Organisational Knowledge, Learning and Capabilities in Action: the Case of the British Council

This paper presents the British Council’s Knowledge Management strategy. It outlines how this organisation approached Knowledge Management through an attempt to engender communities of practice among strategically significant groups. Using one of these groups as an example the paper explores widely held assumptions regarding communities of practice in relation to the organisational case study as a whole. By exploring “de-generative” structures the analysis surfaces issues of individualisation and risk, and highlights how attitutes towards technology, organisations and knowledge management can affect the success of such initiatives.