Page 22 - Service Delivery Review

Knowledge Management

Aligning Knowledge Management with the
National Development Plan

have established. The statement continues, “We feel
Vuyokazi Jezile, Director of Knowledge informed; we feel resourceful and imaginative, we
Management and Innovation (KM&I) at the learn together, we share our work and are stimulated
Department of Public Service and Administration by sharing our resourcefulness,” and this is feasible if
(DPSA), delivered the opening keynote speech we have a knowledge-driven state or economy.
at the Knowledge Management Forum (KMF)
at the end of August 2022. This is a condensed The NDP further advocates for all South Africans to
version of the presentation she gave to discuss be able to acquire and use knowledge effectively, and
the forum’s theme of knowledge management South Africa, as a developing and middle-income
and business strategy. country, should be able to use knowledge and
innovative products to compete on different levels.
Knowledge matters In Chapter 13 of the NDP, the DPSA is responsible
for identifying the kind of critical interventions that
Since its re-launch in August 2017, the KMF has would help build a professional public service as
grown from strength to strength in the quality and it contributes to the realisation of a capable and
quantity of the work done so far. The annual KM developmental state in our lifetime.
event continues to attract the most knowledgeable
and insightful practitioners in this still budding field. Sadly, just over ten years since the adoption of the
Likewise, the growing number of delegates at each NDP in 2012, we appear to be far from plans to
of these platforms bears testimony to the relevance professionalise the Public Service and even further
of their work and commitment to the cause of KM in from realising a developmental and capable state,
the Public Service. despite the best of efforts. Positively, platforms
such as the KM Forum and others demonstrate our
The cause of KM stretches far, so we need to continue continuing resolve to push towards the realisation of
engaging robustly in the cause for knowledge the future that is so eloquently imagined in the NDP.
management. This is the only way to ensure that The variance in what the NDP required of us in
we have a seat at the table and thus better position the first decade of implementation and our actual
ourselves for enhancing and mainstreaming KM and achievements should not be discouraging. Instead, it
putting it on the agenda of all state institutions and should reinforce our resolve as knowledge workers in
Government. the Public Service to reflect and take stock as well.
As we strive to build a capable and developmental
As we think knowledge matters, most of us continue state, knowledge management should assist the
to be dedicated. The fifth iteration of the KM Forum, public service in achieving targets in the NDP and the
which took place on August 29 and 30 of 2022, various Government sector plans.
focused more on establishing the kind of atmosphere
that encourages co-creation, learning, and sharing as Key KM issues in the last decade of the NDP?
we strategically employ the collective intelligence at
our disposal for better outcomes. For this reason, an The critical role that knowledge management
easy way to define knowledge: To improve decision- would continue to play in the final decade of the
making and improve service delivery in addressing implementation of the NDP is clearly defined. The
current and future difficulties; management is the two-day Forum programme was anchored around the
capacity to offer the appropriate information at the two main themes below, which should also define our
appropriate moment. approach in the future:
KM in the NDP Strategic relevance of KM

In its vision statement, the NDP puts a lot of faith in There is a need to strengthen the strategic relevance of
our capacity to use information and knowledge to knowledge management by effectively implementing
reimagine the future that we want. The NDP states strategies that contribute to improving organisational
that, we will live in a country that we have remade performance. What this means is that the debates and
and feel loved, respected, and cared for at home, discussions on the current successes and challenges
in our community, and in the public institutions we in implementing KM in the Public Sector ought to

22 SERVICE DELIVERY REVIEW | Volume 15 • No. 2 of 2022/2023