Marketing Your Knowledge: A Report to Philanthropy's R&D Organizations
From PhilanthropyWiki
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This paper succinctly outlines the key obstacles to knowledge sharing in the philanthropic sector and provides current key practices and developing strategies for knowledge sharing among foundations.
Amongst the barriers outlined:
- Philanthropy's non-standardised, decentralised structure makes it difficult to circulate new information
- Although many funders are eager to share their information, the majority are far less likely to use the information of others
- The philanthropic field doesn't know or consult its own history for ideas on good practice
- Philanthropy tends to avoid talking about the bad news or the stuff that didn't work
- Typically, those funders which practice dissemination begin from the premise "What do we have to say?" rather than "What do people need from us?"; they are coming from the premise that they want their information to be widely available, rather than widely used
Among the more relevant key strategies/ideas suggested:
- For a segmented audience, knowledge will stick more effectively if communications are also segmented
- The most useful information and knowledge is gained and given through peer-to-peer networks
- Readers prefer to read articles written by their peers
- People are more likely to consume new knowledge when they are also seeking to share knowledge with others
- Stories are useful illustrations of knowledge, showing it in context; philanthropy is not capturing or sharing its stories effectively
- You can't assume that if something is there, people will come to it. Push and pull strategies are the most effective - you push a small, catchy summary of information at people, and then show them where they can pull more information