The Naval Personnel Development Command (NPDC) held its first Knowledge Management Awards Board in January and the winners were announced by Rear Adm. Moira Flanders, commander, NPDC, during the most recent Commanding Officer/Command Master Chief Conference in Pensacola, Fla.
Knowledge management initiatives began at NPDC four and half years ago, and today, KM has become the process by which leadership utilizes the training tools at their disposal to effectively manage corporate knowledge in their commands.
The awards were given in the categories of Community of Practice (CoP) and Innovation. Master Chief Legalman (SW) Donna Sayers from the Center for Service Support (CSS) Athens, Ga., took home the CoP Award.
Sayers' award was based on her development and management of a CoP on Navy Knowledge Online (NKO) that enables collaboration and knowledge sharing across the legalman community. Sayers said her goal in building the CoP was to provide LNs with standardized training, reachback points of contacts, and direct links to the forms and directives they need to perform day-to-day duties. She also wanted a knowledge portal that could keep information current and be as readily available to LNs on independent duty or serving in remote locations as it is to those serving in Navy Legal Service Offices where they have at least one chief petty officer and an experienced LN available.
"I think one of the big differences in the LN CoP is [that] although it provides training, its focus is not only on training," said Sayers, whose CoP can be accessed through NKO at https://www.nko.navy.mil.
The Innovation Award was split between Mass Communications Specialist 1st Class (SW/AW) Jorge Morales from CSS and Fire Controlman 1st Class (SW) Christopher Downing, Fire Controlman 1st Class (SW) Daniel Mohn, Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SW) Francisco Noguera, Mr. Peter Shepherd and Mr. Timothy White, all from the Center for Surface Combat Systems, Great Lakes, Ill.
CSS is one of 16 Learning Centers, and CSCS Great Lakes is one of more than 60 learning sites aligned under NPDC, which is responsible for providing Sailors with the tools, knowledge and opportunities for their personal growth and professional development.
"The Center for Service Support and Center for Surface Combat Systems have displayed excellence both in building a community base of collaboration that helps people learn from one another more efficiently, and they have excelled at developing innovations that help make the Navy more mission capable and ready," said Jon Harris, knowledge manager for NPDC, who is responsible for the development and implementation of the knowledge management strategy for the NPDC domain.
The CoPs for ETs or FCs can be accessed by logging into NKO at https://www.nko.navy.mil, and entering the appropriate directory name for each rate in the search bar.