> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://urd.gitbook.io/compass/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://urd.gitbook.io/compass/learning-and-adapting/learning-from-experience-and-sharing-insights.md).

# Learning from experience and sharing insights

### <mark style="color:orange;">How do we move from experience to knowledge?</mark>

Capturing learning does not mean producing yet another document. Many organizations confuse capturing learning with archiving: a project-closing report filed away in a shared folder that no one ever opens again. The principle underlying this section is simple: **we document so that it can be put to use, not just so that it exists**.

This means answering three questions before choosing a method:

* **What experience is worth documenting** (a success to replicate, a failure to avoid, an adaptation that worked well)?
* **Who is this knowledge for** (the team itself, the organization, a partner, the sector)?
* **What is the appropriate level of effort**, given the available resources and the significance of what has been learned?

> <mark style="color:$info;">**Link to CHS Commitment 7**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;"></mark><mark style="color:$info;">—</mark> <mark style="color:$info;"></mark>*<mark style="color:$info;">“People and communities affected by the crisis can expect that the organizations assisting them will continuously improve through feedback and learning.”</mark>* <mark style="color:$info;"></mark><mark style="color:$info;">Documenting and sharing lessons learned is what enables this commitment to extend beyond the current project cycle and benefit future interventions, both those of the organization itself and those of other actors.</mark>
>
> <mark style="color:$info;">**Link to Commitment 6**</mark> <mark style="color:$info;"></mark><mark style="color:$info;">— sharing what has been learned with other organizations, local authorities, and coordination actors prevents the repetition of mistakes across a sector or intervention area and contributes to complementarity among actors.</mark>

***

### <mark style="color:orange;">How to</mark> <mark style="color:orange;"></mark><mark style="color:orange;">**navigate this section?**</mark>

1. **Choosing the right method at the right time**: a decision-making tool to help you avoid launching a lengthy process when a brief debrief is sufficient (or vice versa).
2. **Debriefs and After Action Reviews**: the entry-level method, which is low-cost and embedded in continuous, regular cycles.
3. **The structured knowledge capture process**: for experiences deemed significant enough to warrant a dedicated exercise at the project, program, or thematic level.
4. **Documenting and sharing**: formats, distribution, and precautions on how to transform lessons learned into a usable product and disseminate it without harming those involved.