Knowledge Management Infostation
The Force becomes a front-runner in KM
At the same time, Service Quality Wing's three-member KM Team, comprising SSP Francis Cheung Chun-por, CIP Stephen So Kam-pang, and KMO Eric Choy Sun-yam, has been approached by the private sector and other government departments for their experiences in implementing KM.
According to the head of the KM Team, SSP Cheung, the team has shared their experiences in delivering talks to the China Light and Power Company, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC), KM Development Centre, Institute of Electrical Engineers, Environmental Protection Department, Civil Service Training Development Institute , Child Assessment Service and Boys' and Girls' Clubs Association of Hong Kong .
"With the launch of the new KM Portal on May 8, this year, I'm pleased that we've taken a few more steps forward in KM development," he noted.
SSP Cheung is also pleased that the HKPC has recognised the Force's KM eLearning Package as the first of its kind in the HKSAR Government.
As a Strategic Action Plan project, the Force KM progress to date has not come easily. The KM Team has made a lot of efforts in implementing KM forcewide. To prepare for their tasks, members of the KM Team had studied the latest developments and good practices in KM overseas by attending KM conferences and visiting KM organisations in Singapore and Texas, as well as a KM organisation of the World Bank in Washington DC.
"During the conferences and visits, we benchmarked with local and overseas KM initiatives and experiences, and subsequently have incorporated the suitable ones into the Force KM Project," said another member of the KM Team, CIP So.
Concurrent with the KM Implementation Plan, the KM Team has also developed a comprehensive Communication Plan to raise officers' awareness of the importance of KM, and to gauge their needs for KM. The Communication Plan comprised four components, namely, KM Identity - Logo and Slogan, Internal Communication - KM Infostation in OffBeat, Force NoticeBoard etc., Publicity Materials - KM Souvenirs, KM CDs for each member of the Force etc., and Events - Management Development Programme and KM Roadshow etc..
"One of our major considerations was to cater for officers' needs for KM, and we've gone to great lengths to find out their needs and views through focus groups and forcewide consultations before designing and implementing our various KM initiatives," said SSP Cheung.
Feedback shows the Team's KM publicity and consultation efforts have paid off.
"As a result of our efforts, I'm confident that officers, generally, are more aware of the importance of KM and many of them are satisfied with the KM development progress so far," SSP Cheung noted.
In the past issues, OffBeat has published in detail the projects that the KM Team has introduced, and SSP Cheung has briefly recapped the following as the major milestones of the KM implementation so far.
* The promulgation of HQO and related Administrative Instruction on "Content Management of Force databases and Webpages", as well as providing training to content managers/editors.
* Content Management has been greatly improved to provide updated information to officers, by making Navigation more user-friendly and enhancing the efficiency of the Search Engine. With the assistance of appointed officers, Content Management has become more systematic, and information can be updated when necessary. For example, there are appointed Content Managers and Editors to look after and update Databases.
Navigation in the new KM Portal has become more user-friendly with one-stop-shop service, two navigation flows and simpler and faster access to information.
Improvement to the Search Engine has resulted in better, faster and more structured search results for officers.
* Similarly, there are Web Administrators and Web Approval Officers to look after Webpages to ensure that officers are provided with updated information whilst outdated and wrong information is to be removed.
* My Briefcase will provide a personalised workspace online to each officer to accumulate his/her knowledge and information, which can be passed on to a successor upon transfer and be shared with other officers.
*People-to-People networking platform has been introduced for officers to contribute to KM by sharing knowledge and experiences. This platform, up to now, comprises the Peer Adviser Scheme and Collaboration Forums.
"The People-to-People networking platform is an important component of KM not only in Hong Kong but also all over the world. The best way has to be found for people to share experiences and expertise," said SSP Cheung.
Looking ahead, SSP Cheung said: "We've taken the most important step and that was, in accordance with officers' needs, to codify information by improving Navigation and the Search Engine, so that officers can attain information more readily and the Force will operate more efficiently. A solid KM infrastructure with a very good KM Portal has been built for Force members to attain and share information and make contribution to further KM developments. The People-to-People networking platform requires further development, and I hope everybody would make good use of the KM System, contribute more and discard the concept of knowledge hoarding, so as to help the Force to become a knowledge-based police service."
Echoing SSP Cheung's appeal, CIP So added: "The KM System cannot afford to stand still and will keep growing. The system needs officers' continuing contributions, assistance and support."
Since starting on the road to Knowledge Management (KM) in June 2002, the Force has become a front-runner in the KM field in Hong Kong. Many local KM companies and organisations have studied Service Quality Wing's experience in promoting KM among Force members and sought benchmarking with the Force in the same field. 
KM Team members, Mr Cheung (centre), Mr So (right) and Mr Choy, are much sought after for their experiences in promoting KM