Knowledge Management Infostation
KM Champion to try out discussion forum
After being invited to act as a KM Champion by the Services Quality Wing early this year, SSP Chan discussed the topic and identified the website with the assistance of three volunteer helpers - Chief Inspectors Chung Pui-sing, Chan Wai-man and Chan Joon-sun. SSP Chan enlisted their assistance because they share his vision and passion with regard to the importance of Knowledge Management to officers.
Besides their enthusiasm in contributing to the promotion of KM in the Force, SSP Chan also considers the officers' diverse work experiences and good knowledge of IT helpful to his secondary duties as a KM Champion.
SSP Chan fully recognises the importance of finding a suitable web tool for virtual discussions and meetings accessible from anywhere and at anytime for officers finishing work after different shifts. He noted: "As continuing studies have become a Force culture and value, and given the exponential growth of information, it is imperative to find a "friendly", convenient way to share thoughts and ideas for knowledge generation and retention. Officers very often get together after work or during lunch breaks or happy hours to chat about various interesting matters. For some officers, the web forum is another communication channel or virtual interface to discuss matters of personal concern, exchange views, share working experiences, and ultimately acquire new knowledge in a relaxing and informal way."
The ideal web tool for online discussion forum SSP Chan has in mind is KISS (keep it simple and stupid) - the one that is user-friendly and easily accessible, meets officers' requirements, is available to officers any time and any place, and is generally recognised as acceptable by officers. For these basic criteria, he earlier in the year rounded up his three volunteer helpers and some JPOs at PSRC to discuss the way forward for starting an online discussion forum.
Brainstorming and need assessment
About three months ago, CIPs Chung Pui-sing and Chan Wai-man invited some JPOs for brainstorming and need assessment at PSRC during happy hours. Some interesting points were noted:
* Officers in general may wish to discuss matters and express their views freely online while remaining anonymous;
* There are several police-related web forums on the Internet. At the beginning when a new, hot police-related issue arises, it will attract speculation, gossip, emotional expression, experience sharing, etc. After a while the discussion will gradually move towards a more rational dimension. For some of the issues the participants just want to express their feelings, not expecting a conclusive answer.
* With the existence of many online discussion platforms outside the Force accessible to officers, setting up an internal web forum is a challenge with many areas yet to be explored, i.e. a "genuine demand", and
* The trial run of the identified website should be targeted at the different informal study groups or secondary duty cadres within the Force.
In the coming months, CIPs Chan Wai-man, Chung Pui-sing and Chan Joon-sun and some JPO volunteer helpers will assist SSP CHAN to form three study groups, each comprising about six to 10 officers. The members of each group will discuss matters of common concern and exchange ideas, as they would have done after work in their messes, canteens or other places. They will evaluate the usefulness of web tools and the content of the "generated knowledge".
To ensure that the website would ultimately meet officers' needs, the study group members will also be canvassed for their views and suggestions so that fine tuning can be made to the web tools eventually.
The long-term objective is to see frontline officers being able to access the online discussion forum for solving the problems they encounter in their day-to-day work, i.e. report room duties and attending scenes of domestic violence, with officers sharing interesting cases and building up case studies for learning.
Speaking of the advantages of an online discussion forum, SSP Chan said: "Classroom lecturing and seminars are part of the traditional teaching model, but learning in a relaxed atmosphere and with flexibility may be more effective as far as memorising is concerned as compared with single-direction learning. Online discussion forum will promote peer reviews. Such learning is similar to those in the expert and renowned scholar communities, where each contributes his or her thoughts, feelings and aspirations. Online discussion forum can also bring joy of learning to officers, enabling them to reflect and unknowingly appreciate each other's knowledge, expertise and experience."
SSP Chan's three volunteers also share his commitment to the promotion of KM in the Force.
"I don't mind using my free time to help the KM promotion. I hope officers can enhance their police knowledge and acquire information and experience for their work and career development, such as promotion," said CIP Chan Wai-man.
"Some JPOs are interested in joining the Forum and are ready for the trial in the coming months. Based on their feedback, we will seek to make the website more user friendly and may need to fine-tune the design if necessary," said CIP Chung Pui-sing.
"I hope officers will make good use of IT and take advantage of such opportunity to enrich their working knowledge with other colleagues. As a result, the Force will make further progress using IT in a wider context," said CIP Chan Joon-sun.
SSP Chan said in conclusion: "I hope that officers' eagerness to pursue knowledge will eventually, in an informal atmosphere and environment, gain more insight and better understanding of the mission and good practices of policing."
As a Knowledge Management Champion for Collaboration Forums, Senior Superintendent (SSP) Hilton Chan will soon try out a website with JPO study groups in the Force to evaluate whether the knowledge collaboration (KC) tools in the website (http://www.globalkc.net) can serve as an effective online discussion forum and knowledge builder for participating officers.
SSP Chan (second left) sees eye to eye with his three volunteer helpers on the importance of knowledge sharing