Care Service Improvement Partnership Csip Organization Profile Care Services Improvement P Q32859742

Care Service Improvement Partnership (CSIP)

OrganizationProfile

TheCare Services Improvement Partnership (CSIP) was created in theUnited Kingdom to support improvement and development in a range ofservices across health and local government, for children, adults,and older people, including those experiencing mental distress,physical disability, or learning disability. CSIPhave a successful track record in providing developmental supportfor provider organizations and commissioners across the UK NationalHealth Service (NHS), local authorities, regional agencies, andvoluntary and private organizations. In doing this CSIP can drawnot only on the diverse background of the experienced clinicians,practitioners, and senior managers within the CSIP Team but also onspecialists working for CSIP nationally as well as networks ofpeople who use services and their caregivers.

CSIPis a knowledge organization and supports local organizations toensure that their service improvement activities are based on themost up-to-date and complete evidence of good practice. CSIP hasbeen well positioned to provide an “honest broker” and facilitativerole between the NHS and local government and between both of theseand the Department of Health, helping to forge the activepartnerships that are critical to successful reduction of healthand social care inequalities. CSIP takes a holistic, “whole-system”approach, involving health, social care, third-sector (voluntaryand community) organizations, as well as the users of care servicesand their caregivers. CSIP employs a range of specialists,approximately 70 people, from a wide range of backgrounds. Many ofthe Program Leads are seconded from or also hold key roles with inlocal organizations, ensuring that their expertise and knowledgeare based on current service delivery, issues, andpractices.

CSIPhas long recognized that it is a “Knowledge Organization.” The waysin which it helps its client and partner organizations to bringabout service improvements relies heavily on its knowledge of, forexample, the latest developments in new policy implementation andemerging good practice. Equally, CSIP is striving to “keep its ownhouse in order” by making its internal management of key knowledgeand information as effective and efficient as it can.

Therefore CSIP decided that itneeded to continually develop and improve its working practices,working culture and environment, systems, and tools by implementingknowledge management initiatives and developing a knowledgemanagement strategy to more formally identify, manage, and applyits knowledge assets. CSIP identified several key knowledgeneeds:

“Weneed to feel genuinely happy that we are getting best value fromour knowledge, as we build on and share this within our team andthe wider Health and Social Care community.”

“Knowledge is our business. Weare ‘honest brokers’ of key knowledge for implementing policy,sharing good practice and effecting improvement and innovation inthe design, commissioning, and delivery of a range of priorityservices in Health and Social Care across England.”

Interms of a more formal KM Process, the nature of the CSIP businessrequires them to excel in capturing, storing, sharing,collaborating, and harvesting key business knowledge. The same istrue of making use of (or being!) leading experts and working inand with leading Communities of Practice.

“Priorto learning about formal KM approaches, it’s fair to say that weweren’t so explicitly aware of each of these aspects/elements of anoverall process and what each one means or entails. Otherelements of a formalprocess—measuring and maintaining and improving a KM systemitself—were quite naturally not in our consideration before webegan formally ‘doing KM’.”

CSIPalso recognized the need to facilitate the above by encouraging andenabling those people involved to “tell their story”; sharingknowledge and communicating through as wide a variety of channelsas possible.

“Weneed to be much better at telling our own story; because by doingso we better achieve our own organisational goals, we demonstrateour own value (to our funding organisations; to thetaxpayer).”

CSIPundertook some specific programs

• KMawareness-raising and education across the wholeorganization.

•Establishing a KM Working Group (members trained in a KM ConsultingMethodology to the level of Knowledge Practitioners to support theKM) lead, plan, and help manage the KM program of work.

• KMassessment surveys to determine the current level ofmaturity.

•Identification of key knowledge areas and critical knowledgeassets.

•Development of a KM strategy.

•Training people in knowledge-working skills and using relevanttools.

•Creating knowledge roles across the organization.

•Linking fulfilment of knowledge roles with training and othersupport, and with the organizational (NHS-wide) framework forpersonal knowledge and skills development.

•(Before and after establishing a formal KM program) Stronglyfocusing on innovative developments in flexible and collaborativeIT tools and systems. Particularly high technological freedom isensured by using web-based, open-source technologies.

Program Implementation and key results

2006: Initial cohort of KnowledgePractitioner trainees (senior management team and IT manager);great enthusiasm for and engagement with ideas of KM and someorganization-wide awareness-raising andeducation.

2007: Funding of first full-timededicated KM post began early 2007; early successesincluded:

➢ Moreawareness-raising sessions open to the whole team, widespreadtraining and uptake of devolved website content management system,redevelopment of main external communications organ: a monthlye-bulletin (for the first time making use of now much moreextensively populated website),➢ Publication of various SuccessStories, drawing on the work of the wholeorganization.➢ Moreconcerted development of web-based database and accompanying toolfor management of work and corporate contacts, performancereporting, and early CRM-type facilities.

Training of those who thenbecame the KM Working Group took place in early 2008:The first CSIPWM KM Strategy was written and approved in April2008. The KM Working Group planned and carried out three formalpilot projects (analysis and enhancing of knowledge-based networks,processes, and IT tools) and various other work, The KMWG consistsof at least one Director, the HR Manager, the Finance Manager, anIT representative, a Program Lead representative, and the KM Lead.This group reports regularly to the Senior Management Team, as wellas reporting regular developments to the wholeorganization.

Throughout the period, moretraining was carried out on KM awareness and explanation of the KMstrategy, and what it means to individuals, teams, theorganization, and beyond. Furthermore, work continued to createknowledge roles, and more supporting systems development wascommissioned (ongoing) of custom software for managing workdelivery and performance reporting, contacts, events, CRM,etc.

Theclear key results that CSIP is now experiencing from implementingthe KM initiatives, so far, are:

1.Increased, team-wide awareness of KM and its benefits.

2.Training in knowledge-application skills; results include muchgreater use of a highly devolved website Content Management System,Confluence (Wiki), Skype, and other smarter features of the web andemail systems. CSIP is now exploring narrative techniques as toolsnot only for enhanced communication but also for organizationaldevelopment—both for the organization and as a service Improvementtool for its clients.

3.Adoption of knowledge roles, with much better management ofknowledge bases in various areas as a result.

4.Clear increases in publication of stories of CSIP work, and asteadily increasing volume of visits to the website.

5.Enhancements to the way CSIP has been managing and reporting on thedelivery of work.

6.Improved cross-visibility and shared knowledge of completed andcurrent work all across the team, leading to more collaboration inplanning and delivery of the work.

7.Building an asset of “learning logs” from completed pieces ofwork.

8.Positive description, analysis, and measurement of KM maturity fromquestionnaires and measurement tools between 2006 and2009.

Lessons learned

• As”KM evangelists,” make your guidance and education as practical aspossible. That is the best way to ensure buy-in and engagement andto be able to demonstrate the benefits of improved ways of managingand applying knowledge.

•Naturally needing, or being inclined, to work in certain ways doesnot automatically make people good at doing it.

•Never underestimate the extent to which your people will want to bepersonally supported through adopting new approaches, tools, andtechniques—especially new IT systems; if you do, you will fail tomaximize buy-in.

• Tieyour KM-based objectives to organizational objectives and those forthe personal development of your people.

• Takea methodical approach and prepare your materials well; especiallywhen entering “new territories,” your colleagues will need to thinkin new, exploratory ways but will also need you to be able toprovide a framework and a grounded basis in structuredorganizational improvement.

• Setclear objectives for discrete, individual pieces ofwork.

• Youneed to both:

1)Keep any eye on the Big Picture (the whole of your KM program) andtake a holistic approach, and also

2)Recognize and credit the importance of individual elements of theprogram. Otherwise people might dismiss or undervalue the whole ofyour KM initiatives if their experience in one area is notpositive, or not clearly related to a specific improvement, as wellas other areas.

Assignment Questions:

1. Why did CSIP embark on knowledge management? Summarize the variouskey knowledge needs identified by CSIP.

2. Explain Knowledge taxonomies.

What specific programs were undertaken by CSIP? How was knowledgemanagement program implemented?

3. How do organizations learn and remember? Why do theyforget?

4. Explain the key results experienced and lessons learned by CSIPfrom implementing the knowledge managementinitiatives.