ABSTRACT
The purpose of this chapter is to establish an ideal type model of best practice in lessons learned (LL). The chapter begins by introducing the concept of organisational learning. It proceeds by using a sub-field of organisational learning – dynamic organisational capabilities – to establish the central organisational processes and activities which foster learning at the individual, group and organisational levels. The chapter examines best practice in potential absorptive capacity: knowledge acquisition, knowledge management, knowledge dissemination. It also explores the key dimensions of best practice in realised absorptive capacity: the ability to successfully transform knowledge by combining existing organisational knowledge with new knowledge gained from intra- and inter-organisational learning. In doing so, the chapter also examines guidance on LL best practice contained in the third edition of the NATO LL Handbook, released by the Joint Analysis and Lessons Learned Centre (JALLC) in February 2016. The chapter incorporates the key insights of the Handbook and identifies a number of important features of effective LL which do not receive attention in the document.
