Knowledge Exchange Toolbox

Principal Author: Meena Arivananthan
Contributing Authors: Angèle Bijanu, Paula Bulancea, Jens Matthes, Diksha Mudbhary-Sitaula, Eric Mullerbeck, Paola Storchi, and Ian Thorpe

The Knowledge Exchange Toolbox was created to help United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) staff and partners to plan and implement knowledge sharing activities in development for children. These events are designed to create or share practical knowledge - knowledge that is relevant for achieving results. This may be academic or technical, or it may be "know-how", based on experiences of how to achieve results in a particular context or how to address specific challenges.

This Toolbox is meant to be a reference for any practitioner, such as a specialist in knowledge exchange/knowledge management, who needs to make effective decisions, facilitate or guide effective decision-making processes, or manage or coordinate group work in development that requires the knowledge of multiple persons to succeed. It aims to empower decision-makers to choose from a variety of methods that can be applied individually or in combination, to capture and apply knowledge to help make progress on development challenges around the world. The tools "serve to bring teams, groups and networks 'onto the same page', by establishing a common understanding of challenges and perspectives on potential actions, and building the connections necessary for effective teamwork. Development challenges for children can only be solved collaboratively, through the efforts of multiple contributors working together."

The tools, which may be accessed in the PDF document below or individually, by clicking here, include: After Action Review; Brainstorming; Buzz Groups; Chat Show; Debrief; E-Discussion; Expert Interview (with audience); Fishbowl; Icebreakers; Lessons Learned (template); Lightning Talks; Meeting Facilitation; Online Jam; Real-time Evaluation Tools for Meetings; Retrospect; Surveys (online & informal); SWOT and PESTEL; Timeline; Topsy Turvy; VIPP Card Collection and Clustering; Virtual Peer Assist; Webinar; and World Café. In addition, the process of Online Communities is explored, including through a full module that covers: why to use, how communities work, who makes up a community, and the 90-day plan.

UNICEF says: "This Toolbox is a living document. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Additional tools will be added over time, along with relevant examples of how they have been applied in various stages of policy and planning. We will also improve and revise the existing tools from time to time based on your feedback and our experience in using them."