Inez van Polanen, Womens' Information and Referral Exchange, Victoria; Kerry Tanner, School of Information Management and Systems, Monash University
Knowledge Management (KM) systems have been widely implemented in large commercial and government organisations since the mid-1990's. However, investment in expensive proprietary KM systems is out of the question for small community organisations operating with limited resources, tight budgets and a heavy reliance on volunteer labour. WIRE - Women's Information is a knowledge- intensive community organisation facing escalating costs from labour-intensive information management practices.
For the survival of organisations such as WIRE, it is imperative that the effective KM strategies, processes and systems be implemented. A preliminary analysis has been undertaken at WIRE of current information and knowledge flows and processes, system needs and requirements, and potential effective yet affordable KM strategies and system solutions for enhancing its information services to women. The particular focus was on WIRE's phone-based information service.