Towards a platform to find and select advisors for housing development projects An explorative study to enhance the knowledge exchange between project developers

The project development sector is on a high-level dependant on advisors. Within the creative process of creating something on a vacant plot of land, much knowledge must be collected, combined, and created. During a project, the project developers find and select advisors who could best suit their needs. The decentralized character of an organization limits the knowledge sharing capabilities enabling the ‘re-inventing of the wheel’ in every local office. The literature study identifies the tacit and explicit side of knowledge which require different methods of exchange in relation to the cohesion between data, information, knowledge, and wisdom.
A case study performed to identify the knowledge sharing methods at a decentralized project development company. Whereby with the help of interviews, the interaction and exchange between project developers are studied. Showing the high dependency on personal experiences, which were only shared and accessible by direct colleagues. Moreover, the challenge to know who is working on what is a decentralized organization.
It is leading to a three-level strategy that allows for enhanced knowledge sharing on the level of data collecting and accessibility and visual tools to ease the identification of exciting reference projects — focussing firstly on the expansion documentation of data by project developers and the national distribution and accessibility of the data. Secondly, allowing the smooth visual search for reference projects, based on a reference platform, making it easier to see if there are experiences with exciting projects within the overarching organization Allowing a quick, targeted search for experiences within the entire organization. Thirdly, increasing the interregional familiarity between project developers. Limiting the barriers to connect and allow for face-to-face interaction enabling the flow of tacit knowledge within the organization, fortifying the ease to get in touch with colleagues from other regions after the reference platform wakes interests.