Effective Public Administration: Knowledge Management and CAF
Knowledge and quality management
Knowledge management distinguishes tacit knowledge (experience, intuition) from explicit knowledge (documents, databases). Nonaka’s SECI cycle - socialisation, externalisation, combination, internalisation - explains how the two convert. Public bodies use communities of practice, after-action reviews, lessons-learned registers and exit interviews. Quality management rests on PDCA (plan–do–check–act). The Common Assessment Framework (CAF) is the EU public-sector self-assessment tool: nine criteria - five enablers (leadership; strategy and planning; people; partnerships and resources; processes) and four results (citizen/customer, people, social responsibility, key performance) - applied through self-assessment, an improvement plan and periodic re-assessment.
Traps and rule of thumb
Traps: CAF is not a certification, award or ranking; it is free, voluntary and evidence-based, led by trained internal facilitators. EFQM is a different model. Knowledge management is not merely IT. Results criteria cover both perceptions and performance indicators. Rule of thumb: “enablers drive results; evidence drives scores.” Worked example: an agency facing falling service quality runs a CAF self-assessment with mixed staff, scores 0–100 on each sub-criterion, identifies two priority improvements, and assigns owners and deadlines in a costed improvement plan.