ELECTORAL INFORMATION AND KNOWLEDGE Ilona Tip Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA)

This presentation will address the below questions and is informed by information from selected Election Management Bodies: How do you approach knowledge management from an EMB perspective? What knowledge is required to manage an election? Where does this knowledge come from? How is it managed? How is it shared? and Who can access it?

◊ Knowledge management is nothing new; what is new is approach to knowledge management (its evolving nature); ◊ Knowledge is the core asset of any institution / organisation or business; ◊ EMBs have for many years practiced some form or other of knowledge management; ◊ Until recent years information in EMBs has been personalised rather than codified (electronic storage, databases ) and stored so that it is reusable. ◊ Personalised knowledge has been shared face to face, via email, video conferences etc

◊. Information becomes knowledge and this ◊ Information becomes knowledge and this knowledge has to be managed; ◊ Information becomes an asset when it is used for the right purpose ◊ Challenge for EMBs, especially newly formed EMBs, is that they have little or no experience (personalised knowledge) to draw on as well as no methodology and resources; ◊ Many EMBs have additional challenges of limited or no access to best practices and comparative lessons

◊. Knowledge management is vested in. individuals ◊ Knowledge management is vested in individuals. How (or how not) this knowledge is shared is crucial; ◊ For knowledge to be useful it needs to be shared for an institution to run effectively ◊ Some EMBs that are not constitutional bodies may limit their stature and efficiency in terms of knowledge and knowledge management

The type of knowledge required to conduct an election should cover the full electoral cycle. While some aspects of knowledge may be particular to a specific phase of the electoral cycle, such as electoral laws, regulations and directives, other knowledge may be applicable to all phases such as a code of conduct and international best practices: Relevant knowledge includes: ◊ Constitution ◊ Electoral laws and regulations and directives ◊ Electoral system ◊ Voter registration ◊ Codes of Conduct

◊. Electoral best practices reflected in international and ◊ Electoral best practices reflected in international and regional norms and standards such as the EISA/ECF Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO), regional guidelines, the African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (EMBs in other parts of the world may draw on standards applicable to their region) ◊ Electoral processes and procedures ◊ Supply chain and procurement procedures ◊ Information, Communication and Technology ◊ Voter education and public outreach, ◊ In addition “soft” information such as: Institutional policies (HR, financial policies and procurement).

◊ EMB Fora such as those established by regional ◊ EMB Fora such as those established by regional economic communities such as SADC, EAC and ECOWAS provide opportunities for experience sharing and lesson-learning; ◊ Election Observation Missions (participation, reports); ◊ EMB internal reports; ◊ Internet; ◊ In-house developed training program me ◊ Some EMBs have their own library or resource centre

◊. Managing knowledge appears to be a challenge. for some EMBs. ◊ ◊ Managing knowledge appears to be a challenge for some EMBs. ◊ EMBs that have some form of structured management manage knowledge through updating training manuals, circulating copies of research and workshop reports and filing and archive system are able to distribute and share knowledge more effectively

◊. Sharing the knowledge to enhance the ◊ Sharing the knowledge to enhance the capacity of an EMB is recognised as an area that needs to be strengthened. ◊ In particular from the standpoint that “knowledge is power”, means that those with knowledge do not readily share with others.

Where sharing takes place, this in the form of: ◊ Where sharing takes place, this in the form of: ◊ An EMB website (where it exists and is regularly updated) ◊ Briefing staff; ◊ Reports from workshops saved in the library where there is a library or resource centre; ◊ Training such as training registration and polling officials; ◊ Some EMBs partner with other institutions( such as an electoral assistance institution), an academic institution, engage consultants in regard to a range of aspects pertaining to conducting an election (eg outsourcing training, amendment to electoral legislation, legal opinions, dispute resolution) and through study tours.

What does this say about knowledge management within the institution of EMBs? ◊ Knowledge exists within all EMBs; ◊ EMBs surveyed recognised the importance of systematic management of knowledge; ◊ It is often located in an individual and not shared. ◊ While some EMBs have libraries and/or documentation centre, in others it is ad hoc; ◊ Knowledge management has some commonalities but country specific context applies, e.g. in one country information may be freely available to all staff, while in another it may be more discreet for various reasons.

◊. EMBs need to decide on a set of instruments (for. example ◊ EMBs need to decide on a set of instruments (for example codifying information, establishing a database to manage information) . ◊ Knowledge management has cost implications (internal systems) . ◊ Knowledge can contributes to running cost-effective elections .e.g. if an EMB draws on comparative experiences (lessons learnt) can assist them in cost reduction.

In concluding, knowledge management can contribute to an efficient and transparent process so that we avoid a situation as indicated in the illustration below.