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Knowledge economy

For the last two hundred years, neo-classical economics has recognised only two factors of production: labour and capital. This is now changing. Information and knowledge are replacing capital and energy as the primary wealth-creating assets, just as the latter two replaced land and labor 200 years ago. In addition, technological developments in the 20th century have transformed the majority of wealth-creating work from physically-based to "knowledge-based.". Technology and knowledge are now the key factors of production. With increased mobility of information and the global work force, knowledge and expertise can be transported instantaneously around the world, and any advantage gained by one company can be eliminated by competitive improvements overnight. The only comparative advantage a company will enjoy will be its process of innovation--combining market and technology know-how with the creative talents of knowledge workers to solve a constant stream of competitive problems--and its ability to derive value from information. We are now an information society in a knowledge economy where knowledge management is essential. This page lists and rates Internet resources related to the field of knowledge based economy and knowledge management in the new information society.

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Last updated July 19th 2005

no star: Average ; Fair ; Good ; Very good ; Excellent ; Outstanding

Sites are reviewed individually and rated mostly according to content depth and value added, while also considering ease of navigation and speed of loading. For each category best resources are listed first.

The New Economy Index The purpose of this report developed by the Progressive Policy Institute is to draw on a new set of indicators, gathered from existing public and private data, to examine some of the key characteristics of the New Economy in the US. The report tracks the transformation of the U.S. economy along four main lines: the industrial and occupational mix, globalization, entrepreneurial dynamism and competition, and the IT revolution, and also examines its impact on the working americans.Finally the report looks at the foundation for future growth. An excellent report. Do not miss the section on knowledge workers and knowledge producers. The Information Economy A meta-index compiled by Hal R. Varian from the University of California at Berkeley. It covers the economics of the Internet, information goods, intellectual property and related issues such as networks economics. It is also on of the earliest sites on those issues (1994). Excellent site although some sections have not been updated for quite a while. Knowledge for Development Program The Knowledge for Development (K4D) Program helps build the capacity of client countries to access and use knowledge to strengthen their competitiveness in the global economy and increase their social well-being. It works with client countries to design and develop realistic and achievable strategies to further their transition to the knowledge economy. Excellent and very rich site. Do not miss the learning materials and the section on knowledge economy assessments. Sveiby Knowledge Management An excellent site by one of the pionneers in the field of knowledge management. The focus on unlearning is fascinating. So is the section on invisible balance sheet and the concept of intangible assets. Give yourself enough time to fully explore the site. The Knowledge Economy The Knowledge Economy Report, a submission to the New Zealand Government by their IT Advisory Group, provides a well-researched independent view of factors that lead to the effective development of a knowledge economy. As part of a growing debate on the country future economic development, it provides options for the Government to consider in the ongoing discussions about New Zealand's future directions. A very interesting and excellent report. WWW Virtual Library on Knowledge Management This is likely the most widely known and reputed online portal on knowledge management . It provides seemingly endless number of links to relevant and interesting articles or analysis on the subject, to the extent that the amount of available information (and corresponding text) can be perceived as overwhelming. Overall a very good site. KnowledgeBoard KnowledgeBoard is a Knowledge Management portal (KM) funded by the European Commission under the Information Society Technologies Programme (IST) and is a growing community of over 9,000 KM professionals throughout Europe and the world. Very rich and interesting site which takes a while to explore fully as most of its value added comes from news, articles and discussions. There is a special section on KM for small and medium enterprises and one on KM for beginners. Do not miss the manual on sharing knowledge Knowledge Economy Development Gateway This section of the Development Gateway Portal provides on a chronological basis news, articles, sites related to the knowledge economy and its interface with knowledge for development. Very rich and useful site which unfortunately does not rank information according to quality / importance making it difficult to identify and retrieve high quality information. Do not miss the sections on country development strategies and on related issues. Australia's Office for the Information Economy NOIE is Australia's lead Commonwealth agency for information economy issues.Its objective is to help Australians create a world-class online economy and society through its work developing, overseeing, and coordinating Commonwealth Government policy on electronic commerce, online services and the Internet. A very good site. Do not miss the section on publications particularly the reports aiming to assist Australia's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to take full advantage of the communications revolution. UNESCO Observatory on the Information Society The Observatory's main objectives are to raise awareness on the constant evolution of ethical, legal and societal challenges brought about by new technologies by providing updated information on the evolution of the Information Society at the national and international levels and by fostering debates on the related issues. I particularly liked the sections on news (available in english, french and spanish), action plans and policies (available on a country basis), and current events. Knowledge Connections This site from David Skyrme Associates aims to provide insights into the emerging global networked economy, where intangible assets, such as information and knowledge, will determine future competitiveness.Do not miss the section on Global Knowledge Economy and its implications for business. Also includes interesting sections on Knowledge Management, Internet Commerce and Intellectual Capital. Knowledge Economy Indicators In the context of the Sixth Framework Programme of the European Commission the project KEI (Knowledge Economy Indicators: Development of Innovative and Reliable Indicator Systems) started on September 2004. The project's aim is to develop and improve indicators for the knowledge economy, including the analysis of aggregation issues and the use of composite indicators. The project will cover indicators from 30 European countries (the EU-25 plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, Romania, and Bulgaria) and six non-European countries (the US, Japan, India, China, Australia and Canada). Interesting site although somewhat limited at this stage. The site includes the materials of the workshop on Knowledge Economy Indicators which took place in March 2005. The Emerging Digital Economy Report The Emerging Digital Economy report represents an initial step by the Clinton Administration and the U.S. Department of Commerce to better understand the effect of electronic commerce on the economy. The report presents both economic analysis and case studies that paint a picture of the importance of electronic commerce and information technologies to the economy as a whole and to individual sectors of the economy. Lycos Directory: Knowledge Management Extensive Yahoo type meta-index on knowledge management from Lycos Open Directory. Includes several categories from information infrastructure to knowledge creation and retrieval. Very good as a general index, although I found it quite hard to get a sense for the rationale which must have led to the index structure, which in turn makes it difficult to know where to go. Building Britain's Knowledge Driven Economy The Government’s White Paper sets out the role IT and business need to play in improving the UK’s competitiveness, and argues that knowledge, skills and creativity are the distinctive assets of a knowledge driven economy necessary to give the UK a competitive edge. Very interesting site. Do not miss the various papers in particular "the economics of a knowledge driven economy" Knowledge for Development The 1998/99 World Development Report, published by the World Bank, examines the role of knowledge in advancing economic and social well-being. Because knowledge is at the heart of economic growth and sustainable development, understanding how people and societies acquire and use it is essential to improving people's lives, especially the lives of the poor. A critical report for understanding the global implications of the knowledge economy. The Internet Economy Indicators This June 2000 report prepared by the University of Texas at Austin's Center for Research in Electronic Commerce presents the results of a study on the Internet economy commissioned by Cisco Systems. Very interesting both in terms of methodology and results. Also includes interesting links. Advancing Knowledge and the Knowledge Economy Advancing Knowledge and the Knowledge Economy is an international conference that took place in January 2005 and brought together leading experts to examine how processes for creating and organizing knowledge interact with information technology, business strategy, and changing social and economic conditions. The conference was designed to broaden and deepen common understanding of how difficult-to-measure knowledge resources drive an increasingly virtualized economy and to assess prospects for advancing and regenerating knowledge infrastructure, institutions, and policies. Interesting and very rich site which includes all working papers of the conference. Do not miss the section on resources. A Primer on the Knowledge Economy This primer, prepared by Professors John Houghton and Peter Sheehan of Victoria University's Centre for Strategic Economic Research (CSES), is intended as a brief guide to the Knowledge Economy for people in business and government who need a succinct summary of its major features and implications. By focusing on the two main forces who shape the new economy, namely the rise in knowledge intensity of economic activities and the increasing globalisation of economic affairs, the authors identify the main characteristics of such an economy. Very interesting report. OECD Global Forum on the Knowledge Economy The general objectives of this 2002 forum were to stress the importance of a comprehensive policy framework that integrates ICTs, innovation, and human resources as drivers of growth, and share experiences on the development and future directions of policy frameworks for the knowledge-based economy. The site includes the various papers and presentations as well as the summary report of the global forum. Education for the Knowledge Economy Education for the Knowledge Economy (EKE) represents one of two central thrusts of the World Bank's support for education in helping countries achieve economic growth and poverty reduction (the other being attainment of Education for All). Such support recognizes that in today's fast-changing, information-driven world, nations' comparative advantage depends heavily on their ability to use and generate knowledge. Very interesting site. Do not miss the two reports: constructing knowledge societies and lifelong learning in the global knowledge economy. Creative Knowledge Economy Project The Creative Knowledge Economy Project is a grassroots initiative of Communities of the Future (COTF) , an evolving network of people and organizations throughout the U.S. and other countries that are working in collaboration to develop new concepts of governance, economic development, and education/learning for a fast-paced, interconnected, and increasingly complex society. Interesting site which combines the concepts of community development and knowledge economy. Do not miss the Creative Knowledge Economy Handbook. The Global Knowledge Partnership The Global Knowledge Partnership (GKP) is an informal partnership of public, private and not-for-profit organizations committed to sharing information, experiences and resources to promote broad access to, and effective use of, knowledge and information as tools of sustainable, equitable development. Interesting site. Do not miss the section on "The Global Knowledge Activity Information Management System (GK-AIMS)" and its document repository. Policy Frameworks for the Knowledge Economy This OECD paper discusses the importance of a comprehensive policy framework that integrates information and communications technologies, innovation and human resources as the drivers of growth; future directions of policy frameworks for the knowledge economy; and integrated approaches that link policy development to broad economic and social goals. Interesting paper which raises more questions than it provides answers. G8 Global Marketplace for SMEs The overall objective of this G8 Pilot Project is to facilitate increased competitiveness and participation in global trade for SMEs by exploiting the opportunities offered by the development of the Global Information Society. The final report can be downloaded. Very interesting. The Global Knowledge Economy and its implications for markets The rules and practices that determined success in the industrial economy of the 20th century need rewriting in an interconnected world where resources such as know-how are more critical than other economic resources. This briefing highlights recent thinking and developments and offers guidance on developing appropriate organizational strategies to succeed into the new millennium. The E-conomy Project The E-conomy™ Project, from the University of California, focuses on how digital networks and e-commerce are changing the organization of industrial and economic activity, the ultimate objective being to conceive new business models, more effective corporate strategies, and informed policies. Very interesting although limited at this stage. Do not miss the working papers, particularly the one on the "implications of e-commerce" which discusses several different areas in which the Internet will significantly impact the current organization of economic activity. Canada Research Chair on the knowledge economy The Canada Research Chair on the socio-organizational challenges of the knowledge economy has the objective to re-examine the various theories of firm, in particular the evolutionary theory, according to which, knowledge of an organization is above all, the function of individual knowledge of its members, and notably of tacit knowledge (in opposition to codified or clarified knowledge) that possessed by these persons. The Chair wants to try to go beyond this opposition between tacit and explicit knowledge to study the ways of sharing of knowledge among individuals in different working contexts (telework or telecommuting, independent work or self-employed, communities of practice within an organization), but also between individuals and their environment, and among organizations. Athena Alliance Athena Alliance is a non-profit organization dedicated to public education and research on the emerging global information - and knowledge-based economy. Although somewhat limited their website includes very interesting documents in the "ideas" section. International Organisation for Knowledge Economy and Enterprise Development (IKED) IKED is an independent, international non-profit organisation focusing on the emerging issues of the knowledge-based economy, and aiming to link the primary actors forming the knowledge-based economy - government, industry, academia and civil society - by facilitating international networks and policymaking forums, leading projects and forming recommendations to turn policies into action. Interesting site but rather limited at this stage which reflects the young nature of the organization. Strategy & Business This on-line version of a quaterly business magazine "exists to challenge old assumptions and develop new ones" and therefore focuses on issues relevant to the new knowledge economy. The site contains interesting articles and a very good book reviews section. Do not miss " The Hunter-Gatherers of the Knowledge Economy" (third quarter 1999). Encyclopedia of the New Economy "When we talk about the new economy, we're talking about a world in which people work with their brains instead of their hands. A world in which communications technology creates global competition A world in which innovation is more important than mass production. A world in which investment buys new concepts or the means to create them, rather than new machines. A world in which rapid change is a constant. A world so different its emergence can only be described as a revolution." From Wired's magazine Encyclopedia of the New Economy. Quite interesting, and as could be expected, thought provoking. The Knowledge Economy Project The Knowledge Economy Project is a grassroots initiative of the Communities of the Future ( a U.S network of people and organizations working to develop new concepts of governance, economic development, and education). Interesting site still in development. Do not forget to visit the COTF site useful for for local economic developers interested in learning how to build capacities for the Knowledge Economy. Knowledge Societies From 1995 to 1997, the Working Group on Information Technology and Development of the UN Commission on Science and Technology for Development investigated the claims and counterclaims about the risks and benefits of ICTs for developing countries. The corresponding report entitled "knowledge societies" argues that although the costs of building ICT infrastructure in the developing world are high, the costs of not doing so — in terms of benefits foregone — are likely to be much higher. It is possible to download the entire text in pdf format which unfortunately is quite difficult to read directly on the screen. Eurotechnopolis Institut Eurotechnopolis Institut's objective is to bring together companies, schools and public authorities in order to examine how the spreading of the New Information and Communication Technologies (NICTs), and particularly the computer networks, affect our society. Interesting and promising site, although somewhat limited in its present version. Information Society Website of the European Commission The objectives of the Information Society Activity Centre (ISAC) are to develop, implement and export an European approach to the information society and to mainstream the information society into all the other policies of the European Union, contributing to fully exploit its potential impact and benefits. Interesting and content rich website unfortunately plagued by what I consider poor structure and design Scotland: Towards the Knowledge Economy This report from a Knowledge Economy Taskforce presents a framework to accelerate collaboration between industry and the universities, mostly through the development and implementation of cluster plans for key industries in which companies and public bodies will collaborate, and also from the possible adoption of a blueprint by Scottish universities leading to the creation of a single entrepreneurial "Centre for Enterprise" serving all of Scotland.