But there is not as clear a vision in the public sector as to how this growing discipline can be applied to their activities. The World Bank organization has a six person Knowledge management secretariat whose sole responsibility has been to reorganize the Bank using KM principles but to also apply them internally. They have 500 full time knowledge management workers within their organization and another 300 part time. If you teach a man how to fish you will feed him for life. Thus, education and the imparting of knowledge is crucial for the solving of many economic and social dilemmas.
Most governments currently operate on administrative systems developed in the nineteenth century.
It is a system of governance that worked well for most of this century. However, with the continuing evolution of our information and communications technologies, government is facing profound change. The electronic world is challenging and changing how we look at government and governance. We are now witnessing the emergence of new forms of governance forced upon us by the changes brought by the electronic world and the concomitant changes in society itself. Different precepts for governance are becoming essential if governments are to operate effectively in this new culture.