This section provides guidance on how to develop and disseminate knowledge products as part of the project’s overall KM plan. The main steps discussed here are: identifying the key stakeholders and audiences; deciding on knowledge products, their purpose and how best to package them; planning dissemination channels and events; and working with KM partners. (Readers are invited to visit the IFAD Communications Toolkit for further guidance.)
1. IDENTIFY STAKEHOLDERS AND AUDIENCES
Who are they? What are they interested in? How do we reach them? How do we engage them? Different project stakeholders have different knowledge needs. This influences the objectives and the format of the knowledge products as well as the vehicles for dissemination. The key stakeholders for a typical IFAD-supported project vary from project staff to representatives of the government, and they all require different types of information (the purpose and activities of the project, the main results and impact, policy-relevant lessons, the results of a specific study, etc.).
Stakeholders |
What do they want/need to know? |
Local
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National
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International
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2. IDENTIFY KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS
What kind of knowledge products should the project produce for the different target audiences? This decision will usually be determined by: the project's knowledge themes and learning questions, and the goals and objectives of the KM plan; and by the interests of the main stakeholders and partners. In general, a project should aim to produce knowledge products on a range of topics for a range of stakeholders. As some products are quick and easy to produce and others take a greater investment of time and resources, it may be useful to plan a pipeline of products to be released regularly. This will help to maintain the interest of stakeholders and partners, and to ensure availability of new content for project websites, social media and other dissemination channels.
The table below summarizes some of the more common knowledge products and their uses.
The table below summarizes some of the more common knowledge products and their uses.
Types of knowledge products |
Purpose |
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3. DISSEMINATION
Planned development and dissemination of knowledge products helps to ensure that they are relevant, that your target audiences know about them and are more likely to actually use them.
What channels exist for sharing and dissemination of knowledge and knowledge products? How can the project use them? Which dissemination channels are most suitable for which products, and for the target audiences?
Project websites, thematic websites and online communities and networks are useful for distributing success stories, lessons, updates on progress and results, specific studies and reports and more specialised or technical knowledge. Documented lessons, studies, briefs and other publications can also be disseminated in a targeted manner – for example via mailing lists, or at specific meetings and events. Outreach through social media can inform contacts about the release of new knowledge products, help to build a community around the project, and provide regular updates on progress and activities. Local and national newspapers can be a good option for sharing success stories with the general public and to raise awareness of the project activities.
Timing of the release of and communication about knowledge products is also important. For major publications, launch events can be valuable opportunities to gather partners and stakeholders to discuss the the topics and issues covered. Otherwise, it can be effective to promote knowledge products at relevant events – for example workshops, learning events, national or international conferences, or visits of politicians to the project area.
A dissemination plan for knowledge products, as the one in the templates section, may include: a launch event; targeted email distribution to key audiences; dissemination through formal networks and communities; announcements on social media and on the project website at the time of launch; blog posts; periodic events organized by the project and other key events at local, regional, national and international levels.
Before disseminating knowledge products, in particular before contacting the media or using social media, consult the IFAD Communications Toolkit for guidance on dos and don'ts.
A dissemination plan template can be find here while some examples of dissemination channels are included in the table below:
Dissemination channels |
What kinds of knowledge products are they suitable for and what stakeholders can they reach? |
Media
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Online
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There are many online channels for disseminating project knowledge products. The appropriate one should be selected based on the target audience and the type of product. Some will be more suitable for general information and others for more detailed technical information.
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Social media
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Events
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4. EVENTS
Events are opportunities to share knowledge and knowledge products, and of course they often result in generation of new knowledge. Workshops and meetings with the project participants can be excellent opportunities to gather local perspectives, feedback and promote engagement in project activities, discussion and knowledge exchange. Share fairs or learning events at local or national levels with Government staff and project partners can be opportunities to launch new knowledge products, to share project success stories and lessons learned, to convey policy relevant messages to decision makers or build high-level support for project activities. Capitalization workshops are opportunities to discuss, analyse, document and share lessons from project activities, and can generate specific knowledge products. The effectiveness of such events can be assessed by using simple tools, such as feedback forms.
Events |
What can they contribute to project KM goals and objectives? |
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BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER
The table below gives some examples of how targeted knowledge products can contribute to achieving project KM objectives.
Examples of KM objective |
Stakeholders/ target audiences |
Knowledge products |
Dissemination channels/events |
Useful partnerships |
Influence policy |
Government bodies Key decision makers Donors/development partners |
Studies Policy briefs Evidence-based lessons learned on successful approaches Pictures and videos |
Seminars Roundtable discussions Policy working groups Social media Expert blogs |
Universities Relevant NGOs National-level associations of interest groups |
Strengthen project implementation |
Project team Staff of implementing agency and of other similar projects Implementing partners and service providers |
Lessons learned Documented good practice & innovations How-to-do-notes Guidelines Local knowledge briefs |
Project learning days/workshop Sharefairs Project website Training sessions |
Project staff Technical experts (consultants or staff of line ministries / extension centres) Local people |
Contribute to body of knowledge on project themes |
Government Ministries and agencies Decision makers Academics |
Studies Journal articles Lessons learned How-to-do-notes |
Thematic websites Communities of practice Learning events, seminars, conferences Academic journals Expert blogs |
Universities National and international research centres |
Share project knowledge with local community |
Local communities Target groups |
Newsletters/circulars Posters/leaflets/maps Video, animations, cartoons Facebook pages/project website Project briefs |
Start-up workshops Interactive awareness-raising events Local media/social media Field visits Mailing lists |
Local journalists Project staff Community organisations Local NGOs Local schools |