Austrade’s Information Age project

ACT KM Conference

October 2002

S:\Strat Dev\Projects 99\ Info Age\ Briefing materials\ Board briefing Oct 99.ppt

Overview

Why we undertook the work?

How Knowledge Management fitted into the overall strategy?

Who we are

The Australian Trade Commission is the Federal Government’s main export and international business facilitation agency

Austrade helps Australian companies reduce the time, cost and risk involved in selecting, entering and developing international markets

We’re in the business of taking your business to the world

Austrade delivers…

Export and outward investment services and international business opportunities to Australian businesses

Financial assistance through the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) scheme

Programs designed to improve community awareness of, and commitment to, trade and investment

Advice to the Federal Government and coordination of its export

and international business facilitation activities

Consular, passport and immigration services in some countries

Austrade’s global network

We undertook this study to answer the following questions

• How will Australian businesses be affected by changes in global business

• How will this change the needs of Australian businesses

• How should Austrade change to anticipate those needs

• What are the steps Austrade needs to take to get there

What does the informationage mean for

Austrade

We used an innovative team structure

Core Team

Workshop group

Community groupRest of Austrade

Able to participate in the discussion online

Roles were passed through several filters

List of RolesDemand &

Supply FiltersMission Outcomes & Outputs Filter

Roles Requiring Information Age Team

Focus:

• Portal• Consulting• Communities of practice• Online market systems• Data gathering & synthesis• One to one matching• Logistics• Growing our intellectual capital• Building the Australian brand

We decided that the prioritised roles for change are:

1. Portal

2. Communities of Practice

3. Consulting Advice

4. Growing our Intellectual Capital

5. Market Systems

6. Data Gathering and Synthesis

7. Providing Matching Services 1x1

8. Logistics

9. Building the Australian Brand

ChangeRole

To support these roles the following conceptual shifts are necessary

Web site

Transaction

Australia to rest of the world

Information

Individual / Unit

Austrade Network

Web Based

Relationship

Totally international

Advice

Team Austrade

Integrating with other networks

OutcomesWeb site and telecommunications

Integrate the website into Austrade’s core business

Use it to ‘increase efficiency’ or as ‘bait’

Provide good telecommunications links wherever possible

Information and knowledge management

Regional Information Managers/Post Information Officers

Increase focus on knowledge sharing, including changes to performance agreements

Trial of a centralised document management system and a directory of Austrader skills and knowledge

Intranet to be improved

OutcomesClient relationships

Adviser project – tools to assist in delivering services

Introduction of some client relationship management

E-Business

E-Business adviser

Nordic Trade Councils JV database on online markets

Human Resources

Information Age behaviours and values built into Performance Agreements, Work Value Statements, Recruitment Criteria, Climate Surveys and 360o surveys

Austrade Institute – to develop Austraders

OutcomesTraining

On how to use the internet effectively

On e-business

Opportunities

Focus on quality - not quantity - of opportunities

Reporting on opportunity conversions in 2000/2001 (CBS will provide better conversion measures than CIMS/Workflows)

Online communities

Continuing trials of online communities– External: East Timor, EMDG, Setting up an Operation in

Europe– Internal: CBS, ICT Global Industry Team, Information Age

End