How can knowledge and learning best be organized in an organization and how can this knowledge be disseminated inside and outside the organization? The Support for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement (SPA) project sought to answer these questions with the study Knowledge Management: From bottleneck to success factor. With the methodological framework of knowledge management (KM) proposed in this study, the SPA project, funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI), provides an important input for knowledge management among IKI projects in the region.

On September 23rd, the IKI Interface projects in the Latin America and Caribbean region organized a webinar to present this important study to the IKI projects in the region. Opening the event, Nina Wettern from the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) highlighted the importance of knowledge management in the IKI community for a more concise and informed project implementation.

It is more and more relevant for organizations and companies to find new innovation tools to improve their learning processes, their organizational management and their handling of increasing amounts of information. A fundamental issue that Gianluca Colombo, expert in knowledge management of the company OneOffTech, who conducted the study and presented its results in the event, took into account.

Knowledge management has to do with three main aspects: memorizing, coordinating and learning. These three cognitive processes allow better knowledge retention, deeper connections between people, encourage innovation and generate better conditions for decision making. The methodology proposed by Gianluca Colombo is based on six concrete principles:

1. Push and pull: Knowledge always involves two dimensions. That of demand and that of supply. Knowledge management involves balancing both.
2. Data vs. information vs. knowledge: Data and available information are two intrinsically different issues. Any knowledge management process must take this reality into account.
3. Types of knowledge: The process of managing and apprehending any type of knowledge always requires assuming that we must classify it properly.
4. The knowledge value chain: This process involves four phases: discussion, documentation, synthesis, search and adaptation.
5. The data value chain: It consists of four main stages: data collection, publication, assimilation and evaluation of data impact.
6. The four organizational legs: These are transversally crossed by social contexts and four central organizational dimensions: people, processes, technologies and governance.

The KM methodological framework is already being applied among IKI projects working on NDC implementation in Peru. Although there have been some setbacks in the implementation of the methodology, mainly due to the COVID pandemic, three important recommendations can be drawn:

1. Promote the systematic collection, efficient exchange and effective search for information.
2. Encourage dialogue among stakeholders on NDC financing in Latin American countries.
3. Encourage the co-creation of knowledge.

A space for feedback between IKI projects in the region was opened to learn from good practices and challenges in KM strategies. This webinar was a first step to foster knowledge management in the IKI community in order to provide better support to partner countries in the implementation of their climate and biodiversity goals.