Frequently Asked Questions Regarding KM Certification

Q: I’ve come across other KM certification or training provider but I don't see them in the listing of non-profit professional societies and associations at Knowledge Management Societies & Associations or in the listing of Professional Associations.

A: Anyone within the broad KM training industry can of course claim to offer KM “certification” or other training but only non-profit professional societies / associations can be listed at that web page you ask about. See this related page regarding the need for a KM certification to be granted by a professional society. Any “certification” not offered by a non-profit professional society simply doesn’t meet the criteria that professional certification be “earned from a Professional society” which is why there is such importance on KM certification being offered by a non-profit professional society (as is other certifications in other disciplines).

Q: I’ve come across other KM certification or training providers that claims to set the standard for KM certification, but I don’t see them in the listing of non-profit professional societies and associations that is linked above.

A: While other organizations may make unsubtantiated claims to somehow be a “standard” or such, simply claiming to be the “standard” for KM certification is without merit unless the organization making that claim is the main professional body serving those working in the broad field of KM. KMPro is the “main professional body” serving the KM community. Another organization within the broad KM community providing some KM training cannot be a “standard” for KM certification by simply claiming it to be so. KMPro is the non-profit, main professional body serving the KM community and KMPro does not recognize KM certifications which haven't been approved by KMPro and the Knowledge Management Certification Board (KMCB)®.

Q: I’ve come across another KM certification training provider that makes specific claims about the number of people that they've “certified” and they show numbers for others as being much less.

A: Once again, that certainly appears to be nothing more than marketing hype as no current information was provided by KMPro or its training provider Hudson Associates Consulting Inc. (including its eKnowledgeCenter). It hardly matters whether any training provider makes whatever claims they have regarding the number that have been supposedly “certified” by their organization and that isn’t relevant given that KMPro is the KM certification standard -- as the non-profit, main professional body serving the KM community. In KM certification training it isn't about the “numbers” and instead it is about the quality of the training and whether the training is recognized by the leading KM professional society and the Knowledge Management Certification Board (KMCB)®.

KMPro is the non-profit, main professional body serving the KM community and KMPro does not recognize “KM certification” which haven't been approved by KMPro and the Knowledge Management Certification Board (KMCB)®. It is known that KMPro’s certification training provider, Hudson Associates Consulting Inc. (and including eKnowledgeCenter, owned by Hudson) has provided KM certification and training to well over 4,000 individuals world-wide.

Q: I noticed this ITtoolbox article on KM certification which lists when various KM certification/training organizations began -- which conflicts with other information that I've seen?

A: Yes, the actual “KM certification timeline” is very different than what you might find elsewhere from ITtoolbox.

- KMPro’s certification training provider, Hudson Associates Consulting Inc., began offering KM certifications in 1995 and is believed to be the very first to do so.
- KMCI (according to KMCI corporate records) began offering certification taught by the founder of KMCI (Ed Swanstrom) in January 2000.
- In mid-2000 the founder of KMCI began offering KM certification as eKnowledgeCenter, and eKnowledgeCenter continues to offer KM certification today as a part of Hudson Associates Consulting, Inc.
- KMCI corporate records indicate that KMCI utilized one other training provider in June 2001
- KMPro used on provider to offer workshops at KMPro from 2002 through June 2004, and Hudson Associates Consulting, Inc. has provided its CKM certification training program through KMPro from November 2003 to present.

The fact remains that KMPro’s certification training provider, Hudson Associates Consulting Inc., was the first to provide KM certification and continues to do so today through KMPro (the main professional body of the KM community). See this page for additional information on the history of KM certification.

Q: I noticed that some KM certification or training providers claim to be “university endorsed?”

A: This would seem to be more marketing hype. If the apparent criteria for “university endorsed” is that any university or college simply offers a workshop through its “continuing education program” or “extended learning program” then the same could be said about KMPro’s CKM certification workshop provider who has delivered its workshop through universities and colleges, including for example, University of Oxford and HEC School of Management.

Q: Are there any third-party validations of your certification program?

A: Yes. The KMPro CKM certification workshop is provided by the owner of the training program - Hudson Associates Consulting, Inc., who originated KM certification in 1995. That workshop content has been reviewed by KMPro and its Knowledge Management Certification Board (KMCB)® and has been validated as meeting KMPro’s standards for KM certification. KMPro is the main professional body of the KM community and as such sets the standards for KM certification.

And for that reason each KMPro CKM certification workshop handbook and each CKM certification certificate bear the seal as a “Knowledge Management Certification Board Approved Certification” and no other training program has been validated as meeting KMPro’s standards for KM certification.

Additionally, we utilize two other methods to validate the KMPro CKM certification program – by conducting pre- and post-workshop individual assessments of learning, and by utilizing a “Kirkpatrick Level 4” measure of training effectiveness methodolgy. We are confident that the KMPro CKM certification program well meets the needs of KMPro as the main professional body of the KM community.