SMR International colleagues and clients are aware that Information Africa Organization (IAO) is a new nongovernmental organization (NGO) in Africa. The organization’s focus is on youth, and specifically on strategic learning and training in ICT, KM, and knowledge services skills for African young people.
SMR President Guy St. Clair is an IAO volunteer, using the SMR International site to report on the organization’s progress and, as appropriate, providing consulting and advisory services. With the former, SMR has published both an e-Profile and a special report about the organization and expects to continue bringing attention to IAO through the SMR’s work with clients and colleagues.
Asked to share some of his ideas about strategic learning in the ICT/KM/knowledge services arena, St. Clair spoke to the IAO Board of Directors at a recent meeting. St. Clair’s presentation – “A Second Chance: IAO’s Splendid Mission – Taking Responsibility Seriously” offered talking points for a lively discussion about the role of NGOs in society and, in particular, about how organizations, companies, and individuals can incorporate social responsibility into the corporate and organizational mission. [Click on the presentation title to view the slides.]
Drawing on Peter F. Drucker’s concerns about the “responsibility gap,” St. Clair urged board members to ensure that in planning strategic learning endeavors for ICT/KM/knowledge services, they and prospective partners grasp the critical importance of competitiveness in the development of knowledge competencies. It is only in achieving excellence in their strategic learning products and services, St. Clair said, that companies and organizations ensure the success of training and knowledge-sharing.
Matching strategic learning in ICT/KM/knowledge services – IAO’s purpose – with what he refers to as the “knowledge uptake” in corporate and organizational management (and – more important – in society at large), St. Clair identified “dramatic opportunities for the future” in working with young people. He provided an optimistic picture of IAO’s potential in this area and, with board members, discussed a number of planned objectives for the organization and its future development.
Guy St. Clair teaches at Columbia University in the City of New York. His subject is knowledge services, an approach to managing intellectual capital that merges information management (including technology management), knowledge management, and strategic learning. He is the author of Knowledge Services: A Strategic Framework for the 21st Century Organization (Munich: De Gruyter, 2016).
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