Mr. Mohamed Muhsin (World Bank) presented a paradigm for the development of Knowledge Management as a Business Case within the UN System ICT Strategy Framework portfolio. The discussion shifted emphasis from knowledge “management” to “sharing ”. The former implies the creation of a bureaucratic entity to “manage” data, while the latter more fully describes the goals of the endeavour. It was also noted that an inclusive process is required, ensuring the ability of everyone to participate, both as contributors and consumers. As an initial step it was noted that creating a knowledge sharing capability was the creation of the global network. On this basis, standardization of the tools used to share data would provide a common platform within which effective sharing of information may flourish. In the discussions that followed, the Committee agreed that Knowledge Sharing provided a more result-oriented concept (than Knowledge Management) and will lead towards the definition of a more powerful business case. Mr. Muhsin noted the extraordinary expense required by the World Bank to implement their knowledge sharing capability, and while the results were considered a success, costs were considerable. The Committee welcomed the offer of cooperation given by the Vice President and CIO of the World Bank.

Decision 2

The expertise and extensive experience of the World Bank in this area is considered critical to the realization of the MDGs by UN System organizations. The development of a business case for Knowledge Sharing will, therefore, invite the involvement of the World Bank.