Governments cannot afford to overlook a ground swell that is currently transforming companies, and more especially big companies. It is important that governments draw the appropriate conclusions, not by seeking to “copy” the private sector, but by endeavouring to innovate in accordance with their own identity and specificity and in accordance with their own way of managing their human resources. The following issue paper is in three parts: the first part briefly describes the ground swell, which is commonly known as knowledge management; the second part shows why this movement is also of significance for the public sector; the third part makes proposals with a view to initiating a debate capable of turning into a genuine action programme affecting government over the coming years...