Ana Neves: Profiles in Knowledge

Knowledge Management Thought Leader 1... Knowledge Management Thought Leader 1...

Ana Neves: Profiles in Knowledge

Originally published August 15, 2025

This is the 118th article in the Profiles in Knowledge series featuring thought leaders in knowledge management. Ana Neves, based in Lisbon, Portugal, is the founder and managing director of Knowman (a consulting company focused on knowledge management and enterprise social networks), host of The Intranet Hub, author and host of the KMOL portal, and organizer of the Social Now conference. She is the coauthor of the Social Collaboration Maturity Benchmark and author of the biannual study on Knowledge Management in Portugal and Spain. Her specialties are knowledge management, communities of practice, organizational learning, social networks, social tools, internal communication, and cultural change management.

She was a Senior Consultant at a social business consultancy firm; Knowledge Network Manager at the NHS Modernization Agency and the Institute for Innovation and Development, both part of the British Department of Health; and Cultural Change Manager at a financial institution, leading a cultural change program for a team of 4000+ people.

In 2008, 2010 and 2011 Ana was president of the jury of the Prêmio Intranet Portal, an award that recognizes the best intranet in public and private organizations in Brazil. In 2001 she created KMOL, a Portuguese-language site dedicated to knowledge management and organizational learning.

Ana is an honorary member of the Directive Commission of the Federación Iberoamericana de Comunicación Interna (FIDECI). She has a Licenciatura (5-year Bachelor’s) degree in Computer Science from the University of Coimbra.

Through Knowman, Ana shares her experience, skills and passion with organizations looking at knowledge management, social networks, and social tools to increase their performance. She is the host of the KMOL podcast, the first Portuguese-language podcast dedicated to KM and organizational learning. Ana organizes Social Now, a unique conference on the social organization, exploring both tools and processes to improve the way organizations communicate, collaborate, learn, and share knowledge. She is responsible for Cidadania 2.0, a platform to promote examples of social tools being used to improve dialogue and civic participation.

Background

EducationUniversidade de Coimbra — Licenciatura, Informatics Engineering / Computer Science, 1993–1998ExperienceKnowman — Owner and Management Consultant, 2001 — PresentStraits Knowledge — Associate Consultant, 2017 — PresentHeadshift (UK) — Senior Social Software Consultant, 2006–2009NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement — Knowledge Management Associate, 2005–2006NHS Modernisation Agency — Knowledge Network Manager, 2002–2005Abbey National — Cultural Change Manager. 2001–2002Unisys — Consultant, 1998–2001ProfilesLinkedIn Knowman — LinkedIn Facebook Knowman KMOL KMOL — Facebook SHIFT/Work TICTeC Lucidea’s LensContentSocial Now LinkedIn Posts Knowman: Knowledge, Collaboration and Communication Network Activation News KMOL: Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Articles Interviews Books Cases Blog KMOL Archive Medium Quora Flickr The Intranet Hub

A safe space for member organizations to share, view, learn, mix, and adapt from each other’s intranets.

NewslettersLinkedIn — Friday Suggestions” “Things” I discover, like, or criticize, and want to share with you. Knowledge management, intranets, and the likeKMOLArticlesGestão do Conhecimento em Portugal (Knowledge Management in Portugal)The thinking behind the Knowledge Sharing Canvas design — Elium

LinkedIn Articles

Interviews (in Portuguese: use Google Translate to read in English) *denotes individuals I have previously profiled

Stan Garfield* (example of what Google Translate produces)Eugenio Moliní Cai Kjaer Sumeet Gayathri Moghe Patricia De Sá Freire Hank Malik Paul Burns Stuart Townsend Cristian Salanti Céline Schillinger*Susan Hanley*Bonnie Cheuk Jane Mcconnell*Victoria Ward*Miguel Pina E Cunha Rachel Happe*Alejandro Formanchuk Edwin K. Morris João Baptista Paulo Nunes De Abreu Harold Jarche*Daria Vodopianova Paulo De Carvalho Tiago Caldas Jerônimo Lima Arthur Shelley*David Gurteen*Eric Lynn Patrick Lambe*António Alvarenga Raphaël Briner Oscar Berg Lee Provoost Alvaro Caballero Paul Corney*Lee Bryant Heitor José Pereira Theodore Zeldin Ricardo Saldanha Luis Suarez*Juliana Vale Marques Ana Neves* by Sérgio StorchEuan Semple*Roger Schank José António Henriques Dinis Steve Borgatti Nick Milton*Victor Newman (2)Geoff Parcell Elizabeth Lank*Rodrigo Magalhães Keith De La Rue Hubert Saint-Onge*Art Kleiner (2)Jorge Nascimento Rodrigues David Snowden*Margaret Haines José Cláudio C Terra Susanne Justesen Carol Kinsey Goman Peter West Steve Barth Nancy White*Ricardo Vidigal Da Silva Victor Newman (1)Art Kleiner (1)Thomas Stewart*Paulo Zagalo E Melo Harrison Owen Paulo N Figueiredo José Manuel Canavarro Wendi Bukowitz E Ruth Williams Robert Buckman*Jessica Lipnack*Amy Jo Kim Etienne Wenger-Trayner*Mark McElroy Verna Allee*What is knowledge management?

Ten interviews with Portuguese-speaking KM professionals showed that knowledge management is seen and implemented very much according to the person in charge and the focus and maturity of the organization. Perhaps it would make sense to have a single definition of knowledge management. At the same time, if we can adapt our approach to knowledge management according to the organization’s pains, priorities, culture, and maturity, we may get more traction for our efforts and, consequently, better results.

Read these ten definitions and perspectives. Think about which ones might make the most sense in your organization, challenge yourself to discover angles you’re not yet exploring, and identify interesting arguments to use. If your activity is related to knowledge management or if you would like to find arguments to improve knowledge management in your organization, do yourself a favor and go listen to the ten interviews. Believe me, you won’t regret it!

Data to Knowledge to Innovation

Willingly or not, an organization is constantly producing and receiving data from internal and external sources. In turn, information may be sourced or produced by analyzing available data. Data and information are key. Organizations ought to be aware of the data and information they have and need.

Organizations should then:

Identify and characterize their existing sources — for instance, if they are dependable, their associated costs, and the impact of losing them.Understand who uses the available data and information and whether it could be used by other parts of the organization.Assess the impact of not having the data and information they need.Identify ways of sourcing the data and information required.

Based on this assessment the organization can go on to procure what is missing, manage what is available, and explore that available data and information for business gains (efficiency, market, etc.). The model depicts additional aspects of the data-knowledge-innovation relationship:

Making sense of data and information will generate learning and, consequently, the creation of knowledge.New ideas emerge from knowledge, especially from knowledge in the interception of different knowledge domains.New ideas are evaluated and implemented according to existing knowledge, data and information.Innovation is the successful implementation of new ideas and, hence, one way of applying knowledge.The product of innovation is both a way of sharing knowledge and a new source of data and information that feeds back into the organization.Knowledge may be used to create actionable insights which then lead to actions.Sharing and applying knowledge, in the shape of actions or innovation, creates value for the organization and its stakeholders.Why Social Tools are Like Sauces

I love sauces. Sauces are great. People usually love sauces. Ketchup, mayo, soy, white, vinaigrette, etc. Some interesting facts about sauces:

they complement and enhance food’s flavorwe don’t really have sauce on its ownnot every sauce goes well with every mealunless you are a food specialist, you know if a sauce tastes nice with your meal but you would not know which sauce to choose to go with it (color, consistency, flavor-wise).

Now that I have said this, and bearing in mind the title of this post, you have probably guessed where I am going with this 😊. Yes, I do think that these facts also apply to social tools (in the enterprise). Let’s consider one at a time.

Social tools can complement and enhance organizational processes. Identifying a colleague who has worked on a similar project as mine, becomes easier. Integrating new colleagues may be quicker and become a more pleasant experience for all involved. Despite that, having a tool without associated processes and practices means nothing. We do not buy tools for the sake of buying tools. We buy tools because we expect them to improve the way we work.

Not all social tools are appropriate for all organizations. As I usually say, find a tool that can stretch your organization in the direction it wants to go, but which does not stretch it to the point that staff feels threatened by it.

Choosing a tool involves looking at things from different angles: technical, business and user experience. Does the tool fit in nicely with other existing tools? Is it easy to administer? Can it adapt to our processes? Will the processes it supports help our organization? Is it easy and intuitive for our staff? When all these things are considered and accounted for, tools can really make a difference. Maybe you would not be able to choose it on your own, but you know it is good when you try it.

A sauce is usually less expensive than a social tool for the organization. And I say usually because there are some free or very low cost tools (I will be suggesting some next week in Seville). However, the cost of choosing the wrong tool is extremely higher than choosing the wrong sauce. Choosing the wrong tool means hours of work (installation, set up, training, roll out) down the drain. It usually means a decrease in people’s faith in these tools which, in turn, maps into a much slower adoption curve for any tool that follows.

Choosing a social tool is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. Take time to consider the different angles. To help you choose the best sauce… oops!, social tool to spice up your organization I conceived an event with a unique format. Check out the video below to understand what is unique about Social Now. And then, if you are interested, please visit the event’s site.

Social Now — Why is it unique?https://medium.com/media/08a3757301a9a8a4cf3bd711382d07c7/hrefArticles by Othersknowledge et al — Paul Corney What is the right culture for your organization? — Jack Vinson The Right Organizational Culture: A Requirement?Sector Dialogues. Interview: Ana Neves. Citizens demand better digital communication channels, faster services and more transparency New ways of working doesn’t just mean new tools — Gloria Lombardi SIKM Leaders Community PostsScheduled to present on June 16, 2026SlideShare Effective Project Management using Social Technologies

Effective Project Management using Social Technologies

Communicating with a Knowledge Hat

Why and How to use Communities of Practice