IKL Workshop promotes trust, knowledge sharing and progress
An open-minded crowd of IKL team members from the IOC, the IPC and the OCOGs of Paris 2024, Milano Cortina 2026 and Los Angeles 2028 met from 28 November to 1 December in a hybrid format in Lausanne for the annual OCOG IKL Workshop. The overall objectives: learn from each other, share insights and best practices, and explore untapped opportunities for collaboration and innovation – all with a strong focus on next summer’s Olympic Games. In a trusting environment, the highly interactive sessions also offered the opportunity to address specific challenges faced across the IKL teams.
Olympic Games Executive Director Christophe Dubi and the IOC’s Chief Information and Technology Officer, Ilario Corna, set the tone for the days to come during their welcome remarks, both stressing the global significance of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the vital role of IKL in optimising Games planning and delivery.
IOC update
IKL Associate Director Chris Payne kicked off the discussions by sharing the latest developments from the IOC’s IKL team and priorities for the year to come. The latter include the successful delivery of the Observers Programme Paris 2024 (OBP); the Games Operational “Data Capture” project for the Paris 2024 Games; capture and prompt delivery of educational films, 360-degree virtual tours and educational photos post-Games; and the implementation of retention and disposition rules in the IOC’s new Microsoft environment, to highlight just a few.
Payne also addressed the positioning of IKL within an organisation and presented the idea of an IKL framework, inspired by Gartner, which defines key enablers (people, process, technology and governance) and key capabilities (converse, capture, curate and circulate) for this space. The draft framework triggered fruitful discussions, for example about the importance of “unlearning” or “relearning” between different Games editions, and provided food for thought for the future.
Other presentations delivered by the IOC’s IKL team during the workshop delved into the opportunities provided by the IOC’s new Games Learning Platform (GLP); the latest preparations for the OBP Paris 2024, such as the ongoing analysis of the OCOGs’ learning needs by the IOC; and Information Management priorities like robust Master Data Management processes and the recent Games Terminology review.
OCOG updates
However, the majority of the workshop time was rightly reserved for the OCOGs to present their recent activities, achievements and challenges in the IKL space, and, most importantly, to share advice with the other attendees.
Paris 2024
Paris 2024 presented the key developments of 2023 during their Games preparations, including the implementation of 23 tests across 14 venues over the summer, from Paris to Marseille and Tahiti. The Paris 2024 IKL team supported the OPR (Operational Readiness) team in using these tests events to provide their colleagues in Paris with experiential learning opportunities (observation), and also the CCC (Communication, Command and Control) team in collecting important data sets to monitor the operations and produce the daily MOC (Main Operations Centre) reporting.
The Paris 2024 delegation also presented details of the Observers Programme Paris 2024 which, during Games time, will offer invaluable learning opportunities for the future OCOGs through various observational learning components. A dedicated dashboard will guide and engage the Paris 2024 future presenters with tailored information depending on their Functional Area (FA). Together with the IOC, Paris 2024 also advised future OCOGs on how to build their observers' delegations, and how to train them ahead of the Games to maximise this unique learning experience.
During a number of other presentations, Paris 2024 highlighted courageous and innovative approaches they have implemented in the IKL space over the last few years. Click here to find out more and read the dedicated article.
Milano Cortina 2026
The Milano Cortina 2026 OCOG has moved from the strategy to the planning phase, and its IKL team, in collaboration with PEM (People Management) and OPR, is working hard to make sure that learning is embedded throughout the organisation to enhance Games planning and ensure successful delivery. Their Learning Model is evolving, taking into consideration the growth of the organisation, and combining learning and training, knowledge sharing, and live experiences.
The training offers a range of activities from general onboarding to specific thematic workshops and venue- and function-specific training, whereas a digital Games Info Hub (Space26) acts as the “single source of truth” for fundamental documents and key information. Last year, more than 100 workforce members benefitted from live experiences at major events in host territories and beyond. Plenty of attention is now being focused on preparing the OCOG’s participation in the Observers Programme Paris 2024. A small delegation will also observe the Winter Youth Olympic Games next month in Gangwon, South Korea.
With inclusiveness being an important priority in the OCOG’s learning strategy, the IKL and Accessibility teams have together explored new paths to offer different awareness activities to its workforce, which included a “dialogue in the dark” led by people with a visual impairment.
Los Angeles 2028
In 2023, the LA28 IKL team has been focused on how to empower its OCOG workforce with relevant data, information and insights. The LA28 knowledge transfer processes are aimed mainly at informing cost savings and revenue opportunities; improving impact on stakeholder experience; reducing operational complexity; and preparing for scale. Those processes will be further developed in 2024 and leverage key insights from the Olympic Games Paris 2024 to inform planning and optimisation.
Next year, the most important objective of the LA28 IKL team is to make best use of the Observers Programme Paris 2024, together with the data captured by Paris 2024 to generate and disseminate knowledge and build capability across its organisation. Important learning opportunities will also be offered before and after the Games to facilitate the transfer and acquisition of knowledge for the wider LA28 team and their partners.
In an endeavour to allocate the OCOG’s time and resources to key priorities, LA28 recently aligned key interdependencies between functional clusters and created so-called “knowledge pods”, where cross-cutting perspectives are considered and captured. Just think of a Venue Media Centre and a decision to keep it open an hour longer (or less), which would impact not only the media stakeholders, but also security, transport, food and beverage and work allocation. Accordingly, LA28 will develop specific content by experience, for instance when it comes to observation opportunities or planning assumptions.
IPC updates
The Chief Paralympic Games Delivery Officer and the IKL lead from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) also joined in the workshop to update the participants about their learning offers to future OCOGs and explain how they work with the IOC to simplify and adapt key tools for OCOGs to ensure that the requirements for both the Olympic and Paralympic Games are clearly outlined. The latter include Operational Requirements, Olympic Games Guides and central planning documents. The goal is to align and provide greater clarity on the similarities and differences between both Games. A large part of the IPC presentations focused on their new Future OCOG Activities and Learnings Programme (FOAL), which is the IPC’s continuous learning programme of engagement with future OCOGs. Created to ensure that Paralympic knowledge is embedded throughout the organisation, FOAL will provide each OCOG with bespoke content on an ongoing basis to meet their particular needs, depending on their stage within the OCOG lifecycle, local context and knowledge or experience gaps. In this context, the IPC team also detailed their respective plans for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which will offer important observation and secondment opportunities. After the Games, individual working sessions – the FOAL Finales - will be organised with all future OCOGs to assess their Games experience and the impact on their own planning for the Paralympic Games.
Inspiring learning from OCOG to OCOG
During bilateral side meetings with one another, the OCOGs were able to discuss topics of mutual interest in more detail.
All the sessions were highly interactive, leaving enough time to brainstorm ideas, discuss challenges and ask questions. The participants also visited the Olympic Studies Centre, the worldwide source of reference for Olympic knowledge, and the Olympic Museum. Joint dinners provided the opportunity to further build relations in a fun atmosphere, and carry on the conversations kicked off during the workshop in more detail.