One of the main roles of CIS centres and OSH institutes across the globe is to share knowledge, but knowledge sharing can be a complex process. Not all information leads to knowledge and not all knowledge can be shared in similar ways. Moreover, it is not enough to acquire knowledge and expect effective behaviour change. Learning on the basis of knowledge sharing must be an intrinsic part of successful change processes where each attempt at knowledge sharing must lead to a concrete change.

For instance, employers should communicate effectively with employees. It is not sufficient to provide workers with personal protective equipment and expect them to use it.

The employer should seek the right behaviours by listening to the workers and building trust. Then it is important to create peer contact to enable horizontal sharing whereby a common atmosphere will facilitate communication throughout the workplace. There are many ways to learn effectively by making use of available tools and using them correctly. Knowledge sharing can be at the level of individuals within an enterprise as well as at national and international levels across enterprises and institutes. For enhanced understanding of the concept of knowledge sharing, some useful links are provided hereafter:

ILO resources:

Non ILO resources:

Ingenious Peoples Knowledge (www.i-p-k.ch):