Today was the first day of the Global Knowledge Based Development Week in Monterrey/Mexico. Here are some of my notes of the sessions I attended:

Alex Bennet: Introduction to Knowledge Management

• Alex introduced herself by singing a song from an opera.
• She was CKO of the US Navy and runs now the Mountain Quest Institute together with her husband David.
• "Knowledge = human capacity to take effective action."
• "Knowledge = context-sensitive and situation dependend."
• "With knowledge comes responsibility."
• "Brain = associative processor."
• Some of the methods used at the US Navy are: Communities of Practice, Knowledge Portal, Knowledge fair, Scenario planning, Videos, Community dialog.

Karl Wiig: People-focussed Knowledge Management

• Karl (Knowledge Research Institute) has a background in self-learning systems, scientific computing, artificial intelligence, economic modelling and modelling of social systems.
• The presentation People-focussed KM: Effective Decision-Making Leads to Enterprise Success contains some of the most important slides he used here.
• Emerging focus in KM: knowledge-orientation, competent people are key to success.
• All work is partly knowledge-intensive.
• People Actions Lead to Performance: from nano actions (individual level) to micro actions (team level) to consolidated enterprise behaviour.
• Mental Reference Models are important (Routine, Operational Models, Scripts, Schemate).
• Knowledge: procedural knowledge (know-how), declarative knowledge (know-what).
• Story vs. Narrative.
• A Model for Decision Making was presented.
• Six Success Factors for effective Knowledge Management: 1. Management Philosophy and Practice 2. Deliberate and Systematic KM 3. Capabilities 4. Motivation and Personal Energy 5. Opportunities 6. Permission.

Jay Chatzkel: Monterrey as a Knowledge Capital

• "Knowledge = 4th production factor".
• "Everything begins with people having ideas".
• Knowledge Capital: region that bases its ability to create wealth on its capacity to generate and leverage its knowledge capabilities.
• Strategy: Business strategy -> Customer strategy -> Operational strategy -> Knowledge strategy

Alex Bennet: Social Knowledge Mobilization

• Social Knowledge Mobilization (KMb) is an action journey within an identified action space, combining theoretical knowledge with praxis through the collaboration of multible stakeholders having a common goal.
• A generic KMb Process was presented.

Ahmed Bounfour: Knowledge for Communities

• "A community is a set of individuals for whom relationships are governed to different degrees by recognition mechanisms".
• Community regime vs. Transactional regimes
• Typology or Communities (vs. private and public hierarchies)
  • Natural Communities (F. Tönnies, 1922): Nations, Regions Cities.
  • Emerging Communities: Constrained communities (e.g. Knowledge worker networks), Quasi-Organic communities (e.g. Linux community), Organic communities (this is still to be happen).
  • Between Natural Communities and Emerging Communities there are new dynamic capabilities.
• Nordic harmonized Knowledge Indicators.
• The questions of "I", "We" and "You".
• Examples from "Finland's new Path" (see also: Five Steps to Finlands future).

Waltraut Ritter: Knowledge for Communities

• Knowledge regions in India, China and Singapore, an assesment was performed (singapore was best in the assessment, chennai worst).
• Analyzing Knowledge Regions: 1. Basic economic indicators 2. Centers of Excellence (CoE, Definition of European Union) (3 more).
• Regional vs. World-class Center of Excellence.
• Facts effectiong knowledge creation: infrastructure, population, latest technology, IP protection, patents.
• Automobile Clusters: Pune and Chennai - "The Detroit of India" (e.g. Anna University, University of Chennai, Network of car component suppliers, BMW, Hyundai, Delphi Automotive, Ford, Visteon Corporation).
• "Formation of Silicon Valley lasted more than 50 years" (transformation into knowledge cities, knowledge regions and knowledge nations takes time!).
• "Good place for a knowledge region: large cities with the market near by."

Yoshio Shibasaka: National Knowledge-Programs - Japan

• Yoshio Shibasaka is Senior Manager at KPMG AZSA & Co.
• New economic strategy in june 2006: Improve "knowledge management capability in order to maximize the intellectual assets (...).
• Intellectual Assets based Management Report (Source: METI document, see also METI-Website).
• In Japan approx. 40 companies have issued the Intellectual Capital Report.

Marco Cavalcanti: National Knowledge-Programs - Brazil

• Note: Marco Cavalcanti gave his presentation in spanish so I was not able to understand everything but I was able to learn some spanish terms in the field of knowledge management :-)
• Knowledge = Conocimiento.
• Intellectual Capital Rating (ICR) = Rating de Capital Intangible (IC).
• 6 Dimensions of "Capital Intangible": estrategico, ambiental, relacionamiento, social, humano, financeiro (competencies and indicators for each dimension)
• ICR was implemented in 4 brasilian companies: aerospace, paper industry, biotechnology.

Joshua Peleg: National Knowledge-Programs - Israel

• Joshua Peleg is Economic Attache, Embassy of Israel in Mexiko.
• Citation of Charels Darvin: "It's not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent; it is the one that is most adaptable to change".
• Israel exports telecommunication, software, encryption and data security, electronics, agro and water technologies, biotechnology, medical equipment, optics, internet and nanotechnology.
• Start-up high-tech revolution in Israel in the 1990s: 1000 engineers used to develop a jet fighter together with the US. The project was stopped and all of the engineers transfered their knowledge from military use to civil use, Venture capital was attracted to israel.
• 4.6 % of GDP is invested in R&D, Entrepreneurship level 9.11, 140 Scientists and Technicians per 10.000 workers.
• Main role in the national knowledge program is the chief scientist.
• Important National Programs: Technological incubators, Magnet, Tnufa (Pre-Seed and Seed R&D), Law for Encouragement of Industrial R&D (Transfer know-how, Exchange of Knowledge, Promote the Establishment of Development Centers), International Cooperation (BIRDF, USISTC, SIIRD, CIIRDF, KORIL-RDF, BRITECH), Bi-national support agreements (see also presentation Technology Transfer between University and Industry in Israel).
• Intellectual Capital State of Israel (renewed on an annual basis).