Knowledge Management in Academia

One of my main research interests lies in the field of knowledge management; particularly knowledge management systems.  It is interesting to note the advances made over the past ten years in this field.  However, many of these advances have been made in the business environment.  Very little research has taken place in the academic environments.

I came across an article this week providing a possible explanation for the lack of progress in knowledge management practices in academia.  The strong division between faculty and administration in these institutions and the individualistic culture create pretty significant barriers to any efforts to share knowledge.  While I agree with this assessment in terms of formal knowledge management practices this is not necessarily true of less formalized knowledge management.

In my experiences I am often engaged in conversations with colleagues sharing best practices in the physical and online classrooms, new insight into technology, and experiences in research.  While the academic culture may not currently support formalized knowledge management practices, informal knowledge sharing does take place in more collaborative faculty environments.

While sharing stories and best practices may occur, I just can't imagine faculty taking time to formally document knowledge in a manner that can be shared with others.  Then again, isn't this similar to what I'm doing in this blog?  Perhaps there is hope for better knowledge management practices in academia.  We just need to find ways to share knowledge that fit within our existing workflows.