Ahmedabad civic body in need of a knowledge cell

The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) may earn praise for the good work it does in the majority of departments. Nevertheless, a study by the Urban Management Centre (UMC) has made a couple of suggestions for Gujarat's largest urban local body. It recommends the AMC have in-house libraries to keep their employees' knowledge base updated on current urban issues, a knowledge cell and a dynamic platform to facilitate knowledge and information sharing between employees.

The UMC presented its findings in the form of a study carried out by interviewing AMC's employees, at a one-day workshop at the Centre for Environment Planning and Technology (Cept). The workshop's theme was Knowledge Needs Assessment and Improving City- to- City Learning, and was conducted on Friday.

After praising the AMC's work ethics and efficiency, Manvita Baradi of UMC pointed out that employee knowledge on urban issues and developments of their own, as well as other Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), was not up-to-date. In her presentation, she laid emphasis on having a knowledge cell in local bodies.

"It can be a knowledge bank having all urban management aspects, including reforms, active projects and information should be in audio-visual form. The officers can be posted on this knowledge cell as representatives on a weekly rotational basis and all the ULB personnel can reach out to the cell to meet their requirements," she said.

Baradi also pointed out that the ULBs should route all capacity building efforts through this cell and the cell be available for access to officials as well as denizens. Insisting on exchange, dissemination and networking, she said that this could be done by interchange of cross country management experiences via publications, workshops, seminars, best city management practices, technologies etc.

Other measures suggested are capacity building and training for professional development through workshops, seminars, short and overseas training programmes.