The "knowledge management" strategy employed by the BC Forest Service included a number of interrelated initiatives aimed at preparing the organization for change, supporting resilience and mobilizing knowledge. In effect, the Forest Service’s approach can be described as a group of strategies designed to promote self-organization and the emergence of excellence in a complex, unpredictable environment.
This approach is supported by a body of research that has concluded that a leader’s role in complex, knowledge-intensive organizations is to create environments for conversation, reflection, learning and innovation rather than to control for results (see, for example, Bennet 2004; Snowden 2002; Wheatley 2000). In complex environments, where organizations operate with great uncertainty about the future, one-size-fits-all plans, approaches and measures are often not effective. It is more desirable to constantly learn from – and respond to – small steps, while ensuring that the approach is coherent with the organization's direction and culture.
In this respect, the BC Forest Service approach is highly coherent with the objectives of change and resilience in an uncertain and complex environment. As the Deputy Minister during the initiation of this work put it:
“If we had articulated a plan and stuck to it, we would not have modeled what we aspired to be…. Organizations need to understand the rapid change that is taking place, develop patterns and experiment around patterns…. You need 10 scenarios and you need to move and adjust all the time. But you also need to review where you have been to decide where you want to go.”
Leadership: The BC Forests Service had strong support from executive to make this change. It was this leadership that helped to spark action across the entire organization. Executive members modeled this approach.
There was also recognition that leadership was needed throughout the organization.
Strategy: Most knowledge-related efforts in the BC Forest Service expanded under the broad strategic organizational change initiative named The Road Ahead.
Objective 2 in the 2005/06 Ministry of Forests and Range service plan outlines the six key strategies of this initiative:
Objective 2: To be a high performing and learning organization -To continue building an innovative and even higher performing organization that focuses on both business and people performance strategies. Key strategies include: fully implement The Road Ahead initiative that focuses on the following six strategies: Mandate — vision, mission and values; Stewardship; Leadership Development; Learning Organization; Workforce Planning; and Organizational Wellness.
Interviewees describe many of the activities undertaken, which focused mostly on developing new tools, a common language and processes to support organization learning through empowering staff to improve business performance. Exhibit 2 shows some of the interrelated activities for which there was training, support and activity. A synergy was created through the introduction of the different activities and each provided the organization with tools and processes to better generate, share and move knowledge.
Other critical process elements identified were letting people choose the knowledge-related training and work they wanted, and trusting staff to organize themselves and take responsibility for their work.
Exhibit 2: Interrelated knowledge activities in the BC Forest Service
Source: Compiled by the Office of the Auditor General of B.C.
The strategic model used by the BC Forest Service can also be thought of as an interrelated series of learning conversations (Exhibit 3). There have been six phases of ministry-wide conversations over several years, gradually building new knowledge, improving cross-boundary knowledge-sharing and developing capacity for change.
Exhibit 3: Knowledge and capacity-building conversations in the BC Forest Service
Source: Compiled by the Office of the Auditor General of B.C.
Each “conversation” drew from a range of experts and resource material and helped to move the organization forward. Diverse, high quality feedback was included, and opportunity for learning and adjustment was provided. The “Strategic Conversation” was a ministry-wide initiative where all staff were asked to develop scenarios about the future of the BC Forest Service. This process generated about 1,800 scenarios about the future from across the province. The conversation itself helped ready the organization for change and drew out knowledge from across different levels in different regions. These scenarios are stored in a database and are currently being used to support new business transformation efforts. Employees spoke about the value of this work, saying the organization could never have realized transformation without these initial steps that shifted culture over several years.