LEARNING HISTORY AS A CATALYST TO KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN HEALTH CARE ORGANIZATIONS Summary

The importance of knowledge transfer to an organization’s competitiveness has been well documented. Yet knowledge transfer remains a complex, dynamic process that is far from easy to implement. This paper explores the value of the learning history methodology as a tool to accelerate knowledge transfer and organizational change within organizations. The learning history methodology is a qualitative research methodology that considers human perceptions, actions, opinions, and evaluations and was first designed to help transfer learnings from pilot projects to other parts of an organization. It is typically used within an action research environment, allowing recognition of what has been learned in the past to guide stakeholders in the dialogical generation of a new future. This paper first provides an overview of the literature on the learning history method, followed by an analysis of its application to an ongoing research project at the Eastern Townships Rehabilitation Centre in Quebec. The early results from this research project demonstrate how the learning history method has helped senior managers recognize and address the challenges involved in implementing change and transferring new knowledge in this organization. The learning history process identified employee concerns about change initiatives at the centre, and resulted in necessary modifications to the original implementation plan. The learning history methodology can therefore act as a catalyst to accelerate the knowledge transfer process within organizations