Building a Foundation for Learning: The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

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Building a Foundation for Learning The
Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

• Society for Technical Communication
• Southern Arizona Chapter
• April 9, 2008

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Acknowledgements

• David A. Garvin
• Karl E. Weick
• Kathleen M. Sutcliffe
• Etienne Wenger
• Dorothy Leonard

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Focus of Presentation

• Background in establishing the Lessons Learned
  Center
• Lessons Learned for the Lessons Learned Center
• Strategic direction for the next 5 years

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Need for a Lessons Learned Center

• Identified in Firefighter Safety Awareness Study
  1994 South Canyon Fire (Colorado) fatalities
• National fire training center re-engineering plan

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Early Benchmarking in 2002/2003

• Department of Energy
• U.S. Coast Guard
• Marine Corps
• U.S. Army (benchmarking visit)
• Organizational structure recommendations
• Adequately staff the analysis function

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Interviews with wildland fire personnel

• Early and reoccurring interviews to ask for
  feedback is critical
• Strong interest in general organizational
  learning in wildland fire vs. sole focus on
  lessons learned in firefighter safety

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What is a Learning Organization?

• A learning organization is
• Creating, acquiring, interpreting, transferring,
  and retaining knowledge.
• Purposefully modifying its behavior to reflect
  new knowledge and insights.
• David Garvin
• Learning in Action

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Critical Tasks

• A learning organization tries to do six things
• 1. Collect intelligence about the environment.
• 2. Learn from the best practices of other
  organizations.
• 3. Learn from its own experiences and past
  history.

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Continued

• 4. Experiment with new approaches.
• 5. Encourage systematic problem solving.
• 6. Transfer knowledge throughout the
  organization.
• David Garvin
• Learning in Action

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Key steps in organizational learning success

• Focus on small wins select one or two
  geographical areas with champions
• Focus on a discipline first - prescribed fire
  and wildland fire use

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LLC Processes

• Collection and Analysis (collect intelligence)
  AARs/AAR Rollups, Info. Collection Teams, Case
  Studies, Toolboxes
• Knowledge Management/Retention (experiences/past
  history, problem solve) via web sites,
  newsletters, Advances in Fire Practice
• Knowledge Sharing (transfer knowledge) community
  of practice venues, workshops and conferences

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Collection and Analysis example
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Knowledge Management example
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Knowledge Sharing example
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Community of Practice

• A network of people who share a common interest
  in a specific area of knowledge or competence.
  They are willing to work and learn together over
  a period of time to develop and share that
  knowledge.

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Strategic Direction to 2012

• LLC strategic planning process began in Oct. 06
• Led by a fire mgmt. organization strategic
  planning specialist
• Used an interagency planning committee
• Received stakeholder input on strategic goals
• Completed plan in Dec. 07

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New LLC Mission

• The Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center
  actively promotes a learning culture to enhance
  and sustain safe and effective work practices in
  the wildland fire community. The Center provides
  opportunities and resources to foster
  collaboration among all fire professionals,
  facilitates their networks, provides access to
  state-of-the-art learning tools, and links
  learning to training.

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Litmus Test for Our Organizations

• Do we have a defined learning agenda?
• Are we open to discordant information as an
  organization?
• Do we avoid repeated mistakes?
• Do we lose critical knowledge when key people
  leave?
• Does our organization act on what it knows?

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Review of Presentation

• Background in establishing the Lessons Learned
  Center
• Lessons Learned for the Lessons Learned Center
• Strategic direction for the next 5 years

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Contact Us

• Paula Nasiatka, Center Manager
• [phone], pnasiatka_at_fs.fed.us
• David Christenson, Asst. Center Manager
• [phone], dchristenson_at_fs.fed.us
• Brenna MacDowell, Editorial Assistant
• [phone], bmacdowell_at_fs.fed.us
• Kristen Manganini, SCA Intern
• [phone], kmanganini_at_fs.fed.us

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Questions Commentswww.wildfirelessons.netwww
.myfirecommunity.netwww.IMTcenter.net