Knowledge Markets: More Than Providers and Users

Knowledge Markets: More than Providers and Users Simard, Albert Similarly, to remain relevant, governments must Abstract— This paper describes a knowledge- be able to create, use, and disseminate market model intended to facilitate transforming information and knowledge in social domains science-based departments to a service such as health care, education, and national perspective. Existing provider / user models mask security [9,10]. Thus, creating and using the true complexity of knowledge services. The proposed model comprises nine stages that knowledge will be central to continuing success embed, advance, or extract value. Model design in the 21st century, in both the private and public criteria include independence from content, an sector. organizational focus, scalability, two drivers, and The Government of Canada attaches a high two levels of resolution. A task group, combining importance to the knowledge economy [11]. 190 years of scientific experience and tacit Further, the amount of science conducted by the knowledge, explored the nature of knowledge Government of Canada is substantial. In 2003– services and discovered patterns to understand underlying processes. The paper concludes that a 2004, the Federal Government spent $4.6 billion cyclic value-chain-based knowledge-market model on its science and technology activities [12]. This is richer than existing models, it supports both sum represents the cost of generating supply and demand approaches to knowledge knowledge. Realizing a return on this markets, and it describes knowledge services considerable investment requires that the adequately to enable eventual measurement and knowledge be used to benefit the government, management. the society, and the citizens it serves. Index Terms— knowledge organization, knowledge services, knowledge markets, knowledge transfer, value chains, providers, users 2. PROBLEM Science and technology departments are being increasingly mandated to create and disseminate 1. INTRODUCTION knowledge within the context of Federal Centuries of knowledge creation by scientists Government priorities. This is reflected in the and science organizations have culminated in a Next Generation Public Services Vision [13], in high present-day standard of living in which the intent is to transform government industrialized societies. When examined at a services from a provider to a user perspective. scale of social and technical progress, it can be Central to our purpose, the vision states that said that knowledge flows from science to there are “no generally accepted definitions or society. When examined at the scale of S&T descriptions of public sector information and organizations, however, the reality is that some knowledge services.” It continues with “To knowledge flows to some people, somehow, identify and act on opportunities...the government somewhere, sometime. must first establish a shared understanding of the The importance of the knowledge economy is attributes of public sector information and well documented. The economic dimensions of knowledge services.” Clearly we must the knowledge industry in the United States have understand the nature of such services in a been described [1] as has the nature of government context if we are to maximize their knowledge work and knowledge workers [2]. efficiency and effectiveness. More recently, the impacts of the emerging digital The central hypothesis of this research is that it economy on business, industry, and society have is possible to develop a qualitative model of been summarized [3]. Finally, attributes of knowledge services by eliciting tacit knowledge knowledge have been described from a market through dialogue among a group of experienced perspective [4]. science managers. The purpose of this paper is In a knowledge economy, long-term success to describe the qualitative model developed depends on an ability to create and use through this process. knowledge faster than competitors [5, 6, 7, 8]. Albert Simard, Director, Knowledge Strategies, Natural Resources Canada 3 3. LITERATURE REVIEW 4. METHODS Simple models for creating and using Natural Resources Canada established a knowledge in a government context have been Knowledge Services Task Group to “Examine the proposed. A national workshop on priorities for nature of the work of science and science-related S&T integration described a knowledge cycle programs in Natural Resources Canada, framework for integrated S&T [14]. The cycle describe appropriate elements in the context of comprised research, value, receptors, and Government of Canada Service Transformation, benefits. It illustrates that science must look and submit a report.” In establishing the task beyond the search for knowledge to how that group, it was assumed that knowledge services knowledge benefits Canada and Canadians. A could be described and defined well enough and knowledge cycle was proposed, comprising measured with sufficient accuracy and resolution research, knowledge synthesis, distribution and to manage the process [22]. The Task Group application, and evaluation of uptake [15]. This Report provides considerable detail on strategy focuses on a complex system of knowledge services and the knowledge services interactions among researchers and users. A system that provides the basis for the public-service value chain, comprising employee knowledge-market model described in this paper. engagement, citizen satisfaction, and trust and From a management perspective, the work confidence in public institutions was used to was explicitly positioned as the first step of the describe the most important priorities of public sequence: sector reform [16]. “Effective strategy = Describe strategy + Although seemingly clear and understandable, Measure strategy + Manage strategy” [23] these approaches conceal more than they reveal In essence, to manage a strategy, it must first about knowledge services and markets. Only by be measured and to measure it, it must first be drilling down into the details of such models can described. we understand how they work, verify the From a knowledge perspective, a framework correctness of our logic, and assure the comprising four orders of knowledge [24] was completeness of our models. used to position the work (Fig. 1). Attributes of information and knowledge Quadrant 1 represents routine knowledge. markets, have been described by a number of This is the world of bureaucrats and authors [4, 8, 17, 18, 19]. The purpose of such administrators, whose primary task is to classify markets was variously described as enabling, work and then use rules and standards to supporting, and facilitating the mobilization, process it. Quadrant 2 represents the sharing, or exchange of information and specialized professional knowledge of experts knowledge among individuals or groups who had and consultants. Here, the objective is to design it and those who needed it. These models and develop systems and processes, using focused on the transactional aspects of such existing technical specifications and explicit markets – that is the processes through which knowledge. content is transferred from providers to users. Quadrant 3 represents complex knowledge, They can be viewed as passive delivery models: where the challenge is to discover patterns and “if you build it, they will come.” understand processes, using experience and Detailed service-oriented architectures have tacit knowledge. Quadrant 4 represents chaos, recently been developed for the private sector where there are no discernable patterns. Here, [20, 21]. The focus of this work was to transform we are limited to sensing, responding, and traditional retail businesses or businesses with adapting to changes. As indicated by the arrows, web-enabled front ends by developing it is possible to move between quadrants, except enterprise-wide platforms that support customer between chaos and routine. The Task Group services. Although these models go beyond worked in quadrants 3 (understanding) and 1 simply transferring content by incorporating (classification), while measurement (quadrant 2) customer wants and needs into content was left for subsequent analysis. development, their primary purpose is to deliver From an analytical perspective, a systems profit-generating services. approach was used to develop a logic model. Existing models are either too simplistic or do The model is less rigorous than one based on not consider the entire process, starting with how scientific proof (which is impossible) or empirical content comes into being, how it becomes data (which does not exist). Conversely, it is available for transfer, how it is transferred, and more rigorous than one based on personal how it is used to achieve sector outcomes or opinion or belief. The model represents a societal benefits. Such proactive processes are consensus among a group with considerable central to S&T agencies, in particular, and experience, lending further credibility to the final government, in general. result. The final test of the model will not be its scientific rigor, but rather its adequacy for managing knowledge services. Collectively, Task Group members combined 4 190 years of science, science-related and clear example of moving up a value chain by science-management experience. Members had communicating directly with those citizens who an ability and willingness to think outside the box, are connected to the Internet. and a capacity to adapt to a complex, unknown, A content value chain (Fig. 2) is defined as the and

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