Community Knowledge Legacy Program: A 6-Month Mentoring Guide

1. Program Introduction & Benefits

The Community Knowledge Legacy Program is a structured, 6-month mentoring initiative designed to systematically capture and document the invaluable tacit knowledge held by experienced community members. By pairing these seasoned individuals with motivated mentees, the program facilitates the transfer of insights, stories, and practical wisdom into a durable, accessible knowledge base for the entire community.

Strategic Benefits for Community Members:

• Preservation of Institutional Wisdom: Prevents critical knowledge loss as long-standing members transition, ensuring the community's history, culture, and operational know-how are retained.
• Accelerated Member Development: Newer or less-experienced members gain accelerated insight and practical guidance, reducing their learning curve and fostering a sense of belonging and capability.
• Strengthened Community Bonds: Structured mentoring builds cross-generational relationships, breaking down silos and fostering a culture of collaboration, trust, and mutual support.
• Creation of a Living Resource: Generates a tangible, evolving repository of documented experiences, best practices, and lessons learned that can inform future community projects and decision-making.
• Enhanced Volunteer Engagement: Provides a clear, meaningful role for experienced members (as mentors) and a structured growth path for engaged members (as mentees), increasing overall participation and satisfaction.

2. Program Expansion Strategy

Evaluation: This is a Mentoring Program. The primary goal is to document the knowledge base of experienced members. While the core mentoring structure is directly aligned with this goal, integrating a supplemental Coaching layer for program facilitators and mentors can significantly enhance outcomes.

Value Addition: A coaching layer focuses on developing the facilitators' and mentors' capabilities to run effective sessions and guide mentees in knowledge excavation. Coaching skills, such as powerful questioning, active listening, and non-directive guidance, empower mentors to draw out deeper, more nuanced insights from their experiences, leading to richer documentation. It shifts the dynamic from simply "telling stories" to collaboratively "unpacking wisdom."

Implementation Note: In Month 1, alongside mentor training, introduce a short workshop or provide resources on core coaching skills for knowledge documentation. Focus on techniques like the GROW model to structure conversations and open-ended questions that uncover the "why" behind actions. This can be delivered via the selected LMS or through expert-led virtual sessions.

3. Implementation Roadmap

Launch Phase (Pre-Program to Month 1)

1. Define & Communicate: Finalize program guide, success KPIs, and commitment expectations. Announce the program to the community via multiple channels.
2. Participant Recruitment: Launch interest surveys for both potential mentors (experienced members) and mentees (documenters). Survey should capture skills, knowledge areas, goals, and availability.
3. Matching: Use survey data and, if needed, brief interviews to create mentor-mentee pairs based on knowledge domain alignment and interpersonal fit. Obtain mutual consent for each match.
4. Kick-off & Onboarding: Host a virtual or in-person launch event. Distribute program guidelines, communication protocols, and templates. Facilitate initial meetings between pairs to set relationship agreements and documentation goals.
5. Baseline Inventory: Have each pair complete a simple "Knowledge Inventory" template outlining the key areas to be documented.

Tracking & Operations (Months 2-5)

1. Session Cadence: Support pairs in maintaining a bi-weekly or monthly meeting rhythm (target: 8-12 sessions over 6 months). Provide asynchronous collaboration tools.
2. Training Delivery: Roll out core training modules (see Section 5) in the first 8 weeks via the LMS or live workshops.
3. Progress Check-ins: Program administrators conduct brief monthly check-ins (via survey or short calls) with each pair to address challenges, provide support, and collect progress data on template completion.
4. Mid-Program Review (Month 4): Host a community-wide check-in forum. Review interim knowledge artifacts, share early successes, and recalibrate goals if necessary.

Success Measurement

• Quantitative KPIs:
  • Participant Retention: 80% of matched pairs active through Month 6.
  • Engagement: 90% attendance at core training sessions.
  • Output: Average of 5-8 completed knowledge documentation templates per pair.
  • Volume: Total number of pages/artifacts added to the community knowledge base.
• Qualitative KPIs & Feedback:
  • Surveys: Distribute pre-program and post-program surveys measuring mentee confidence in understanding community knowledge and mentor satisfaction with the sharing process.
  • Focus Groups: Conduct 2-3 small group discussions at mid-point and end to gather in-depth feedback on the matching process, tool usability, and perceived value of the documented knowledge.
  • Artifact Review: Qualitative assessment of the compiled knowledge base for depth, clarity, and practical utility by a small committee of community leaders.

4. Approved Tools List

• Mentorship Software: Primary Justification. This is the core tool for automating and managing the entire program lifecycle. It will handle participant applications, skill-based matching, scheduling of meetings, sending reminder nudges, and tracking meeting frequency and duration—directly addressing the challenge of lack of structure for volunteers.
• LMS (Learning Management System): Primary Justification. Essential for delivering standardized, asynchronous training content (e.g., "How to be an Effective Knowledge Mentor," "Documentation Best Practices") to all participants. It allows community members to learn at their own pace and ensures consistent training delivery, tracking participation rates as a KPI.
• Internal Social Network: Supplemental Justification. Provides an informal platform for community-building among all program participants. Can be used to share successes, ask questions publicly, and create a sense of shared mission. Helps build relationships beyond the matched pair, fostering a wider culture of knowledge sharing.

5. Resource & Content Library

Training Content for Mentors

• Article/Guide: "The Mentor's Role in Knowledge Documentation: Guide vs. Lecturer"
• Video Topic: "Using the GROW Model to Unpack Experiential Knowledge"
• Article/Guide: "Active Listening for Capturing Nuanced Insights"
• Video Topic: "How to Structure a Knowledge-Sharing Session: From Anecdote to Artifact"
• Article/Guide: "Setting Boundaries and Confidentiality in Community Mentoring"
• Template: "Conversation Starter Kit" for mentors (list of open-ended questions).

Training Content for Mentees

• Article/Guide: "Goal Setting for Knowledge Acquisition: What Do You Want to Learn and Document?"
• Video Topic: "Effective Note-Taking and Synthesis in Mentoring Conversations"
• Article/Guide: "Building Trust and Rapport with Your Mentor"
• Video Topic: "Introduction to Basic Knowledge Management: Organizing What You Learn"
• Template: "Knowledge Documentation Template" with fields for key insights, stories, processes, and contacts.
• Article/Guide: "Giving Constructive Feedback to Your Mentor on the Process."