‘agreeing a singularity of approach to things that are universally raised as challenges.’ Participant P17

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This research demonstrated the positive processual and performance relation of tactile knowledge; experience rich, up-to-date, accessible, and beneficial knowledge. Knowledge provision by individual organisations, particularly of accreditation and award schemes, can deliver much improved results, if such provision is designed to be allied.

 

The research showed that providing a more cohesive, equitable access to a comprehensive package of knowledge resources that is accompanied by training, is the most beneficial knowledge curating activity that the ECHAsystem can do to improve its organisational sustainability. Instead of thinking of personal knowledge, user-organisation knowledge, provider-organisation knowledge, or sectorial knowledge, we can commit to ecocultural heritage professional development knowledge. What knowledge does any individual need to join the ECHAsystem, to settle in, to continue developing professionally, and to help others learn from their experience? What knowledge do people need whether they join in as volunteers, apprentices, from other ecosystems, from university, and as they develop, work as independent freelancers, or move across roles and different organisations (with common public-good objectives and common operations)? If individuals have access to knowledge they need and can build their personal professional development library, they will not hoard or hide organisational knowledge. If there is an ECHAsystem commitment to a live, reliable library of credible ecocultural heritage professional knowledge, the individual and organisational barriers to trust can break down. The focus of the knowledge curating design, therefore, is not on how to signpost to quickly outdated existing resources, but how to enable continuous operational knowledge curation of a comprehensive package of knowledge resources (knowledge artefacts, training, and expert support) with synergic knowledge contribution by users and providers in the ECHAsystem.

The proposed operational knowledge curating Athena design provides the vision, principles, and structure to apply professional development knowledge in the ECHAsystem, more economically and effectively than short projects do, to produce significant performance improvement that exceeds the aspirations of user and support organisations. For governments, the Athena design offers an enabling, hands-off, low-risk, and high reward policy, which requires the major players to engage and lead the knowledge discussions now taking place. For user and provider organisations, it is an opportunity to demonstrate leadership that breaks down barriers to trust, and which improves organisational sustainability at large scale, across the ECHAsystem. ECHAsystem potentiality requires the right conditions and action; with the wise synergy of existing structures and resources, the whole ECHAsystem can grow healthier. Nurturing the ECHAsystem potentiality to a thriving ECHAsystem actuality requires knowledge leadership and commitment to wise action. ​​​​​​​​

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