INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT IN THE PUBLIC SERCTOR, KENYA

Abstract

This research sought to establish the role of ICTs in managing knowledge in the public sector in Kenya. The study assessed the impact of ICT human resource capacity on knowledge creation, storage and retrieval in public sector in Kenya. It also evaluated the impact of ICT processes such as workflows and system integrations. The study employed descriptive research design. The target population for the study was 226 employees drawn from eight Technical Directorates in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service and the Ministry of Public Service. Purposeful sampling and stratified random sampling were used to select the sample size of 144 respondents from eight Technical Directorates in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service and the Ministry of Public Service. An online questionnaire was used to gather primary data. The information gathered was compiled, coded, tabulated and reviewed to check for errors and omissions. Frequency tables, means and percentages were used to present the results. Statistical Packages for Social Science (SPSS) version 25 was used to process the questionnaire responses and analyze data. A pilot study was conducted before the main study. In the main study, a total of 136 out of 144 questionnaires were returned yielding an extraordinary response rate as at 94.44%. The study was guided by a multiple regression model to study the role of ICTs and knowledge management in the public sector. The Correlation was significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). The results suggest that the independent variables ICT human resources, ICT processes have a meaningful and measurable impact on knowledge management in the Public Sector. The findings further revealed that the staff possess ICT skills but there were gaps in continuous training and capacity building. ICT processes made work easier but required standardization. The study revealed inadequate system upgrades due to insufficient budgets or proper planning hence suggesting that infrastructure alone is insufficient in driving knowledge management outcomes unless it is strategically integrated with investments in ICT human resources, process optimization. dditionally, adopting emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and big data analytics can optimize information processing and decision-making and proper investments planning in terms of budgets and acquisition of scalable technologies that can serve for substantial periods of time. 

Key Words: Information Communication Technologies, Knowledge Management, Public Sector, ICT human resource capacity, ICT processes