"KM rights and responsibilities" charter at Oxfam

What rights do your workers have in terms of access to knowledge? What are their corresponding responsibilities?

Knowledge management is well developed in the aid and development sector, perhaps because knowledge, in this sector, as a more abundant resource than money. Oxfam have had a knowledge management program for over a decade and Knowledge Management was a main item in Oxfam’s 2013 to 2019 strategic plan.

The rights and responsibilities charter below was presented by Oxfam at KMUK, and struck me as a great way to define the two-way contract between the knowledge worker and the KM system, listing both  “what’s in it for me” and “what is expected of me in return”.

I particularly like the distinction between “I can” (what’s in it for me) and “I must” (what’s expected of me)

Rights

I can

• Find other people easily from across Oxfam regardless of role, affiliation or location. 
• Learn about success and failures of others experience. 
• Find and Use data about successful program models and results 
• Find the most highly rated and used guidance materials 
• Find the most highly rated and use advice available within Oxfam or out 
• Access the time of others – regardless of role, affiliation or location
• Info on key trends and research. 

Responsibilities 

I must

• Update my profile information- make myself accessible, find-able 
• Share my program data – design, theory of change, core assumptions and risks 
• Share my evaluative data-especially MEL data, evaluations and learning on successes and failure 
• Rate the quality of learning guidance and use 
• Rate the quality of advice –written, virtual or face to face. 
• Comply with best practices standards 
• Work towards the strategic priorities of the Oxfam Strategic Plan.

Can you create a similar charter for knowledge workers in your own organisation?