Search Club: Using peer support to develop search skills and share knowledge in a specialist NHS team

Area of Science:

• Knowledge Management
• Information Science
• Health Education

Background:

• The Health Education England (HEE) Knowledge Management team sought to improve internal collaboration and expertise in developing search strategies.
• A need was identified for a structured platform for Knowledge Specialists to share best practices and innovative approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the establishment and online facilitation of an internal
• Search Club
• for Knowledge Specialists.

Main Methods:

• An internal online
• Search Club
• was initiated and conducted virtually.
• Knowledge Specialists engaged in discussions on search strategy development and shared expertise.

Main Results:

• The initiative enhanced the skills of the Knowledge Management team through collaborative learning.
• Valuable resources were created, including a "synonyms bank", standardized search strategies, and a curated list of grey literature sources.
• These resources demonstrably reduced duplicated efforts, saved time, and promoted consistency in the team's outputs.

Conclusions:

• The online
• Search Club
• proved effective in improving Knowledge Management team skills and fostering a collaborative learning environment.
• The development of shared resources significantly enhanced efficiency and consistency within the team.