Professor, Institute for Knowledge and Innovation Southeast Asia (IKI-SEA), Bangkok University, Thailand
As a society, we face a multitude of simultaneous and interconnected challenges. In 2021, I proposed responsible knowledge management (rKM) as a potential way to address current and future challenges. RKM is human-centered, inclusive and collaborative and invites everyone to contribute but also to take responsibility. It involves different and diverse partners on an equal footing. rKM utilizes knowledge management practices focused on creating, sharing, and preserving knowledge for the benefit of many. Importantly, knowledge is seen as something neutral and, depending on the situation, it can be positive, negative or both.
When individuals are willing to consider their own knowledge and the collective knowledge of a community from a neutral perspective, they can better weigh the positive and negative consequences of various initiatives and discuss them with others. This can improve and strengthen individual and collective judgment. Consequently, rKM emphasizes the value and importance of risk management and individual risk management competence. While technology is employed, it always remains subordinate to humans.
I am aware that the rKM concept is demanding and that some will question its feasibility. However, if responsible behavior and action at the societal level are truly considered important, then individuals can be confronted with some unpleasant challenges.
To move from thinking to acting, the following could be considered (with a focus on the education sector): Knowledge management and risk management are taught from primary school onwards. Both subjects are taught from a rKM perspective. Furthermore, the curriculum emphasizes and expands upon existing subjects that promote personal responsibility, collaborative decision-making, and a debate culture. The power of collective action is highlighted and valued. Furthermore, every societal actor should, during their training, be exposed to at least one course that introduces them to research in order to better understand what constitutes reliable knowledge, how it is created, and how it can be evaluated. The focus should be on methodological diversity. It is well known that knowledge comes at a price and does not necessarily lead to insight, but more often to irritation. However, I hope that the ideas outlined above will provide some positive inspiration.
Keywords: responsible knowledge management, inclusion, human-centered, education, risk management, research, reliable knowledge