Learning and Knowledge Management at the EBRD: Summary Report

Learning and Knowledge Management (LKM) at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is a thematic evaluation included in the Evaluation department’s (EvD’s) 2020 work programme following a recommendation of the 2019 independent external evaluation of the EBRD’s evaluation system (the Kirk Report).

Although this study stems from a recommendation directed at learning from evaluation, it takes a broader perspective on the way the EBRD learns as an organisation and what place knowledge has among its operational assets.The scope of the evaluation covers organisational learning (which includes experiential learning) and the knowledge management (KM) processes that contribute to it. Both explicit and tacit knowledge are considered. The evaluation does not look into the EBRD’s role as a source of knowledge for clients or external stakeholders – a separate paper on this topic may be prepared at a later date.

This is the first EvD evaluation to offer a comprehensive analysis of key building blocks enabling the EBRD to be a knowledge and learning organisation.

This report consists of several distinct parts targeted at different audiences with differing interests. A summary report presents key conclusions and actionable recommendations of the LKM evaluation, with the primary focus on the Bank’s decision makers. Six technical papers (“TPs”) present in-depth analysis of the evidence and offer conclusions along the main building blocks of the LKM system.