Stacey Young - Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer at USAID
Sep 23, 2020
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Stacey Young, Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer at USAID, discusses her role in transforming USAID into a more effective learning organization. She shares her career journey, the importance of leveraging past knowledge in KM, and the excitement surrounding KM amid new technologies and the pandemic. The podcast also covers measuring success in knowledge management, team size and structure, and working with implementing partners.
The role of the Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer at USAID is to make the organization more effective at fostering countries on their journey to self-reliance through knowledge management and organizational learning practices.
Investing in knowledge management is essential for USAID to effectively manage their dispersed work in various contexts and sectors, leading to a culture of dynamic knowledge management practices and driving further investment in this area.
Deep dives
The Role of Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer
Stacey Young explains her role as the Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer for USAID. The position was established to make the agency more effective at fostering countries on their journey to self-reliance. The role focuses on making the organization a more effective learning organization and involves knowledge management and organizational learning practices.
The Importance of Investing in Knowledge Management
USAID is a geographically dispersed organization working in numerous contexts and sectors, making knowledge management vital for their work. Investing in knowledge management is seen as essential for managing the agency's knowledge effectively. Success in knowledge management breeds further success, leading to a culture of dynamic knowledge management practices and driving investment in knowledge management within USAID.
The Value of Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning
Stacey Young emphasizes the importance of connecting knowledge management to development and individual passion within USAID. By highlighting the benefits of knowledge management for accomplishing development goals, it becomes more relevant and valued by staff. The focus is on utilizing existing knowledge, learning from experiences, and creating a culture of psychological safety and curiosity within the organization.
In this episode of the Knowledge Cast, EK CEO Zach Wahl speaks with Stacey Young, Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer at US Agency for International Development.
Stacey Young, PhD became USAID’s first Agency Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Officer in November 2019, leading Agency-wide knowledge and learning approaches. Dr. Young also co-chairs the Multi-Donor Learning Partnership of nine major donor organizations working to advance organizational learning and knowledge management in international development.
From 2011-2019, she served as Senior Learning Advisor for USAID's Bureau for Policy, Planning and Learning. Through her vision and leadership, USAID developed a holistic approach to Collaborating, Learning and Adapting (CLA) that is integrated across USAID’s country programs.
Note: The views expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of their organization.