just immediate access to information. “Bringing a knowledge perspective to traditional association programs, products, and services is a great way to invigorate not only the organization itself but also the individuals involved in the association,” says Barbara Sido, CAE, vice president of knowledge and professional practice for the American Institute of Architects. “It changes the way you work on association initiatives. It makes traditional association work more exciting, and there are more opportunities for innovation.”

Many associations struggle with the basics of information management. Just keeping track of policies, guidelines, journal articles, news releases, and other documents can be a daunting task. Knowledge management goes beyond those basic tracking mechanisms to include explicit knowledge sources created by staff, subject-matter experts, and peer review committees, as well as tacit knowledge and insight provided by the larger community.

“Information management is just a way to organize data. Knowledge management is more conceptual,” explains Sido. “It’s based on people’s engagement with the content, as opposed to being passive recipients of the content.”

For example, a medical association may work hard to develop a clinical practice guideline that offers the collective wisdom of an expert panel. These guidelines are the basis for thousands of medical-practice decisions every day. However, consider the extra value of comments from other professionals who may be aware of a unique state regulation or unusual co-morbid condition that could suggest a different course of treatment or outcome. In the past, this tacit knowledge has been limited to informal conversations at medical conventions or during grand rounds; individuals who weren’t physically present could not access or benefit from these conversations. But new forms of knowledge management are preserving such discussions and making them accessible to those who need them. And new forms of online social networking are allowing individuals who have never met in person to begin these important conversations.

A Whole New Toolbox

Associations are in the knowledge brokering business. You strive to gather the latest news, research, and expert opinion and disseminate this to your constituents. You work hard to build your authoritative brand around this knowledge and increase membership based on your credibility.

Along comes Web 2.0 and a whole new set of tools to support the generation, documentation, and sharing of knowledge. Forrester Research calls this the “information workplace,” with tools that are “seamless, contextual, visual, individualized, multimodal, social, quick to create and modify,” says Erica Driver, principal analyst for Forrester Research and a keynote speaker at ASAE & The Center’s 2008 Technology Conference. E-knowledge is much more than digitizing your knowledge assets and putting them online. It involves providing a web-based platform for the sharing of knowledge and then encouraging participation.

“We did a survey earlier in the year to try to determine the drivers behind the move toward information workplaces. Number one is improving worker productivity; number two is better decision making; and number three is improved customer satisfaction,” says Driver. If you could help your members be more productive, make better decisions, and improve their own customers’ satisfaction, wouldn’t you want to?

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) recently launched an e-knowledge website called Soloso (www.soloso.org) to capture and share a larger percentage of what is known by architects and others about architecture. By leveraging the power of online social networking within a knowledge management initiative, AIA wants to encourage user-generated content and help members identify other professionals as knowledge resources.

“This project has always been about adding value to AIA membership by engaging architects in collaborative discussions about the practice of architecture,” says Mark Carpenter, AIA’s general manager for eKnowledge. “AIA was founded in 1857 as a social networking organization, and adding Soloso only enhances the members’ ability to connect with other members with similar ideas and interests.”

Sido adds, “It provides an opportunity for [participants] to contribute as well as receive. I think that from commenting on articles, posting reviews, creating profiles and uploading projects, creating their own slide shows that they can use the next time they’re pitching or proposing a project—I think that that’s where they’re really going to be engaging.”

The Soloso project began four years ago with the idea of creating a centralized online repository of knowledge. But in the time since, the emphasis shifted away from simply storing knowledge to facilitating its creation—“a really rich mix of traditional knowledge artifacts and social networking,” as Sido describes it. AIA has more than 20 knowledge communities, and Soloso offers an opportunity for all of them to capture their discussions.

AIA initially worked with innovation consultant Jeff De Cagna to think imaginatively about the goals and objectives for the Soloso initiative. Later, AIA engaged Ironworks Consulting to facilitate an innovation session with staff and volunteers. Activities were based on the work of Seth Godin—whose Edgecraft process is highlighted in his bestseller Free Prize Inside (Portfolio, 2004)—and Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect (Harvard Business School Press, 2006). By reversing assumptions about websites, AIA considered such questions as “Must we have a homepage?” and “Is standard navigation the best way to find things on a website?”

Another assumption to be reversed: The website’s organization wouldn’t revolve around the structure of AIA. It wouldn’t be divided up into sections based on the AIA knowledge communities, for example. “Being in an AIA knowledge community doesn’t bring special rights and privileges [on Soloso],” says Sido. “Who you are organizationally isn’t as important as who you are individually on the site. It’s completely content driven—it’s not organizationally organized at all. People will come to the site to find what they need to know when they need to know it, period.” Eventually, Sido says, she would like to see Soloso activities recognized in the same way a more traditional credential is seen—as a mark of professionalism and skill—and top contributors recognized as thought leaders within the architecture community.

The Eyes Have It

With Soloso, AIA sought to create a user experience that would leverage the visual skills of architects, allowing members to progressively search for topics within visual relationships. The opening screen shows four topics, “Leadership,” “Practice,” “Design,” and “Building Performance,” arranged around “Architecture” as a central point. Click on “Practice,” and “Practice” moves to the center of the screen, with new topics like “Marketing,” “Project Administration,” and “Business Planning” arranged around it. A more traditional search box is also available in the upper-right corner of each screen, but a traditional navigation menu is absent.

Not only can users rate or comment on existing site content, they can also make notes in the margins of articles, just as they would on a printed document. This tacit knowledge adds contextual value. Soloso also offers AIA members the ability to share projects and photos, participate in discussions, collaborate with others, and create personal profiles that tell a story or highlight their specialties.

As an example, an AIA member who is presenting at an upcoming conference can log on to Soloso, search the association’s library of visual assets, and compile a PowerPoint presentation right on the site. He or she can solicit questions and suggestions in advance of the presentation from both registered attendees and other members who share an interest in the session topic. And following the meeting, the presenter can share the entire presentation with the larger Soloso community, solicit feedback, and continue to explore the topic.

“We have envisioned Soloso to be a constant work in progress and set it up to allow members of the institute to make it their own,” says Carpenter. “While at this point, we are limiting the interactive and contribution capabilities to members, the members themselves have expressed a desire to see it opened up to a broader audience.”

Sido agrees that full public access will come, once Soloso has been up and running for an initial trial period. She notes that the architecture profession is becoming more integrated across the full lifecycle of a building, working hand in hand with building owners, contractors, engineers, and users; an open-access Soloso could make that integration even more effective. The challenge is reaching out to the many potential audiences that could contribute. Sido intends to begin by promoting the system to the affiliated design and construction communities, and then, based on the success of those initial efforts, to broaden outreach efforts.

Selling Soloso

AIA recognized early on that one of the key challenges would be encouraging participation. According to Carpenter, “The blog and contribution capabilities are there and can be key drivers to becoming noticed on the site. The more you post, the more you will show up in the search results. The better your posts, the better ratings you will get. We know that younger, up-and-coming architects will adopt this technology first. We offer them a venue to be noticed while still working their way up the corporate ladder. Small practitioners will be on par with people from larger firms. Soloso will offer an opportunity to break out in the profession and become recognized as a leader.”

Outreach to AIA’s more than 300 affiliated local chapters is a key element. Chapters will be offered training in how to use Soloso. Of course, the goal is to encourage local users to take advantage of the site, but Sido also hopes to see the local chapters use Soloso as a repository for their own content.

The Soloso site was made available on a beta platform in the spring of 2007 and soft launched in September, with direct mail promoting the site going out in October. As more and more people become familiar with social networking tools and the value they provide, AIA expects to see increased use and acceptance by the association community. Some executives at trade, professional, and charitable organizations remain skeptical and fear that their credibility and authority will suffer if they allow members to generate content. The greater risk may well be that another organization does it first and their membership begins to erode.

Carpenter expresses the position that the American Institute of Architects has taken: “Membership organizations face enormous risks brought on by the proliferation of technology and ease of information sharing. By embracing the latest technology and media trends, we are saying to our members that we can help them make sense of the new world and provide a place that they can make their own in it.”

Rick Johnston, CAE, is senior web strategist and association practice lead for Ironworks Consulting. He has more than 25 years of association management experience, most recently as national vice president, constituent relations, for the American Diabetes Association.

Related Sidebar:

More Articles From Associations Now, January 2008

  Perfecting the Art of Compromise

  The Structure of Success

  Are Card-Carrying Memberships Dead?

  Hey, Boss: You’re Boring!

  Life Is Good When Contracts Are Managed

  Communication Gap

  Knowledge Management in the Web 2.0 Age

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