The Authority's approach to a knowledge management system should recognise that there are two main types of knowledge, both of which need to be deployed within the contract management function for maximum effectiveness.
The first type is explicit knowledge. This is knowledge that can be expressed in words and numbers, is easily communicated and shared in the form of hard data, specific formulae, codified procedures or universal principles. The Contract Management Team will need to have extensive knowledge of the Contract and the Contractor. However using this knowledge in isolation of the other type of knowledge, i.e. tacit knowledge, will be sub-optimal for the Authority.
Tacit knowledge is not readily visible and expressible. It is personal, context specific and hard to formalise and communicate. It can typically include subjective insights, intuitions and hunches. The senior officers in the Authority are likely to have tacit knowledge that can usefully be applied to the contract management function. However it is not possible for them to transfer such knowledge to the Contract Management Team to use in the contract management function. The only way for this tacit knowledge to be applied is through the involvement of senior officers in the governance arrangements providing oversight over the project. This is an important point to consider when considering the make-up of the Contract Management Board (See Section 2.1.8).