Knowledge Management in the Public Sector Training Course

Duration 10 days 16 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Knowledge Management Managers, Records and Information Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-KRM-029

Before you join: Participants should have experience working in a public body, government department, regulator, municipality, state-owned enterprise or public-service delivery organisation.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Public-sector organisations can lose critical knowledge through retirements, transfers, restructures, contractor exits and fragmented recordkeeping. Policy rationale, service-delivery lessons, case decisions and specialist know-how are often held in individual inboxes, shared drives or informal networks. The result can be repeated errors, slower decisions, inconsistent services, weak accountability and avoidable difficulty responding to audits, information requests or emergencies.

This course develops the practical knowledge management arrangements needed to identify, capture, organise, share, retain and apply organisational knowledge. Participants work with recognised methods including knowledge audits, knowledge-risk assessment, knowledge maps, communities of practice, lessons-learned reviews, taxonomy design and knowledge governance. Records management is treated as a connected discipline, covering ISO 15489 principles, metadata, retention requirements, disposal controls and access obligations.

Instruction combines short expert briefings, public-sector cases, facilitated group work, scenario-based decisions and structured application planning. From the first week, participants build elements of a knowledge management programme for a realistic department, agency or public body. They leave with a completed knowledge management strategy pack containing a knowledge audit, priority knowledge map, governance model, capture and sharing methods, records controls, implementation roadmap and performance measures.

The course suits managers and specialists responsible for organisational learning, records, information governance, digital transformation, policy delivery, workforce continuity or service improvement. It is particularly relevant where institutions must preserve institutional memory while meeting public accountability, security, privacy and access-to-information duties.

What you will be able to do

  • Conduct a knowledge audit using interviews, document review and knowledge-flow mapping
  • Assess knowledge loss risks using criticality, vulnerability and transferability criteria
  • Design a public-sector knowledge management governance model with defined accountabilities
  • Create knowledge maps, taxonomies and metadata structures for priority knowledge assets
  • Apply ISO 15489 principles to records capture, retention, disposal and access controls
  • Establish communities of practice, lessons-learned reviews and expert knowledge-transfer methods
  • Develop knowledge management measures, implementation roadmaps and business cases
  • Present a complete knowledge management strategy pack for a public-sector organisation

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce a defensible knowledge management strategy for a public-sector setting
  • Identify institutional-memory risks before retirements, transfers or restructures occur
  • Apply practical methods for capturing specialist and policy-development knowledge
  • Improve credibility when advising leaders on records, knowledge and continuity controls
  • Build reusable templates for knowledge audits, transfer plans and governance decisions

For your organisation

  • Reduces loss of critical expertise during workforce change and contractor departures
  • Improves retrieval of policy rationale, decisions, precedents and service-delivery lessons
  • Strengthens records accountability, retention discipline and access-to-information readiness
  • Shortens repeated problem solving through structured lesson capture and knowledge sharing
  • Creates an implementable programme for prioritised knowledge and records risks

Course modules

16 modules over 10 days

Participants can define the knowledge management scope for a public-sector organisation.

  • Knowledge, information, records and data distinguished through public-service examples
  • Knowledge value chains mapped from policy development to service delivery
  • DIKW model used to test assumptions about organisational knowledge assets
  • Critical knowledge losses identified during retirements, transfers and restructures
  • Citizen, regulator and partner knowledge needs translated into requirements
  • Knowledge management scope aligned with statutory, strategic and operational priorities

Participants can relate knowledge management priorities to public value and accountability duties.

  • Public value framework applied to knowledge management investment decisions
  • Accountability chains traced from ministers to operational knowledge owners
  • Administrative law implications considered when documenting reasons and decisions
  • Freedom of information requests linked to retrieval and disclosure practices
  • Privacy obligations incorporated into knowledge sharing and access decisions
  • Audit evidence requirements translated into knowledge and records controls

Participants can design accountabilities and decision rights for knowledge management.

  • Governance operating model defined across executive, business and specialist roles
  • RACI matrix assigns ownership for knowledge assets and controls
  • Knowledge steward roles specified for priority domains and repositories
  • Decision rights established for classification, access, retention and disposal
  • Cross-department governance forums structured around recurring knowledge risks
  • Escalation routes defined for sensitive, disputed or missing knowledge

Participants can conduct a structured knowledge audit for a priority service or function.

  • Knowledge audit scope set through organisational objectives and service risks
  • Interview protocols identify expert knowledge, decisions and recurring bottlenecks
  • Document analysis reveals authoritative sources, duplication and knowledge gaps
  • Knowledge inventory records owners, users, formats, locations and sensitivities
  • Critical knowledge domains prioritised using consequence and dependency criteria
  • Audit findings converted into a validated knowledge asset register

Participants can map where priority knowledge is created, used and constrained.

  • Knowledge maps show sources, users, handoffs and points of failure
  • Process mapping identifies knowledge requirements at key service decisions
  • Social network analysis reveals informal experts and knowledge brokers
  • Knowledge-flow diagrams expose delays, duplication and inaccessible expertise
  • Boundary-spanning knowledge needs identified between policy, operations and technology
  • Map validation sessions distinguish formal procedures from actual working practices

Participants can assess and treat risks of critical knowledge loss.

  • Knowledge-risk register scores criticality, vulnerability and transferability
  • Retirement risk analysed through workforce profiles and succession data
  • Single-point expertise dependencies identified within essential public services
  • Contract exit plans specify knowledge handover, records and access obligations
  • Business continuity plans include essential knowledge sources and substitutes
  • Treatment actions prioritised using risk appetite and implementation effort

Participants can select and structure methods for capturing specialist tacit knowledge.

  • Tacit and explicit knowledge distinguished using the SECI model
  • Knowledge elicitation interviews capture judgement, cues and decision rationale
  • After-action reviews document events, outcomes, causes and recommendations
  • Lessons-learned reviews separate validated lessons from untested opinions
  • Decision logs preserve options considered, evidence used and approvals
  • Expert debriefs convert retiring specialists' experience into reusable guidance

Participants can establish knowledge-sharing mechanisms suited to public-service work.

  • Communities of practice chartered around shared professional and operational problems
  • Community sponsor, facilitator and member roles defined with clear expectations
  • Peer assists transfer experience before major decisions or project starts
  • Knowledge cafés structured for cross-unit problem solving and idea exchange
  • Practice repositories organise validated guidance, cases and reusable templates
  • Participation barriers addressed through workload, recognition and manager support

Participants can connect records management controls with knowledge availability and accountability.

  • ISO 15489 principles applied to authentic, reliable and usable records
  • Records capture requirements defined at transactions, decisions and approvals
  • Retention schedules linked to legal, operational and historical value
  • Disposal authorities distinguish destruction, transfer and permanent preservation
  • Official records separated from convenience copies and transient communications
  • Recordkeeping responsibilities embedded within everyday business processes

Participants can design findable knowledge structures for priority content.

  • Functional classification schemes organise records around business activities
  • Taxonomy design groups knowledge by service, subject and user need
  • Controlled vocabularies reduce inconsistent naming across repositories and teams
  • ISO 23081 metadata concepts support context, control and retrieval
  • Faceted classification enables filtering by topic, owner, status and sensitivity
  • Naming conventions improve version control and authoritative source identification

Participants can specify content lifecycle and retrieval requirements for knowledge repositories.

  • Repository requirements defined from user tasks, content types and risks
  • Content lifecycle stages specify creation, review, publication and retirement
  • Search relevance improved through metadata, synonyms and authoritative sources
  • Version control rules prevent conflicting guidance and superseded procedures
  • Content ownership assigns review dates, quality checks and update duties
  • Repository migration plans protect metadata, links and retention controls

Participants can set proportionate controls for sharing sensitive public-sector knowledge.

  • Information classification determines handling, access and sharing restrictions
  • Need-to-know access rules balanced against service continuity requirements
  • Privacy impact assessments identify personal-data risks in knowledge repositories
  • Security labels applied to sensitive operational, investigative and policy content
  • Redaction procedures protect exempt information while supporting lawful disclosure
  • Ethical review addresses bias, provenance and misuse of organisational knowledge

Participants can embed knowledge practices into policy, programme and service processes.

  • Policy evidence registers connect research, consultation and decision records
  • Service playbooks capture procedures, exceptions, escalation routes and service standards
  • Case management knowledge supports consistent decisions and defensible reasoning
  • Programme closeout reviews preserve delivery lessons for future initiatives
  • Operational dashboards combine performance data with contextual knowledge
  • Frontline feedback loops turn citizen experience into service improvements

Participants can plan adoption activities that establish sustainable knowledge practices.

  • ADKAR model applied to knowledge management behaviour change
  • Stakeholder analysis identifies sponsors, adopters, blockers and affected groups
  • Change impact assessment compares current and required knowledge practices
  • Communication plans explain roles, benefits, controls and implementation timing
  • Manager toolkits support local reinforcement of capture and sharing routines
  • Adoption measures track usage, contribution, quality and user confidence

Participants can measure knowledge management performance and direct improvement actions.

  • Logic models connect knowledge activities to outputs, outcomes and public value
  • Balanced scorecard measures cover people, process, content and service performance
  • Knowledge maturity assessment identifies current capability and priority gaps
  • Quality assurance checks test accuracy, currency, authority and usability
  • Internal audit criteria assess compliance with governance and records controls
  • Improvement backlog prioritises corrective actions, owners and review dates

Participants can build, review and present a complete knowledge management strategy pack for a public-sector organisation.

  • Knowledge audit findings synthesised into priority domains and risk statements
  • Target operating model assigns governance, stewardship and decision rights
  • Knowledge map identifies critical flows, repositories and vulnerable expertise
  • Records controls specify classification, metadata, retention and access requirements
  • Implementation roadmap sequences quick wins, dependencies, resources and milestones
  • Performance dashboard defines measures, baselines, targets and review arrangements

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Knowledge audit template
  2. Critical knowledge-risk register
  3. Public-sector knowledge governance RACI matrix
  4. Knowledge map and asset register
  5. Records classification and metadata checklist
  6. Knowledge management strategy pack

Who should attend

  • Knowledge Management Managers — responsible for building or improving knowledge management arrangements
  • Records and Information Managers — need to connect records controls with usable organisational knowledge
  • Policy and Programme Managers — need to preserve evidence, decisions and delivery lessons
  • Digital Transformation Managers — need knowledge requirements built into platforms and service change
  • Human Resources and Learning Managers — need to protect expertise during workforce movement
  • Internal Audit and Governance Officers — need clearer accountability for knowledge and records risks

Skills and tools covered

Knowledge auditingKnowledge-risk assessmentRecords governanceTaxonomy designKnowledge transferProgramme implementation

Tools and standards

ISO 15489, ISO 23081, SECI model, ADKAR model

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by public-sector cases, group analysis, simulations and structured planning. Participants examine examples involving policy continuity, emergency response, service delivery, regulatory decisions and workforce exits. They apply knowledge audits, risk assessments, records controls and governance methods to a realistic organisational scenario, then adapt the outputs to their own context. Facilitated peer review tests assumptions, accountabilities, implementation priorities and measures. Each participant develops a connected strategy pack rather than isolated course notes.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have experience working in a public body, government department, regulator, municipality, state-owned enterprise or public-service delivery organisation. Familiarity with internal policies, records, information systems or operational processes is useful. Participants should be able to discuss a real knowledge, records or continuity issue from their workplace. No prior qualification in knowledge management, archival science, information science or enterprise architecture is required. The course does not require technical system configuration skills, coding expertise or responsibility for a formal records repository.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need workplace experience in a public-sector or public-service setting and familiarity with organisational processes or information practices. No prior training in knowledge management, records management or information science is required.

Bring a current knowledge, records, continuity, service-delivery or policy challenge that you can discuss without disclosing protected information. Existing organisational charts, process maps, retention schedules or strategy documents are useful if permitted.

It suits managers and specialists responsible for knowledge, records, policy, programmes, service improvement, workforce continuity, digital change or governance. It also suits staff preparing to lead a knowledge management initiative.

Records management courses focus primarily on evidence, retention, classification, disposal and compliance controls. This course includes those controls while also addressing tacit expertise, knowledge transfer, communities of practice, organisational learning and implementation governance.

Participants can begin with a knowledge audit of one priority service, policy area or operational function. The templates support practical work on succession risk, lessons learned, repository improvement, governance roles and implementation planning.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week builds diagnosis, governance, capture and records foundations; the second week develops systems, adoption, measurement and the final strategy-pack presentation.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

Related courses in Knowledge & Records Management