BioPAD Knowledge Management Solution

BioPAD is a Biotechnology Regional Innovation Centre established by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), based in Pretoria, South Africa. The centre was initiated in 2002 by a group of interested biotechnology stakeholders with the aim of boosting biotechnology development in the region. At the core of BioPAD’s objectives is the implementation of the National Biotechnology Strategy of South Africa.

BioPAD believes that South Africans should own the process of developing an active and sustainable biotechnology sector in SA. Broader participation by all stakeholders is encouraged with BioPAD continuing to play a prominent role in facilitating the process. BioPAD’s mission is to broker partnerships between researchers, entrepreneurs, businesses, government and other stakeholders to promote innovation and create sustainable biotechnology businesses which will support South Africa's needs.

 The Challenge

In pursuit of BioPAD’s vision to be a cutting-edge research hub and its mission to efficiently and effectively broker partnerships between many different stakeholders with disparate concerns, a clear need was identified for order and structure in the management of the organization’s information through an enterprise-wide knowledge management system.

BioPAD by the nature of its business is required to assimilate, store and distribute a large volume of both electronic and paper based information. Time wasted searching for information and the impact of using incorrect outdated information or losing information is highly costly and could potentially put the organization at risk.

 BioPAD decided to find a partner organization that could assist them to build and implement a common, accessible and structured system that would preserve the corporate memory of BioPAD. The system needed to have a central information repository to provide staff and stakeholders with quick and easy access to organizational knowledge as well as a powerful search engine to aid inquiries.

 The Solution

Intervate was chosen as the preferred partner to assist BioPAD with the selection and implementation of the best technology platform and solution that would meet the needs of the organization. After a comprehensive analysis of BioPAD’s requirements, Intervate recommended Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server® 2003 with Meridio® 4.4 records management software and Kofax Ascent for document capture.

SharePoint Portal Server 2003 was deployed and customized to meet BioPAD’s document management, internet and collaboration requirements. Meridio was implemented for electronic records management and to provide seamless access to BioPAD’s electronic Fileplan through their existing Office products including Microsoft Word and Microsoft Outlook. The Fileplan was based on the current physical Fileplan whilst adding access control and disposal schedules. A Kofax scanning station was configured with the Kofax Ascent Capture 7.5 client. This provides the capability to scan existing paper based documents directly into the electronic Fileplan in Meridio.

The deployment of the solution has allowed BioPAD to rapidly address their initial requirements and provides a platform on which to further develop the organization’s knowledge management capabilities.

 The Benefits

Users have the ability to save email, Word documents, Excel files and other electronic documents directly into the electronic Fileplan making it easier to manage and locate documents and records

The solution manages all forms of information including electronic documents and scanned images.

Provides improved access and greater accuracy of information for all BioPAD stakeholders

Delivers improved security of content controlled to individual items

Ensures the organization is compliant with relevant industry standards and legislation

Individual departments now have their own portals allowing them to collaborate, store and share information, significantly improving organizational productivity

BioPAD now have a secure knowledge repository of contacts and funded project documentation for specialists and Stakeholders

BioPAD had been able to reduce paper and physical storage costs

The custom built interface minimizes the training required for new staff to learn how to use the system

The rapid time to deployment means the benefits have been quickly realized