Advisory Services

What They Do
At the World Bank, Advisory Services act as the central hub of Networks and other groupings and highlight the support they can offer. They serve as the human interface for Learning and Knowledge Sharing. One of their main functions is to provide a "one-stop shop" to respond to information needs on various development topics. They ensure that responses are given, usually within 24-48 hours, to internal and external queries.

How They Add Value
One of the strengths of Advisory Services is their ability to pull together responses from many information sources and gather experience from a range of experts. Information collected is used to answer specific queries and then developed into knowledge products. This knowledge base is available to respond to future queries.

In addition to answering specific questions, advisory services also participate in a wide range of Knowledge Sharing activities. They collaborate closely with Thematic Groups and make known their services. By providing a human contact point, they amplify what Networks can offer. They demonstrate information resources. They disseminate information on current initiatives and events through newsletters, websites, etc. They arrange and participate in conferences, events and information fairs, and provide materials. They network with each other, colleagues and external partners to strengthen their information resources; they bring together natural information sharers. Staff feel that they cannot build a relationship with a website, but they can with a person.

How to Access
To promote access for external clients, the Ask Us program was launched. This simple yet innovative web feature helps both Bank staff and visitors utilize the Bank's knowledge through easy web access to Advisory Services. There are more than 25 Advisory Services at the Bank. Externally, they add value to the work of clients and partners by responding quickly to their information and knowledge needs. Often they are the first, and possibly the only, contact with the World Bank. Thus they can have a major impact on perceptions of the World Bank. The full listing of contact information by either Advisory Service topic or title can be found on the Ask Us page.

History
In November 1996, the Education Sector launched the Education Advisory Service (EAS) as the gateway to the Education sector knowledge management program. All Bank Education staff were invited to use this service as the first point of contact for inquiries. The EAS operated as a referral service for Education related information knowledge and expertise, and quickly realized the need to track requests. The EAS continues to be one of the strongest Advisory Services, and is recognized as the real center of the Education Network. During the roll-out of the Knwledge Management initiative at the World Bank in 1997, a number of other Advisory Services were developed. Several of these services began to use the tracking tool developed by the EAS. In July 1998, the Bank implemented an advisory services tracking system that enabled more detailed tracking. It also provided the ability to refer to previously answered questions, and build upon these to respond to future queries, thus developing a significant knowledge base.

Since then Advisory Services have banded together with other information intermediation services at the Bank. Five years later and through the efforts of this very active community, the organization has recognized the need for a Unified Case Management System (UCM). The UCM is a tracking/case management system designed to continue to improve the way these intermediators locate, record, manage, aggregate, share, and disseminate information.

For more information: By Decree or By Choice: A Case Study. Implementing Knowledge Management and Sharing at the Education Sector of the World Bank Group, (Chapter 2, Section 2.1 The Education Advisory Service, pp 6-8)

Impact
An important concept in setting up these new knowledge resources was that Advisory Services were not seen as simple help desks. They were designed to be brokers, similar to a consulting firm, facilitating contacts between outside staff and the sector experts. An Advisory Service should not be a ‘shelf’ where static documents were located, but more of a true ‘advisory service’ (hence the name) helping customers to find answers. In the overall analysis, setting up Advisory Services concurrently with Thematic Groups (the name for Communities of Practice at the World Bank) proved critical to building support for Thematic Groups, and to bringing the Bank's Knowledge Sharing program to fruition towards the reality of a Knowledge Bank.