Axel Marx – Research Manager – Senior Researcheraxel.marx@ggs.kuleuven.be

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Development is increasingly about learning -> Knowledge management -> Networks are crucial for learning/knowledge management

• Networks differ significantly in design and their capability to manage and create knowledge and facilitate learning.

• Different types of networks exist, and some are more instrumental in the context of learning, information exchange and knowledge creation.

Origin – Importance of Knowledge in Development

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Observe the emergence of a profound new form of governance => network governance

=> Non-hierarchical coordination of policy actionbetween actors=> Distinct from governing by hierarchies (states) and markets (Börzel, Williamson; Powell; Torfing; Scharpf; Slaughter; Woods).

Renate Mayntz (1993): “the notion of ‘policy networks’ does not so much represent a new analytical perspective but rather signals a real change in the structure of the polity.”

Origin – The Emergence of Network Governance

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Network governance – some characteristics (Lobel)  (1) increased participation of non-state (private) actors in public policy making and provision due to their knowledge and expert capabilities and efficiency.  

(2) adaptability and constant learning. Given the nature of a highly dynamic policy environment with increasingly new complex policy challenges governance requires adaptability and constant learning, recognizing the constant requirement to adapt to change. Systems/networks to facilitate this form of learning are increasingly developed 

Origin – Network Governance

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Martinez-Diaz and Woods (2009) 1. agenda-setting2. consensus building 3. policy coordination 4. knowledge production and exchange5. norm-setting and diffusion

Slaughter (2004)• Information networks => exchange of information and knowledge. • Enforcement networks => enhancing cooperation among national

regulators to enforce existing rules• Harmonization networks (trade agreements) =>harmonizing

regulatory standards such as product-safety standards with the aim of abolishing technical barriers to trade.

Origin – Functions of Networks

Networks for Prosperity: Achieving Development Goals Through Knowledge Sharing

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Knowledge without Frontiers: international networks

1 Cases from Cuba and Viet Nam.2 Regional networks like ERIA, Red Mercosur and

NEPAD3 UNIDO supported networks like AfrIPAnet & CAMI

From Dialogue to Collaboration: inter-organizational networks

Cases of public-private sector networking from Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Panama, Peru, Serbia.

The Knowledge Organization: intra-organizational networks

4 Cases from Egypt, El Salvador and Turkey.5 UN Teamworks social network

Positive experiences

• Costa Rica’s medical devices cluster is achieving better than average knowledge spillovers

• Panama’s Ciudad de Saber is pioneering a knowledge economy

• Improved public-private dialogue in Ethiopia and Serbia

• Innovation in Bolivia’s sugar supply chain

• Technology transfer in shoes, pisco and gastronomy in Peru

• Securing public procurement success for SMEs in Republica Dominicana;

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Networks for Prosperity

Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

www.Networks4Prosperity.org

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Case Studies

Jorge Rodríguez Vives on competitiveness councils in Costa Rica

Johan Adriaensen on the importance of inter-organisational networks in trade policy

Ariane Corradi on the importance of network managers in incubators (business development centres)

Thomas Vogel and Petra Koppensteiner provide a perspective from civil society on a project (HORIZONT3000) which aims to construct a network for sharing best practices among partner organizations in the developing world.

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Essays

Jacint Jordana on the proliferation of regulatory agencies and the role they play in new forms of governance including network governance

Ettore Bolisani and Enrico Scarso on knowledge networks in business stressing the diversity of knowledge networks in business and their varying effectiveness.

Ana Miric on barriers to building learning networks stressing the importance of strategy, culture and leadership for making knowledge networks performant

Tim Meyer analyzing the transformation in international organization from hierarchies to networks with a specific emphasis on managing knowledge and science

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Essays

Orly Lobel reflecting on how to manage knowledge in organizations focusing on different aspects related to legal governance of human resources and intellectual capital

Michele Clara, from UNIDO, reflecting on the importance of knowledge networks in industrial policymaking and related learning processes

Networks for Prosperity Initiative

Connectedness Index

Aim: Capture the degree to which countries are networked and analyze variation between countries (include many countries)

How: Creating a connectedness index which consists of three sub-indices on the basis of existing databases (best available data)

Approach: Inductive – screening of 70+ ‘global’ databases containing more than 7000 variables.

Status: Data availability, methodological issues => improve it

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Measuring Connectedness: levels and components

Each component is transformed to the same scale, ranging 0-1.

Each sub-index is created by averaging its components.

Connectedness Index is the average of its three sub-indices.

=> Do not weigh components

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Connectedness Index 2012

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Variation in the connectedness sub-indices

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Connectedness Index 2012 – Main Results

Switzerland, Sweden and Denmark are the three most connected countries (equal to the previous index).

Differences in the countries rankings are moderate compared to 2011

Overall, countries are slightly more connected.

Differences in scores are sometimes very small => small changes can lead to ranking changes => better work in the future with clusters of countries

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Connectedness and development measures

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Connectedness and development measures

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Connectedness and development measures

The graphs show a strong positive linear relationship between connectedness and government effectiveness, GDP per capita and industrial performance.

However, these linear relationship (or high correlations) cannot be interpreted as cause and effect.

Þ Future work

Þ Many methodological issues, many questionsÞ Understand better variation between countries

Networks for Prosperity: Connecting Development Knowledge Beyond 2015

Conclusions

Establish the foundations for a research program on the importance of network governance, especially MICs

Future work to concentrate on types of networks, management of networks and effectiveness of network governance.

The UNIDO Connectedness Index is distinct from others, as it accounts for the degree to which a country is networked externally and internally = further development and consolidation