FAO as a Knowledge Organization

Collecting, analysing, interpreting and disseminating agricultural-related data and information has been a central activity of FAO since the inception of the Organization. From 1996, the FAO web site (WAICENT) became a major corporate platform for this work, and the site currently receives approximately 4 million visits per month, providing access to over 3 million web-pages, hundreds of databases, and other multimedia resources.

Complementary to this explicit knowledge, though much more difficult to access, is FAO’s “tacit knowledge”, which is the experience and expertise of its staff members. In this context, FAO attaches paramount importance to securing the highest standards of efficiency and of technical competence in the appointment of its staff. The key challenge for FAO as a knowledge organization is to make the most of both explicit and tacit knowledge in serving Members.

Recognizing this, during the summer of 2005 the Director-General established three Inter-Departmental Working Groups (IDWGs) to develop FAO as a “Knowledge Organization” as a key element in reforming the Organization. The working groups are (i) Thematic knowledge networks, (ii) Best practices, and (iii) Knowledge exchange. A Director-General’s Bulletin was subsequently issued (2006/35), which placed knowledge management as a central, ex-ante feature in programme planning and implementation and which emphasized the need to share this knowledge with member countries and collaborating centres.

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Tags: agricultural information fao knowledge