UK Faculty of Health Informatics

Knowledge Sharing Questionnaire

This questionnaire is being distributed as part of an UK Faculty of Health Informatics-funded project to establish the climate of opinion on knowledge sharing within and between NHS organisations.  The questionnaire may be completed anonymously, but we would like to interview a number of individuals in a variety of positions in the NHS and other key stakeholders, so we have provided an opportunity at the end for you to identify yourself and indicate your willingness to be interviewed in person or over the phone. Knowledge is used in this questionnaire in an inclusive way, to embrace expertise, information, protocols, procedures, know-how and skills that may be possessed by an individual or, in some cases, collectively by an organisation.

Knowledge sharing is an activity through which knowledge is exchanged among a community, or within an organisation, or between organisations.  Organisations have recognised that knowledge constitutes a valuable intangible asset for enhancing quality of service and improving efficiency and effectiveness. Knowledge sharing activities are generally supported by knowledge management systems. However, technology constitutes only one of the many factors that affect the sharing of knowledge in organisations; other factors that we wish to explore include organisational culture, trust, incentives and rewards.

Place of work

Most of the questions in this questionnaire refer to “your organisation”.  Please indicate what kind of organisation you work in. Do you work for: (Please tick one box only)

An NHS trust

An NHS (or closely related) health information organisation

Other NHS body

An NHS supplier

A professional body (Non NHS)

A patients' organisation

A university/college

Other

Other kind of organisation

Place of work

Please indicate your frequency and type of computer/internet use at home (Please tick one box only for each)
	Daily		Most days		Weekly		Monthly		Never		N/A
Shopping/order goods
To manage home business (e.g. banking)

To gather information
To keep in touch with friends and family

For work related activities
Other

Other type of computer use

Place of work

Please indicate your frequency and type of computer/internet use at work (Please tick one box only for each)
	Daily		Most days		Weekly		Monthly		Never		N/A
To order goods/stock control
To manage (e.g. off duty, bed status)

To look up patient records/lab results
To look for expert information

For social/domestic/non work related activity
Other

Other type of computer use

Place of work

Which of the following formal computer use training courses have you received? (Please tick all that apply):

CLAIT

RSA

ECDL

Other

Have not received formal computer training

Other computer use training course

Place of work

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
	Strongly agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know
I am an experienced user of computers
I am a confident user of computers

Knowledge and Information Flows into your organisation

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements: (Please tick one box only for each)
	Strongly Agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know		N/A
My organisation is well served with information and knowledge updates from central NHS bodies
My organisation frequently receives valuable information and knowledge updates from NHS bodies/institutions similar to our own

My organisation frequently receives valuable information and knowledge updates from NHS bodies in the same geographic/strategic area
Knowledge flow into my organisation would be a great deal more effective if it was in electronic form

Knowledge and Information Flows into your organisation

Knowledge flow into my organisation would be a great deal more effective if it were: (Please tick all that apply)

Targeted to individuals

Targeted to teams

Better organised

Easier to digest

Ready to archive

Don't know

Knowledge and Information Flows into your organisation

To what extent to do agree or disagree with the following statements:
	Strongly Agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know
My organisation does not invest in knowledge assets from other NHS organisations
My organisation invests significant resources (time, money, etc) to assimilate information and knowledge from other NHS bodies

My organisation invests significant resources (time, money, etc) to assimilate information and knowledge from other non-NHS sources.

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
	Strongly agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know
My organisation has a good culture of information and knowledge sharing
Everyone in my organisation participates in knowledge sharing without feeling obliged or forced to

My organisation has a top-down culture of information and knowledge dissemination
Senior management consider the top-down culture of information and knowledge dissemination essential

Senior clinicians consider the top-down culture of information and knowledge dissemination essential
Information and knowledge dissemination from above is done well by senior management

Information and knowledge dissemination from above is done well by senior clinicians
Information and knowledge sharing/dissemination in my organisation is effective

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

Knowledge is actively managed in my organisation Do you:

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

Is there an individual or team within your organisation who takes responsibility for sharing and/or dissemination of information?

Yes - individual

Yes - team

No

Don't know

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

Who is responsible for sharing and/or dissemination of information in your organisation?
Information & Communications Technology staff		Clinician
Health records staff		Other managers (not informatics)
Knowledge management staff		Librarian
Information management staff		Other
Health informatics senior managers/Directors of service		Don't know
Clinical informatics staff

Other individual

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

In the light of the above definition, which of the following would you consider to be knowledge that could be actively managed? (Please tick all that apply)
Clinical knowledge		Reusable documents, such as letter templates¨
Management information		Medical records
Clinical guidelines, protocols or procedures		Educational resources
Information for patients		None of the above
Finding & using best evidence to support clinical care		Don't know

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

With the above definition in mind, how good or poor do you consider the following as a carrier of knowledge? (Please tick one box only for each)
	Very good		Good		Poor		Very poor		Don't know
Books and journals
Paper guidelines, handover sheets etc

Accessible conventional library
Lectures and workshops

Other face to face meetings (groups/tutorials/seminars)
Outreach meetings (to individuals, groups, or organisations)

Electronic library - online journals, e-books
Intranet - in-house online information (protocols, guidelines)

Internet - online databases (clinical incidents, appraisal websites, benchmarking etc)
Email (including updates, newsletters, etc)

Web 2.0 technologies, social networking, wikis etc
Interactive e-learning

E-portfolios
Online discussion forums (moderated)

Online discussion forums (unmoderated)
Text/SMS messaging

Virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life)
Podcasts

Electronic notice boards
Clinical Simulation

Teleconferencing
Video streaming/video links

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

And, how frequently do you access the following? (Please tick one box only for each)
	Daily		Most days		Monthly		Rarely		Never		N/A
Books and journals
Paper guidelines, handover sheets etc

Accessible conventional library
Lectures and workshops

Other face to face meetings (groups/tutorials/seminars)
Outreach meetings (to individuals, groups, or organisations)

Electronic library - online journals, e-books
Intranet - in-house online information (protocols, guidelines)

Internet - online databases (clinical incidents, appraisal websites, benchmarking etc)
Email (including updates, newsletters, etc)

Web 2.0 technologies, social networking, wikis etc
Interactive e-learning

E-portfolios
Online discussion forums (moderated)

Online discussion forums (unmoderated)
Text/SMS messaging

Virtual worlds (e.g. Second Life)
Podcasts

Electronic notice boards
Clinical Simulation

Teleconferencing
Video streaming/video links

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

Please give some examples of knowledge sharing “good practice” within your unit/organisation. (Please list up to three.)

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management is a relatively recent innovation in the fields of business organisation, process management and information systems.   According to Wikipedia, it comprises a range of practices used in an organisation to identify, create, represent, distribute and enable adoption of insights and experiences. Such insights and experiences comprise knowledge, either embodied in individuals or embedded in organisational processes or practice.

Please indicate what evidence suggests that these methods work or don’t work. (Please list up to three examples, ideally related to your answer in the previous question.)

Knowledge and Information Flows within your organisation

Knowledge management and competitiveness: NHS organisations have lately been encouraged to see themselves as in some form of benign (and sometimes not quite so benign) competition.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
	Strongly agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know
Competition among NHS organisations is only appropriate if it fits in with patient care
Knowledge management in NHS organisations helps to create competitive advantage

Knowledge management in NHS organisations helps to sustain competitive advantage

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

How do you feel about sharing information and knowledge with the following: (Please tick one box only for each)
	Happy to share with		Not happy to share with		Don't know
An NHS trust
Other NHS body

An NHS (or closely related) health information organisation
An NHS supplier

A professional body
A patients' organisation

A university/college
Other

Other organisation

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

Knowledge and information flows from my organisation to other organisations are conducted through: (Please tick all that apply.)

Organisation's website

Newsletter

Professional meetings/bodies

Media and publicity management

Organised workshops (free to NHS participant)

Workshops for which a fee is charged to all

Research and professional journals

Academic conferences

Other

Other  (please specify)

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
	Strongly Agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know
Knowledge and information flows from my organisation to other similar organisations are well organised
Knowledge and information flows from my organisation to other similar organisations are suitably targeted

Knowledge and information flows from my organisation to other similar organisations are frequent

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

Attitudes to Knowledge Sharing

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: In general, knowledge sharing is a good thing.....
	Strongly agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know
Within NHS organisations
Between NHS Managers and Staff

Between NHS organisations
Between the NHS and External organisations

Between the NHS and Patients (individuals)
Within the health sector in general

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

And how effective do you think knowledge sharing is in the following circumstances:
	Very effective		Fairly effective		Not very effective		Not at all effective		Don't know
Within NHS organisations
Between NHS Managers and Staff

Between NHS organisations
Between the NHS and External organisations

Between the NHS and Patients (individuals)
Within the health sector in general

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

Knowledge sharing is most effective in the following circumstances (Please tick all that apply):

Within NHS Organisations

Between NHS Managers and Staff¨

Between NHS Organisation

Between the NHS and External Organisations

Between the NHS and Patients (individuals)

Don't know

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

Which of the following do you believe are the main barriers to knowledge sharing? (Please tick all that apply)
Financial/resources		Lack of hardware
Lack of technology support		Lack of individuals with the necessary development skills
Lack of time to develop solutions		Lack of training
Lack of interest		Lack of evidence that new developments are working/help
Concerns about ownership of ideas (“IPR")		Concerns about data security and confidentiality
Copyright issues		Don't know
Competition between institutions and individuals

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements:
	Strongly agree		Agree		Disagree		Strongly disagree		Don't know
Effective knowledge and information sharing is good for my career because it highlights my value to an employer and my ability to work in a team
Knowledge and information sharing may harm my career because I give away one of my most valuable assets.

Copyright, intellectual property and innovation in general are tightly managed in my organisation.

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

Copyright, intellectual property and innovation in my organisation are managed through: (Please tick all that apply)

Overarching IP policy

Agreement to share IP

Royalty agreements

Employment contract clause

Other

Other

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

Tight IP management (through contracts or all-encompassing policies) leads to resistance to sharing knowledge and information.   Do you:

Strongly agree

Agree

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Don't know

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

Identity and interviews As promised, you may submit this questionnaire anonymously, so long as we have enough information to allow us to analyse the results. Please confirm your answer to question 1, or if you changed your mind and replied on the basis of other experience (e.g. an earlier job), indicate the correct answer here:

Please indicate what kind of organisation you had in mind when answering the question above. Do you work for:
An NHS trust		A professional body
Other NHS body		A patients’ organisation
An NHS (or closely related) health information organisation		A university/college
An NHS supplier		Other - please indicate category:

Other

Knowledge and Information Flows from your organisation

We would like to interview a number of respondents to this questionnaire.  If you are willing to be interviewed, either in person or by phone, please let us have your contact information:

Name:

Phone number:

Email address:

Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire