Advancing knowledge sharing in development organisations: barriers, enablers and strategies

This paper aims to examine the obstacles and enablers of knowledge sharing in development organisations and determine how each factor affects knowledge sharing in different organisations. It also highlights strategies for successful deployment of knowledge sharing techniques. The paper opted for a mixed-method approach with a sequential explanatory design. Data were collected using semi-structured questionnaires administered to development practitioners (n=331) and in-depth interviews with key informants (n=11). The paper provides empirical insights on different knowledge sharing barriers and enablers encountered in development organisations. Overall, eight categories of knowledge sharing enablers emerged from the study. These include culture, strategy, reward system, trust, strong social capital, motivating staff, inspirational leadership and training opportunities. The most significant individual challenges included: lack of time to share knowledge, low awareness of the value of sharing knowledge, and cultural differences. Organisational barriers included: poor integration of knowledge sharing, poor organisational leadership, and failure to recognise knowledge-sharing initiatives. The most significant technical obstacles included: lack of integration of ICTs, lack of technical support, and mismatch between individuals’ needs and ICTs. The most significant strategies included getting support from top management, fostering a knowledge sharing culture and developing knowledge sharing policies. Best practices for using ICTs to enhance knowledge sharing included collaboration, providing quality information, management support, using the latest technology and engaging subject matter experts. This research is valuable in identifying the knowledge sharing barriers and influencers unique to development organisations. By examining and discussing specific facilitators and hindrances encountered by development organisations, this paper contributes to the growing body of literature in knowledge sharing for developmen

An empirical study of the use of tools and technologies for knowledge sharing in development organisations in Kenya

This paper presents findings from research conducted with development organisations in Kenya, concentrating on using ICT tools and technologies for knowledge sharing. Development organisations of different sizes and operating in various sectors were examined in a large-scale online survey. The study examines the application of a set of technologies, including ICT tools, social media tools, and collaborative tools. The study also considered the strategies employed by the development organisations in enhancing knowledge sharing. The data collected was in quantitative form, and therefore the analysis followed quantitative techniques, including descriptive and inferential statistics. Findings revealed that technology supports the knowledge processes of extraction, sharing and dissemination. However, technology impacts knowledge processes differently depending on the size of the organisation. The results indicate that different technologies are used to support different phases of the SECI model. Development practitioners use ICTs for various purposes, including preserving, accessing, storing, documenting and gathering knowledge. This study contributes to the literature on ICT based development knowledge. The study contributes to understanding the barriers and enablers that development practitioners experience while using ICTs for knowledge sharing. The study is significant to the development practitioners in the developing world for understanding how to enhance knowledge sharing through technology

Better Together: Building Strategic Library Partnerships

Forming partnerships to achieve institutional goals is a growing trend both within libraries and in the broader academic community. Such partnerships allow the sharing of expertise, provide access to a wider range of resources than may be possible within one’s own area or organization, and strengthen the library’s position within the university. This paper reviews library partnerships and highlights the benefit of such endeavors for the libraries and their partner institutions. The objective of this paper is to identify important areas of partnerships for librarians in Kenya. It explores important considerations on which the library draws up partnership strategies, identifies what libraries and their partners can gain from collaborating and also highlights how partnering libraries can mutually enrich and develop each other’s services. The paper further discusses some of the reasons why libraries enter into partnerships, managerial challenges that arise from partnerships and identifies ways of addressing these issues. Methods: This is a literature review and commentary on this topic based on recent developments in this area incorporating evidence from a case study and participant observers. Results: Visibility and access to the library in some unexpected locations as a result of partnerships, can serve as greater a function to the library as to its partner and the university community. The value in addressing this issue is to examine the creative partnerships, of which libraries can avail themselves in an effort to best serve their patrons. The partnerships should be examined at local, regional and international level. Conclusion: Partnerships present libraries with new tools that would bring the most effective services to the library users at affordable costs. They are a reality as they provide libraries with opportunities to access new skills and technology

A bibliometric analysis of the Aga Khan University research contribution in early child development

The research contribution of the Aga Khan University to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has been explored through a bibliometric analysis. The analysis shows exponential growth of research across the SDGs undertaken by AKU-affiliated researchers. The analysis identified areas of interdisciplinary research, with a significant focus on societal development of interest to AKU, as per its mandate, and reflective of the work of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) of which AKU is an integral part. Building on the bibliometric analysis, this paper focuses on early childhood development and early childhood education with reference to the SDGs. A specific query is undertaken on ECD with respect to SDG 4 (Education) with an in-depth review of ECD reflective of AKU’s research output, 2016-2019. The paper presents an analysis of publications by AKU-affiliated authors as indexed in Scopus, a citation database of peer-reviewed literature, which indexes over 15,000 titles. This study presents bibliometric indicators including trends in high-impact publications along with citation analyses of articles, h-index, journal rank, impact factor and societal impact through analysing articles published in open access journals. In undertaking this study and reflecting on the themes of the IHD/CoEWH Conference, the paper makes a scholarly contribution with a specific focus on AKU’s research and scholarship to the areas of ECD and the SDGs. The paper notes areas for further research on ECD and SDGs emanating from this analysis

Towards successful implementation of an Institutional Repository in a cross-border environment

Globally, institutions are increasingly using Institutional Repositories (IR) to manage their digital resources more effectively. An IR collects, showcases, archives, and preserves the intellectual and scholarly output of an institution. There are many available platforms including Open Source, Proprietary and Custom-built platforms (Sharif 2013; Jain et al. n.d). The focus of this paper is the implementation of Institutional Repository (Digital Commons), a proprietary hosted institutional repository platform by Bepress. Digital Commons is a suite of tools and services that enable institutions to manage, display, and publish on the web in a highly visible online showcase. It has professional-grade publishing tools with a peer-review workflow so that institutions can publish their journals, books, and conference proceedings. Digital Commons is well indexed in Google, Google Scholar and other search engines and offers the option of either open global access or restricted access. It has an additional SelectedWorks module that allows individual faculty and scholars of an institution to develop profiles and populate them with their scholarly works. As well as evaluating the Digital Commons platform; this paper addresses the challenges of cross-border implementation and suggests guidelines for institutions implementing the system. The common implementation challenges include the time required to get clearance from copyright holders; publishers who have ceased operating; helping authors understand why the institution should have their works showcased without monetary benefits; and additional workload on staff

An Investigation of Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviour of Nursing and Clinical Students in an Academic Healthcare Institution.

Although the concept of information-seeking behaviour has evolved significantly among professionals, it is unclear how much the nursing profession has been affected by these changes. Examining information seeking behavior for the nursing profession is significant as nurses need to use the most current information to meet clinical and educational needs Besides, information seeking is one of the steps of embracing evidence-based practice which has been identified as one of the core competencies needed for the health care professionals in the 21st century. This study sought to establish the information sources used by nursing and clinical students at Aga Khan University, determine how the students access the required information and examine the challenges they experience in accessing and acquiring information. This study was anchored on Wilson’s Information Behavior Model (1999). Both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection were used. The study found that nursing and clinical students visit the library mostly to search for online electronic-resources, journals and textbooks. However, unavailability of some materials imply that the information needs of the students are not fully met. The study determined that majority of the nursing students used the keyword search strategy, subject search strategy, title search strategy and author search

Research metric analysis of the Aga Khan University Medical College, Karachi on Scopus database 2010-2019

This paper analysis the research output of the faculty, staff and researchers affiliated to the Aga Khan University (AKU) Medical College, Pakistan from 1st January 2010 to 31st December 2019. The paper maps AKU research by analyzing publications by authors with Aga Khan University institutional affiliation that are indexed in Scopus, a citation database of the peer-reviewed literature. Researchers rely on data from Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar to assess scholarly communication. However, this study choose Scopus as it is one of largest multidisciplinary databases covering over 23000 journal titles in comparison to Web of Science which covers approximately 9,000 journals. This paper is unique as it provides a holistic view of the Aga Khan University Medical College research by using scientometrics methods to demonstrate trends in high-impact publications along with citation analyses of articles, h-index, journal rank, and impact factor