Mission
The mission of the TRB Task Force on Transportation
Knowledge Management (AB010T) is to advance and disseminate
practices that facilitate improved knowledge sharing and
retention throughout the transportation industry and
government agencies.
The TRB Task Force on Knowledge Management reports to the
TRB Policy and Organization Group (AB000)
Scope
The TRB Task Force on Transportation Knowledge Management
will coordinate the activities of, and facilitate
communication among, the TRB standing committees regarding
the cross-cutting issues of knowledge management. The TRB
Task Force augments, but does not replace, the activities of
the TRB standing committees in these areas. The scope
encompasses:
• People: Risk management, performance expectations, and
collaborative processes that support knowledge transfer and
retention and promote a learning workforce.
• Processes: Methods to identify risk; prevent knowledge
loss; and, mitigate lost knowledge including activities such
as information governance, business processes, and
enterprise architectures.
• Technology: Applications and processes that facilitate
information capture, access, collaboration, and
preservation.
Goal
The goal of the TRB Task Force is to provide cross
committee coordination for the development and deployment of
Transportation Knowledge Management, in support of the
missions of TRB, its sponsors and affiliates.
Objectives
The objectives of the Task Force are to:
• Provide a forum for sharing information and research
related to knowledge management
• Coordinate knowledge management interests and activities
amongst TRB Groups
• Identify emerging performance needs, issues and
technologies relevant to knowledge management.
• Develop and disseminate research needs statements.
What is Knowledge Management?
There are many definitions for Knowledge Management and a variety of strategies that may be used to facilitate it. David Delong, in his book Lost Knowledge, describes it as a cultural shift much like performance management – but in the case of knowledge management, one in which focus is put on how knowledge is created, shared, captured, stored, and made available for long term access and use.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration defines knowledge management as “getting the right information to the right people at the right time, and helping people create knowledge and share and act upon information in ways that will measurably improve the performance of NASA and its partners.” They are focusing on three priority areas:
1. To sustain knowledge across missions and generations.
2. To help people find, organize, and share the knowledge we already have.
3. To increase collaboration and to facilitate knowledge creation and sharing.