Using social collaboration to improve networking and knowledge sharing (English)

Through a new internal social collaboration platform, the World Bank's water anchor is encouraging World Bank staff to discuss and share their work on rural water supply. Partly funded by the Water Partnership Program (WPP), this initiative facilitates...  See More + Through a new internal social collaboration platform, the World Bank's water anchor is encouraging World Bank staff to discuss and share their work on rural water supply. Partly funded by the Water Partnership Program (WPP), this initiative facilitates knowledge sharing and cross regional fertilization between and beyond WPP-funded activities. It may even lay the groundwork for worldwide collaboration among rural water experts. The water anchor created a work space called the Rural Water Supplies Collaborative (RWSC) on 'scoop' the Bank's online collaboration platform. To attract staff to the site, the anchor launched a virtual conference, supported by the WPP. The idea was to generate a buzz around RWSC that would motivate Bank staff to visit the site, and discover the potential of a 24/7 virtual forum where they could comment on the presentations and documents uploaded by their colleagues from around the globe. WPP-financed studies provided much of the content for the conference's virtual sessions. The results exceeded expectations. Over its five-month run, the conference attracted 1,942 page views from Bank staff around the world, making RWSC the fourth most visited of the 530 work spaces on scoop. The water anchor aims to extend this initiative to an external platform that will allow Bank staff and non-Bank experts to discuss and exchange information. The pilot site will allow rural water supply experts from around the world to join with Bank water experts in discussing public-private partnerships to manage rural water schemes. The water anchor hopes this site will become a focal point for rural water supply experts from many development organizations. Replication of this example could significantly enhance collaboration and knowledge sharing on related topics as well.  See Less -