Wikis and the culture of collaboration
Wikis are changing the way we work together. Last month, I attended the "Introduction to Wikis" course that was offered through the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Center for Information Technology (CIT). This course is just one example of the widespread interest in wikis across HHS.
In layman’s terms, a wiki is an online document that can be accessed by multiple people and edited directly. They provide users with the most recent version of the document up front, while still allowing access to older versions and edit histories. For many projects, wikis are more efficient than collaborating through email. Wikis can be used to promote creativity and transparency while encouraging participation and information sharing.
At NIH, Wikis are advancing communication, collaboration and even facilitating scientific advances. From authoring articles in their specific genre to editing entries for accuracy or sharing laboratory expertise, NIH scientists are using wikis for a wide range of activities. Wikis are also being used to communicate static content to communities, as well as day-to-day communication about team activities.
But…like most technologies, you can’t roll out a Wiki and expect people to use it and magically create collaboration. There must be a culture in which employees trust one another, adequate training is provided, and policies and procedures are necessary to bring the vision of Wikis to full fruition.
One of the biggest challenges is getting user buy-in. The value of creating a workspace that is supposed to cut across silos, geography, and time-zone differences is lost if everyone who needs to collaborate doesn’t learn to use the wiki and develop the habit of using it. Some people may hesitate to use the wiki because they are uncomfortable with the transparency of the work process or believe they won’t get credit for their work and ideas due to the more collaborative work process. Additionally, procedures and policies need to be in place about how, when, and who can use the wiki to get any value out of it. Another consideration is that it can be difficult for a really large community to effectively edit one document, even on a wiki, but publishing a document for comment and asking for feedback is greatly facilitated.
What has your agency done to facilitate the culture necessary for successful wikis? What challenges remain?
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