Making Information Count : knowledge competencies in the NHS

1
Making Information Count knowledge competencies
in the NHS

• Veronica Fraser,
• NHS Library Adviser
• Health Libraries Group
• September 2004

2
Knowledge competencies

• National and NHS competency based national
  initiatives
• NHS KSF and Agenda for Change
• UK CHIP, CILIP, isNTO,
• TFPL, BSI, MLA, LKDN
• NHS KM - IT or culture and skills
• roles and skills for library staff
• doing it for ourselves

3
Skills and competencies - national strategies

• Skills for the Information Age
• National Skills Strategy (WP)
• competition, innovation, creativity
• IT, business, leadership
• Skills for Business/Skills for life/C21st skills
• focus on IT, procurement, information literacy

4
NHS and Competency Development

• Skills for Health (NHS SSC)
• occupational mapping and National Standards (NOS)
• adopted isNTO NOS developed new for KM
• field tested 2003/2004
• NHS
• Making Information Count
• Working Together, Learning Together
• Knowledge and Skills Framework
• NHSU and Skills escalator
• Agenda for Change

5
NHS Agenda for Change

• recruitment, ETD, pay and capacity
• modernised services - modernised jobs
• Knowledge and Skills Framework (NHS KSF)
• organisations can audit knowledge and skills
• competency framework
• Development Reviews systematic PDP
• gateways in pay progression
• Trevor McIlroy, Linda Ferguson, LKDN

6
Librarians - new competencies for old ?

• Knowledge Management roles
• regulatory framework , Information Governance
• supporting learners/ teaching information skills
• Clinical Librarian posts
• greater user expectations multi channel
  technologies
• so is it health informatics ?

7
Health Informatics

• the knowledge, skills and tools which enable
  information to be collected, managed, used and
  shared to support the delivery of healthcare and
  promote health

8
Skills and competencies sought now (1)

• knowledge audit, knowledge harvesting
• developing strategy, innovation
• selling/marketing, understanding business
• facilitating, teaching and learning
• portal development, extranet/intranet
• health informatics, performance management
• people skills, leadership
• teamwork/developing partnerships
• records management
• reviewing/evaluating

9
Skills and competencies sought now (2)

• knowledge of IP analytical tools
• research experience, records management
• manage information flow,
• licensing issues, digitisation strategies
• web site development, e-Learning support
• communication skills, knowledge of latest trends
• negotiation/influencing, budget management
• cataloguing

10
Skills and competencies sought now (3)

• information graduate
• communication skills
• presentation skills
• searching
• project management
• customer care
• experience
• management competencies
• able to deal with DP FOI IPR

11
Competency Framework

• competency - cluster of knowledge, skills,
  abilities,personal qualities,and behaviours
  required for fully effective performance
• competency framework - common reference models
  providing guidelines, tools, maps for
  constructingg and managing skills audits and
  building on results

12
NHS KM Initiatives

• focussed on IT infrastructure
• evaluation demonstrates that no correlation
  between IT spend and business success
• change could as easily be led by HRD as IT
• or even librarians !
• workforce weary of top down initiatives
• mobilisation and culture change neglected
• education, training and development sporadic

13
KM - another definition

• a synergistic combination of data and
  information processing capacity of IT and the
  creative and innovative capacity of human beings
  
• - John Seely Brown, Director Zerox Park Research
  Centre, California

14
KM Environment - Culture and Skills

• Knowledge Workers communicate and operate through
  social processes - collaboration, knowledge
  sharing, building on ideas and experience
• not just about overcoming technical heterogenity
  and multiple IT structures

15
KM - Culture and Skills

• the right environment for knowledge sharing ie
  IPR, HRD, ergonomics
• plus partnership working, collaborative
  learning, training and development
• ie requiries development in skills, tools,
  capacity, commitment and leadership

16
KM - Culture and Skills

• KM - content management - customer relations -
  people skills
• KM as easily led by HRD as IT
• KM key skills - facilitation - project
  management - negotiation - influencing
• dispersed throughout organisation and represented
  by a willingness to adopt knowledge focussed
  working

17
What can help ?

• Role of KM in HSC understood and valued
• audit, link and build on initiatives
• Library, information and KM skills and services
  understood and valued
• Use AfC LKDN National Profiles
• ensure NLH has comprehensive skills development
  programme
• develop Communities of Practice
• research and share good practice
• partnership working - NPfIT, CILIP, LKDN,
  LLL-SSC, NHSU

18
Getting the right competencies

• Librarians are ready, willing able but
• their role historically not understood and not
  well rewarded
• difficult to recruit new skills
• CPD/PDP opportunities often restricted and
  expensive
• employer support inadequate
• confusion of competing groups and strategies

19
Self Help Strategies

• invest in your self - allocate time for formal
  CPD as well as work based learning
• use NHS, TFPL other self assessment tools
• look outside LIS - IPD, ITOL, PRINCE
• survival skills - assertiveness, creativity,
  preparedness for change
• KM - like speaking in prose but doing it
  consciously and better

20
Thanks for listening

• Over to you -
• Issues, Questions,Discussion
• Footnotes and web link -
• http//www.dh.gov.uk/PolicyandGuidance/Information
  Technology/NHSLibraryAdviserArticle/fs/en?CONTENT_
  ID4015543ampchkWH/ue4

21
Footnotes - Skills and competencies - library and
information

• CILIP, TFPL BSI and others
• isNTO and the Lifelong Learning Skills Sector
  Council
• UK CHIP and Health Informatics
• all based on competency frameworks

22
Footnotes - CILIP

• new Framework for Qualifications
• matrix of pathways
• recognition of work based learning
• CPD Framework, training/ development Group
  events
• hospitable to others - talking to UK CHIP
• Health Executive Advisory Group (HEAG)
• future proofing, radical look at changing roles
  and ETD/ CPD needs

23
Footnotes - TFPL

• recognised expertise in KM
• consultants for Library Strategy Review
• Knowledge and Information Management Competency
  Framework and Dictionary
• Strategic leader Team leader Team member all
  staff
• KM Toolkit - web enabled by NHS funding
• www.tfpl.com.uk

24
Footnotes - isNTO/ Lifelong Learning Sector
Skills Council

• UK wide
• Employer led - strategic responsibility for
• workforce planning and development
• occupational standards, qualifications
• commission and use research
• identify skills gaps
• Life-long learning collaboration
• Employment FE and HE Community Based Learning
• www.isNTO.org.uk

25
Footnotes - NHS initiatives

• ECDL - Health Module under discussion
• NHS Leadership Centre
• NHSU
• NeLH Folio/ National Library for Health - CPD
  programme
• SHA wide and local
• UK CHIP - registration for basket of
  professions www.ukchip.org