The United Nations as a Knowledge System [Hardcover]

This book seeks to explore how the UN has generated, warehoused, disseminated, structured, packaged, expanded, transferred and leveraged its vast resources of accumulated information and experience throughout the decades and, particularly, since the start of the 21st century with the introduction of more connective information and communications technology. It examines the overarching objectives that have guided such activity and divides UN knowledge management into three distinct, but often overlapping and intertwining, categories:

• knowledge for social and organizational learning;
• knowledge for norm setting; and
• knowledge for creation of products and services.

Svenson brings together these multiple aspects of UN knowledge management to present a holistic view of how the organization utilizes its global intelligence to educate, advocate and serve member countries development. Instead of looking at the UN as an international bureaucracy or as a peacekeeping, policymaking, humanitarian or development entity, this work studies the UN as a generator and purveyor of information, learning and experience in all of these areas. This book will be key reading for all students and scholars of international organizations.

Introduction  Part I  Knowledge for organizational and social learning1 Internal learning initiatives 2 External learning initiatives 3 Mixed audience initiatives  Part II  Knowledge for norm setting4 Publishing, measuring, and monitoring 5 Education system planning and programming 6 International agreements Part III  Knowledge for creation of products and services7 Knowledge management 8 Capacity development 9 Innovation Conclusion

Nanette Svensonis an Adjunct Professor at Tulane University and an independent consultant for the United Nations and othlÓ$