Strategic knowledge management and evolving local government

The characteristics of new public management and new public governance are well known, but their impact on managerial knowledge needs and the implementation of knowledge management in local government remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the key elements of a public organization’s knowledge strategy and shows how knowledge management can support public management.

A case study on the application of an action research process was conducted to study how the City of Tampere in Finland aimed to overcome challenges in utilizing performance information by applying the ideas of knowledge management.

The study suggests that a holistic knowledge management strategy promotes the use of performance information by providing a systematic management framework for gathering and utilizing the information.

Four factors appear critical for strategic knowledge management in local government. First, it should be driven by the city’s strategy. Second, it should be carefully integrated into the general management system. Third, clear processes and responsibilities for refining the data are needed. Fourth, the quality of the data must be guaranteed. The results also emphasize the roles of management culture and continuous performance dialogue.

This paper makes two contributions. First, it extends the analysis of a knowledge management strategy to public management, and second, it provides a practical illustration of the development process, where knowledge was put into prime focus in developing public management.