OTS’s newest unit, Knowledge Management, was established to promote a culture of collaboration and knowledge sharing among FHWA’s workforce.
Knowledge Management Unit
The Knowledge Management (KM) unit is focused on two key aspects of KM: connecting people and developing the tools we use to make those connections. The unit hit the ground running during the summer of 2017 with key efforts designed to streamline processes, make connections, and share knowledge. Since KM is about people, the processes they use to do their work, and the outcomes of that work, there was no better place to start than with the technical disciplines already functioning within FHWA.
See other OTS stories:
Find out what the Resource Center achieved in 2017.
Find out what the National Highway Institute (NHI) accomplished in 2017.
Discipline Support – Connecting people with common technical expertise
The Discipline Support System (DSS) is the primary technical training and professional development framework for FHWA staff. In 2017, the KM unit took on the management of the DSS learning and development seminars, quickly creating streamlined and consistent processes for discipline seminar planning. With one discipline seminar completed this fall, the team has scheduled four more for early 2018, and is working on several additional seminars throughout 2018-2019. The KM team is also working to standardize key steps for developing each discipline’s learning and development plan. The goal is to ensure those plans include discipline training and other key activities that will sustain the members’ connection and technical expertise throughout the multi-year cycle in between the in-person seminars.
Legacy Capture – Learning from those who have gone before
When faced with the impending retirement of three members of the FHWA senior executive service, the KM team quickly developed a strategy for capturing pieces of these leaders’ legacies. Interviews were conducted with each individual and recorded on video. The resulting video productions offer glimpses into how these leaders made decisions, the choices that drove their commitment to service, and the actions they took when faced with difficult situations. These videos, and others, will be available in 2018. KM also created a multi-tiered plan for legacy capture that runs the gamut from storytelling to job aids to a system of curated, searchable information that can benefit those coming behind retiring employees.
iExchange – Connecting people with ideas
The iExchange was created in 2015 to promote collaboration among employees across the agency from all generations and grade levels. In 2017, the iExchange was centered within the KM unit–a natural fit to increase collaboration and the exchange of ideas. This year the iExchange conducted two crowdsources (virtual brainstorming sessions) and piloted FHWA’s first series of virtual speed networking sessions. Collectively, these speed networking sessions had 60 participants, including FHWA’s Acting Administrator and Executive Director. The iExchange is a great forum for committees, councils, and leadership to garner ideas and feedback, as well as for employees to get involved in agency activities.
SHRP2 Implementation – A legacy of teamwork
The OTS commitment to elevating the state of the practice across all transportation disciplines is evident in its leadership of the second Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP2), a $170 million technology implementation program. Although SHRP2 implementation has been underway for several years, many projects are still ongoing from the seven rounds of the Implementation Assistance Program (IAP). The SHRP2 program is now housed within KM, and OTS continues to focus on post-implementation activities such as evaluating the program and its products, as well as collecting and curating important lessons learned for the benefit of future innovation deployment programs.
See other OTS stories:
Find out what the Resource Center achieved in 2017.
Find out what the National Highway Institute (NHI) accomplished in 2017.
