Knowledge Management (KM) in the Public Sector (SP) derives from ideas and movements that surfaced in the late 1960s and which challenged the current Public Administration paradigms (CALDWELL, 1967; HENRY, 1975; MC EVOY; RAGAB; ARISHA, 2019). Although KM has been more studied and implemented in the private sector, in the 1970s, education and public administration dominated the use of KM. term.
In that decade, it was a consensus among researchers at the first KM symposium that “man’s ability to manage knowledge [was] of fundamental importance for contemporary public administration” (CARROLL; HENRY, 1975). However, only with the reform of public management, which began in Great Britain, New Zealand and Australia in the 1980s, added the importance of KM in the following decade as an innovative approach to improve organizational performance, is that initiatives and studies emerge emphasizing the need and advantages of KM in SP.
The public service has faced new demands regarding the improvement of its performance and offering a better response to citizens’ needs. In this sense, management models and tools that contribute to better results, so that the public service remains relevant and makes a difference in society, are increasingly useful.
Knowledge management in the public service has been discussed for a long time, as tool of effectiveness and efficiency, guaranteeing impersonality. However, only recently with the absorption of innovation and management doctrines strategy, space was opened for knowledge management to assume achievable contours in the public service. Until then, the existing information and that determined server to them added their experience (lato sensu) were characterized with individuality, because based on tacit knowledge of its holder.
However, the public sector is inserted in a specific context that implies research and different works from the private sector. This distinction is crucial because of the fundamental differences between government organizations and private companies in terms of structure, objectives and processes. It is noteworthy that the public sector often faces unique challenges in knowledge management, such as the need to ensure transparency, accountability and citizen participation. On the other hand, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development emphasizes in its study on knowledge management practices in member state governments that government organizations have different strengths and weaknesses compared to private companies in terms of concerns knowledge management. According to OECD the public sector often has greater capacity to access diverse sources of knowledge, such as academic research and external experts, which can enrich its decision-making. However, it also faces challenges in terms of bureaucracy, complex political processes and resistance to change.
Some of the questions we hope to discuss include but are not restricted to the following:

• What are the key factors for public service innovation?
• What is the interrelation of knowledge management practices and public service strategies?
• Which competitive strategies contribute to public service innovation?
• How can knowledge management practices and organizational learning improve public service performance?
• How can collaboration and networks among public and private sector enhance public service quality?
• Are there country-specific or service differences regarding knowledge management?

The track welcomes work related to Knowledge Management, with special focus on public services. We are looking forward to take on in a discussion and together explore new aspects of knowledge management approaches.

Klaus North, Wiesbaden Business School, Germany
Gregorio Varvakis Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Brazil
Guillermo Dávila, Universidad de Lima, Perú
Gregorio Pérez Arrau, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Chile