The knowledge economy is a focus for many many governments in the developed world. A knowledge economy is one “where distinctive know-how is vital to competitive services and products”, and where knowledge is the resource from which economic value is delivered. Governments like the idea of a knowledge economy, because it delivers high value without the need for natural resources like oil, farm land, minerals or tourism.
So why do governments have such a difficult time understanding how to support the knowledge economy?
I think partly it is because they do not understand knowledge and how it drives value, they do not understand Knowledge Management (the public sector is way behind the curve in adopting KM, and most governments see it either as a synonym for library science, or an issue solvable through the use of technology alone), and they have not yet looked long and hard about how other economies are supported, in order to take those lessons and apply them to the knowledge economy.
The UK Government, for example, sees the knowledge economy as intrinsically tied to higher education. They measure the economy partly by measuring high-tech industries and university places, and support it partly by funding higher education and partly through what they call “Knowledge Transfer” but which really is the encouragement of commercialisation of University research.
However to be successful, the knowledge economy requires … Link