SWEEP Net

Knowledge Management within the SWEEP-NET - emerging perspectives for our members

It is true that for SWEEP-Net, the Regional Solid Waste Exchange of Information and Expertise Network, knowledge management is one of the most important issues.

“Exchange of information and experience” is not only fixed in the name of SWEEP-Net but also its raison-d’être, its conceptual approach and furthermore the focus of its objectives.

The questions behind are: What is this thing called knowledge management? And why is it so important to each and all of us, the members of the network? What it is meant by knowledge, and why does it need to be managed.

The idea and the logic behind is that a collection of data alone is not yet information, a collection of information is not yet knowledge and collections of knowledge is not experience or know-how yet. Focussing on the exchange of information, of knowledge and of experience means identifying good or even best practices locally that can be applied and reapplied somewhere else. Here it is a matter of pro-active contribution with specific know-how of everyone within the “SWEEP-Net” it is more than a data base, but rather a living system.

SWEEP-Net’s knowledge management is one of the network’s main services involving:

Information

relates to what, who, when and where were good practises made in the partner countries?
The service: Currently - the SWEEP-Net‘s secretariat– is, first of all, elaborating a data base, that you can log in through internet and identify experts, projects, potential partners and resource- persons in different sub-sectors of waste management;

Knowledge

comprises strategies, practices, methods or approaches. What was the strategy behind and the approaches you have chosen to achieve positive and sustainable results?
The service: More than a «data and information», sweep-net is offering a «knowledge» through different types of information, country-profiles and country-reports and studies, guidelines for trainings, etc. related to solid waste issues.

Expertise and Experience

embodies principles, analyses and insights. Why did it function or not? What are the success factors?
The approach: Encourage and promote the network’s members and partners, to exchange case-studies and experiences. At this stage, a virtual platform is being set-up to exchange experiences and to promote the dissemination of good practices among and within the partner countries.