Knowledge Matters™

The First 40 Years

I was born in 1959 and spent most of my formative years in and around Fremantle Western Australia. I am married and have three adult children dispersed around Australia, and a 16 year old son attending St Edmunds College in Canberra .

I am a graduate of the Officer Cadet School Portsea and the Australian Army Command and Staff College Queenscliff. I have over 20 years experience with the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps and the Royal Australian Infantry , including hospital commands, and operational service in Rwanda , East Timor, and Bougainville. I also have substantial experience as an adult trainer, and have held senior instructional appointments in Australia, the USA and Canada. I retired from the Army in 2000 having attained the rank of Colonel.

A significant personal achievement was the amalgamation of ten inefficient health organisations across Australia, over a three-year period, to form three multi-functional hospitals, resulting in significant personnel savings and efficiencies. I also conducted research to identify injury and disease trends of Regular Army soldiers. For these initiatives I was awarded the Geoffrey Harkness Medal for outstanding services to the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps , particularly in the area of developmental work.

Other Work

Since leaving the Army I have worked as a director in HolisTech® Pty Ltd , although I no longer hold that appointment.   I am the principal and director in my own consulting company - Durant-Law Consulting Pty Limited, which also trades as Knowledge Matters™.   Some of my more interesting work has included:

• A literature review for a Royal Australian Navy project that determined the regulatory framework and information management structure necessary to ensure the safety integrity of the Navy’s platforms and people.
• The development of an outline emergency response plan that integrates with upstream, lateral and downstream stakeholders for the Australian Capital Territory Division of General Practice .
• Using a system of systems approach, the design and development of the high level project documentation, including requirements and constraints, for a transportable hospital.
• The design and support to a knowledge management system, colloquially known as TARDIS , for Capability Development Group of the Australian Defence Force.  TARDIS, won the 2004 actKM combined cultural and technological silver award – the first time a combined award of this type was presented.
• A business network analysis of an organisation that has a portfolio of projects valued in excess of 40 billion Australian dollars. This analysis revealed hitherto unknown relationships, enabling senior management to make more informed decisions.

Education

I have studied all of my adult life. At the moment I am a doctoral candidate at the University of Canberra where I am researching part-time the subject 'Mapping Social Connectivity and Artefact Relationships to Improve Knowledge Productivity' . I have the following tertiary qualifications:

• Bachelor of Science (Physiological Psychology),
• Master of Health Administration,
• Master of Knowledge Management,
• Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies (Public Policy),
• Graduate Diploma in Management Studies, and
• Graduate Certificate in Health Finances.

In addition I have completed a Senior Executive’s Media Awareness Course, which was conducted by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , as well as an Occupational Health and Safety Diploma at the National Safety Council , South Australia.

Affiliations and Memberships

I am an Associate Fellow of the Australian Institute of Management , and the Australian College of Health Services Executives . I am also the immediate past Administrative Director for the ACT Drug and Alcohol Foundation (ADFACT) . I am also a past member of the organising committee for the ACT Knowledge Management Forum (actKM) , and was the foundation president of the PACE Group, which is a consortium of micro-companies that specialise in the knowledge industry.