ErhvervsPhD-projekt med Fyns Amt under den kommunale strukturreform som case og e-learning-leverandøren MOCH A/S som samarbejdspartner.
Industrial-PhD fellow, Steffen Löfvall, MOCH A/S / Knowledge Lab, SDU
The industrial PhD-project work title is: Digital mediated learning and knowledge processes in periods of radical organizational transitions. Field studies and technology development projects in social institutions for mentally handicapped individuals during the Danish Municipality reform.
The Municipality Reform in Denmark seems to enhance the ongoing transition from a job based to a competency based public sector. The reform is also characterized by the ideas of new public management and radical changes within the field of professionals. At this very moment; there is a strong need for internal and external clarity about policies, strategies, resources, competencies, jobs i.e. among politicians, managers and administrative staffs. In this situation, the employees and organizations need to develop, reflect on, exploit and brand its competencies. This situation results in new needs for routines and (digital) systems that fasten knowledge creation and distribution.
In the project, different knowledge technologies are being introduced in four (county based) social institutions, geographical placed on Funen. The technologies are:
- A competency management system (cms) at the institution Minibo. A cms provides a systematic work process for clarify individual and organizational skills, aptitudes and competencies. Minibo seeks to describe its competencies for branding and planning purposes. The institution will be divided into two organizations after January 2007 and goes to two new established communes.
- A workflow management system (wms) at Strandvænget. A wms provides a systematic way of handling procedures and documents. Strandvænget seeks to do its client plan processes more efficient and standardized. At this moment, the processes varies in length and quality because of the existence of many local cultures/practices, lack of experience and common standards, i.e.
- A knowledge management system (kms) at Østruplund. A kms provides a platform for registrate and distribute data/information and learning objects. In this study, we introduce a wiki which is a type of website that allows users to add, remove as well as edit all content, quickly and easily. Østruplund seeks to describe its competencies (for profiling and prepare a competence based strategy) when it goes to the new established county (Region Syddanmark).
- A learning management system (lms) at the institution Lindebjerg. A lms provides a systematic way of handling short and long term educationally courses. Lindebjerg seeks to send all its social educators on a 10 weeks course at Odense Pædagogiske Seminarium (regional institute for social educations). The goal is to train and prepare the employees to a new kind of group of clients in the future, because the institution’s status changes from regional (county) to local institution (commune).
The research process is based upon the ideas of action based research and critical realism, whereas the technology development projects are based upon participatory design principles. Finally, the project combines several theory categories; social learning theories (individual and organizational level), political sociology, neo-institutional organization and strategy theory and participatory design theory.
Participants
The core participants are University of Southern Denmark/Knowledge Lab, Copenhagen Business School, Fyns Amt (county) and MOCH A/S. A selected it-vendor sponsors the Minibo-project with tailor-made competency registration software.
