Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation’s vision is that the department is a centre of excellence that provides modern infrastructure to support Alberta’s growth and prosperity. Department senior executive has defined “a centre of excellence” within the context of Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation to include creating a working environment that encourages and values knowledge and innovation. In addition, the first priority in the department’s corporate human resource plan is building capacity through supporting learning and development, and ensuring continuity and knowledge transfer. Knowledge Management has been described as set of techniques and practices that facilitate the flow of knowledge into and within an organization. It has also been suggested that there are three components in the knowledge cycle: creating new knowledge, managing existing knowledge, and sharing and transferring knowledge. To become a knowledge intensive organization and a centre of excellence, Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation must adopt a coherent, comprehensive strategic approach to all three of these components. This paper presents the department’s strategic knowledge framework that includes; • Partnering with engineering consultants, contractors, suppliers, academic agencies and regulatory agencies to create and transfer knowledge through initiatives such as; − The Centre for Transportation Engineering and Planning (C-TEP) at the University of Calgary. − WESTAC, a non-profit association dedicated to advancing the western Canadian economy through improvements in all modes of transportation including ports, airports, terminals, rail and road. − The Construction Research Institute for Canada at the University of Alberta. − Participation in TAC standing committees and projects. − Ad-hoc issue specific industry and government task groups. • The management of knowledge through; − The development of the Transportation Infrastructure Management System (TIMS) and it’s associated expert systems for bridge, pavement, network expansion, program management and performance measures. − The implementation of an electronic information management (EIM) system. − Development of comprehensive policies, standards, procedures and guidelines for design, construction, maintenance and environmental management. • The transfer of knowledge through; − Training and mentoring initiatives. (Described more fully in a companion paper). − Internal and external training courses. − The establishment of process management committees in construction, bridges, maintenance, land and infrastructure management. − Regular conferences, workshops and planning sessions with the Alberta Roadbuilders and Heavy Construction Association and the Consulting Engineers of Alberta. − Desktop access to 18 full text and bibliographic databases through the Alberta Government library. The paper concludes with some observations on the knowledge management challenges and opportunities currently faced by the department.
