Page 27 - Service Delivery Review

Knowledge Management

The KM Development Plans that the national departments submitted give a sense of what they think should pre-
occupy their KM activities during the three-year implementation cycle. The data shows that most departments
planned on focusing on the “Leadership and Governance” KM dimension, followed by “Business Alignment” and
“People and Culture”. In contrast, the “Knowledge Process” dimension appeared to receive the least attention:

At provincial levels, the emerging picture of priorities - in terms of Dimensions - varies. A large number of
departments from the Western Cape show preference for focusing on “Leadership and Governance” issues. In
this dimension, the Western Cape is followed by Limpopo province. While Gauteng Province seems to straddle
between the “Technology” and the “KM Process” dimensions:

Request for Extensions
While the KM planning, submission and reporting process has specific deadlines and timeframes, there is some
flexibility which allows for requests for extensions. However, only four requests for extensions have been received
from national departments thus far:
§ Two national departments expressed a wish to submit their KM plans in the second quarter but have not
done so yet.
§ One department requested an extension for the third quarter but has not done so by the end of the
quarter, while one department asked to submit its KM plan in the fourth quarter.

§ No KM implementation reports were received from these national departments at the time when this
report was compiled.
Way Forward
While teething problems are expected as departments try KM Planning processes, it is essential to note that
open-ended extensions are unacceptable. It is also important to note that requests for extensions cannot be made
willy-nilly. They should be made to the Director-General of the DPSA via the Director General of the requesting
department.

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