Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB)

1. "Knowledge is in people's heads" - Preliminary considerations

Transferring knowledge involves more than just the exchange of information. Knowledge is the product of discoveries and the combining of information with existing knowledge. Knowledge is complex and is "stored" in the minds of individuals. In today's knowledge society, managing the resource we know as knowledge consciously and systematically in an organization or research-related community is increasingly becoming a strategic task for providing the individual help in navigating the flood of information in modern-day society.

Of particular importance in this connection are three aspects that also constitute integral elements of knowledge management:

1. The systematization of knowledge
So-called knowledge maps can be developed for documenting knowledge on a structured basis following standardized criteria. Such knowledge maps provide a vehicle for the visualization of stocks of knowledge. By incorporating them into a uniform structure that uses schematic directories, relevant fields of knowledge and knowledge carriers can be identified and current knowledge and the respective knowledge carrier be made transparent and accessible.

2. The communication and updating of knowledge
At practical level, knowledge management is an ongoing process in which knowledge is constantly merged and updated with the aim of improving the possibilities for using existing knowledge for the purpose of creating added value. Knowledge management works only when knowledge carriers collaborate, such as in drafting a knowledge map. In light of the continual development of knowledge, knowledge maps must offer a reference structure (i.e., they must systematize knowledge) and at the same time be flexible enough to allow content to be expanded and supplemented - in other words, knowledge maps must be dynamic.

3. The processing of knowledge on a user-oriented basis
Information becomes knowledge for the individual only when existing information is also made usable and appropriately accessible. This user-friendliness goes hand-in-hand with criteria such as clarity, comprehensibility, coherence of the knowledge that has been made available, and ease of use. Of particular importance here is ensuring the most optimal possible interaction between man (the individual as a carrier of relevant knowledge), organization (optimal structuring of the environment) and infrastructure (efficient and user-friendly support for knowledge-based processes). Internet technology offers a possible platform for knowledge management systems.

Various processes (knowledge capture, knowledge exchange and knowledge reflection) are combined in the transfer of knowledge. This also occurs in discussions, technical conversations and workshops. The difficulty here consists of de-personalizing knowledge (transforming it from tacit to explicit knowledge) to enable its sustainable use. Knowledge should be made available independently of the individual who generates and uses it. As the above example shows, this can never be completely accomplished. Only with difficulty can tacit knowledge such as insight, intuition and values be expressed in statistical models. This requires a process-oriented approach that directly incorporates the particular experts so that a certain degree of abstraction can be achieved.

2. Modelling the transfer of knowledge - Network knowledge

The processes involved in the transfer of knowledge can be charted, analyzed and optimized with the help of models. The solutions for managing knowledge arrived at in this way can be examined on the basis of the following criteria:

• Context sensitivity
  The solution should take into account the context in which the knowledge is needed and make the knowledge available on a basis that is tailored to the particular context.
• User sensitivity
  The solution should organize knowledge in the most helpful way for the particular user. 
• Flexibility
  The solution should follow a comprehensive concept and be expandable.  
• Heuristic
  The solution should be "self-learning." The solution's usefulness should increase with time.
• Suggestion system
  The solution should be able to infer the user's knowledge requirements and make cross references that go beyond specific requests.¹

Transferring knowledge and findings is an ongoing task. Rapid and unhindered access to relevant information is called for. This information should be made available on a need and context-oriented basis. Its quality should also be ensured. Users want knowledge from a single source without having to have to know their way around a multitude of individual offerings. ² This is the KIBB project's primary focus in respect to vocational training research, namely, the creation of a central portal for the vocational training research community's scattered information offerings. The Federal Institute for Vocational Training (BIBB) is using the development of a knowledge map as an instrument for structuring available stores of knowledge on a topic-related basis. Taking the research lines of BIBB's medium-term research programme as a starting point, fields of knowledge and research topics are being developed in mind maps. These will then be converted into catalogue structures for the Internet. This will create a uniform online access to this knowledge in the area of initial and continuing vocational education and training. BIBB's knowledge map will be realized at two Internet portals:

• The Federal Institute for Vocational Training's corporate platform: www.bibb.de 
• The knowledge portal for vocational training (KIBB portal) that is currently in development (www.kibb.de).

To enlarge, please click here
Chart 1:
The catalogue structure used on the Internet (de)

Both online platforms will be linked with one another via a joint knowledge and content management system. The knowledge map will be used at both Internet portals to structure knowledge and will provide the primary interface between them. Other aspects that will be processed on an overarching basis are the development of BIBB's knowledge base, the integration of information systems, the work flow for posting information and the realization of a powerful meta search function.

The aim of these efforts is to enable full access to findings and the knowledge available at BIBB via BIBB's corporate platform. At the same time, the individual stocks of knowledge will be linked with one another on an organization-spanning basis via the knowledge map at the KIBB portal, placing the entire vocational education and training field and the entire vocational training research field in perspective.

3. Procedure - Mapping knowledge

As a first step, knowledge stores at BIBB were systematically structured and described using a thematic classification system. The first phase of developing the knowledge map's content-based structure was conducted in close cooperation with the respective heads of BIBB's research lines. When the structure was being designed, the principle of the "double-click structure" was chosen for reasons of user-friendliness. With just two mouse clicks, users are brought to a so-called "page", the actual heart of the knowledge map. This formal limitation ensures clarity and a uniform structure for users and makes it easy to conduct quick searches.

In the next step, the content of the structures developed for the individual research lines was communicated with the appropriate departments and sections and examined in terms of its plausibility and feasibility. This was followed by the design and development of the individual "pages". In addition to the schematic presentation and structuring of the substance of current knowledge - in the form of projects, for example - the design of the page is also of central importance since the page is the descriptive level where all relevant knowledge stores are brought together and made accessible on a topic-related basis (such as field of knowledge or field of research). These pages cite, among other things, titles, abstracts, articles, reports, presentations, lectures, materials, lists of references for further reading, related topics, projects and experts. Information on the particular subject that is stored in BIBB's databases and information systems is also displayed here.

  Chart 2: Information contained on the "page"

Top of the page

4. The future

The process of designing the knowledge map has already triggered synergies. The basic outlines of the topic areas covered by vocational training research are becoming evident, and the intermeshment of current research activities and findings is becoming discernible.

To implement the knowledge map, new and existing knowledge stores will now have to be ordered on the knowledge map's pages. The Communications and Information System for Vocational Training (KIBB) project will expand these knowledge maps to display more than just BIBB's knowledge stores. This will provide a basis for providing experts access to information on the entire vocational training sector and support the research community.
 
This article is based on a report on knowledge maps which is published in German in KIBBrelations 2/2003.

Authors: Bernd Kuehn, Franz Schapfel-Kaiser, Sandra Dücker

Bernd Kuehn, BIBB Section: Product Marketing, Dissemination of Specialist Information, Information Systems

Franz Schapfel-Kaiser and Sandra Dücker, Communication and Information System for Vocational Education and Training (KIBB)

footnotes:

1. Vgl. S.Davidson: Knowledge Management, An Overview, veröffentlicht im Internet, URL: http://www.dmreview.com/master.cfm?NavID=198&EdID=904 (Stand: 3.03.2003)
2. Cf. Federal Ministry of Education and Research (ed.): Informationen vernetzen -Wissen aktivieren, Strategisches Positionspapier zur Zukunft der wissenschaftlichen Information in Deutschland, Bonn 2002, p.1 f.

Erscheinungsdatum und Hinweis Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

Publication on the Internet: December 2, 2003

URN: urn:nbn:de:0035-0082-2

Die Deutsche Bibliothek has archived the electronic publication "The transit from information to knowledge - The making of a BIBB knowledge map", which is now permanently available on the archive server of Die Deutsche Bibliothek.

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Last modified on: November 22, 2011