Increasing Knowledge Flows

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Increasing Knowledge Flows Through Global
Research Networks
5th annual SEP conference, June 2004 Nicolas
Gorjestani, The World Bank Anthos Yannakou, CSIR,
South Africa
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• Key Themes
• Paradigm shift
• The GRA
• On knowledge and networks

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Sources of Wealth
Capital
Land
Knowledge
Labor
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Sources of Wealth
Capital
Land
Knowledge
Labor
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Sources of Wealth
Capital
Land
Knowledge
Labor
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Knowledge The Difference Between Poverty and
Wealth
GDP per capita, 000 1985 dollars
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Rep. of Korea
Difference attributed to knowledge
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4
Difference due to more physical human capital
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Ghana
0
1958
1962
1966
1970
1974
1978
1982
1986
1990
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The Rules are Changing
Industrial era
Knowledge era
Paradigm
Management
Labor
Workplace
Association
Skills
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Organization
Past
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Present
Organization
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Mindset
But
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Organization
Future ?
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Organization
Future ?
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Global Research Alliance
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Characteristics of the GRA

• A self-governing, unincorporated network of
  networks
• Strong emphasis on new science, namely research
  focused on links between parts of a system
• Keen on creating and renewing itself through
  continuous self-regulation and self-correction
• Deep realization that effective alliance
  leadership requires mutual trust between and
  among alliance member organizations, and within
  individual project teams
• A small Nerve Center was established, in the
  belief this term best captured the spirit and
  energy of the GRA

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GRA Member Organizations
Battelle has a staff of about 8,000 scientists,
engineers and support specialists, and manage
four national laboratories on behalf of the U.S.
Department of Energy.
The CSIRO is one of the worlds largest and most
diverse scientific research institutions with
6,500 staff focusing on 22 sectors
CSIR India comprises 39 laboratories conducting
RD in all areas of science and technology with
the exception of nuclear research, and have about
15,000 scientific and technical personnel
CSIR South Africa is the largest RD organization
in Africa and employs approximately 2,500 people
working in eight business units
The DTI operates at the interface between trade
and industry, the research and education sector
and the public sector
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GRA Member Organizations (cont..)
The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft is the leading
applied research institute in Europe with 58
institutes and a staff complement of some 12,000
SIRIM is a government-owned research and
technology company providing institutional and
technical services to the public and private
sectors. It is also the national focal point for
market-driven RD
The TNO is a large independent contract research
organization housing over 5,000 ST professionals
linking research with practical application
VTT is a contract research organization with more
than 3,000 employees providing a wide range of
technology and applied research services to the
public and private sectors
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Five Grand Challenges
DIGITAL FUTURES
WATER
ENERGY
HEALTH
TRANSPORTATION
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Water

• Six Action Themes
• Strategic Analysis
• Policy and Planning
• Integrated Water Resources Management
• Urban Water Infrastructure
• Groundwater Management
• Drinking Water
• Waste Treatment and Sanitation
• One ASEAN project, several under consideration
• GRA Water brochure

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Energy

• Five Action Themes
• Biomass
• Sustainable Urban Buildings and Demand Reduction
• Decentralised Electricity Generation
• Sustainable Rural Electrification
• Market Conditions
• GRA business plan for Energy
• Thought leadership paper
• Significant RD projects under consideration
• CSIR SA, Fraunhofer and Battelle looking at
  Africa
• Energy for Sustainable Development in Africa

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Transportation and Logistics

• Four Action Themes
• Pro-active offerings such as corridor planning,
  freight logistics, transport security and rural
  connectivity
• Sustainable public transport and infrastructure
  financing
• The development of enabling mechanisms such as
  knowledge bases, decision support systems and
  discussion papers
• Key account development with multinational
  agencies such as the World Bank
• Community of Practice has been formed
• Several projects under consideration
• Very good relations with the World Bank
• Emerging relationship between CSIR and Battelle

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Digital Futures

• Four Action Themes
• Education and Knowledge Transfer
• Accessibility
• Local Content and Applications
• Sustainable Environment
• Five Projects have been Identified
• Discussions underway with Nokia to create a
  Wireless Africa Initiative
• GRA Digital Futures Expert Group being formed

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Health

• A GRA Technology Fusion Workshop on Health will
  take place in Pune, India, on 11-16 July 2004
• Top GRA specialists and managers will participate

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Some Observations

• The GRA is a precursor of things to come
• Its a long journey, its not one thing, its not
  about rules, its about leadership on all levels
• The Power of Networking
• An additional outcome is improved bilateral
  relationships
• Many, many amorphous benefits
• Cross-cutting initiatives such as pro-poor
  nanotechnology applications in water, energy and
  health

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Challenge of the GRA
The GRA challenge will require its leaders to
shed the complacency of traditional, comforting
ways of thinking and doing as they lead the
organization into higher-risk, more ambiguous
endeavors. It will require decisions and actions
that actually accomplish something that few
others have been willing to try, perhaps for fear
of the consequences of failure
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(No Transcript)
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Some concluding thoughts on knowledge and networks
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Knowledge resides in peoples minds, not
in databases
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I dont know what I know until I need to know it
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I will always know more than I can say, which is
more than I can put on paper
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I dont know what I need until I need to solve a
problem
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Its not about what we know, its more about how
we can help our clients solve their problems
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Knowledge is not the exclusive domain of rich
countries, nor of the rich in poor countries
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Balanced Valuation of Knowledge
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Thank you