Risking knowledge management: An information audit of risk management activities within the Hobart City Council

To describe the process of conducting an information audit at the Hobart City Council and to demonstrate how the audit contributed to knowledge management at the Council.

This paper is a personalised account of a pilot information audit conducted in the area of risk management activities across the organisation. It gives an overview of some relevant knowledge management texts, the methodology of the pilot audit and a summary of the findings and outcomes of the project.

The Council units have yet to implement all the findings and recommendations of the pilot, but there have already been significant outcomes. Units have used the audit to coordinate risk management initiatives and processes with other areas. This has contributed to breaking down the information silos and to the development of a culture of knowledge sharing.

This paper describes the process used for the Pilot Information Audit – Risk Management project, and what happened as a result.

This paper may provide some useful insights to other librarians in a small special library environment with limited resources who are planning to conduct an information audit.

This is an example of an information audit undertaken in a local government setting.