A quarterly publication for professionals interested in knowledge economy issues, including on the economic and institutional regime, education, innovation and information and communication technologies (ICT). For more information, visit our website www.worldbank.org/wbi/knowledgefordevelopment.
In this issue: 1. Highlight: “Developing Knowledge Economy Strategies to Improve Competitiveness,” Seoul, Republic of Korea, July 15-18, 2008
2. Publications
3. Presentations
4. Recent Events
5. Upcoming Events
6. Welcome New Colleagues
1. Highlight Developing Knowledge Economy Strategies to Improve Competitiveness, Seoul, Republic of Korea, July 15-18, 2008. This 4-day course is designed to foster discussion among different players, not just from government, but from both the public and private sector players, including think tanks and academia, on how participants from selected East Asian countries - Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Philippines - can make more effective use of knowledge for their development. The value of this course will be the cross-fertilization of ideas and sharing of experience between the country teams with respect to KE strategy development and implementation. Two Video Conferences (VC) have also been organized, and an e-learning module, which contains some of the key K4D content and building blocks on the Knowledge Economy, has been introduced to participants. Full Story. 
2. Publications Knowledge and Innovation for Competitiveness in Brazil. This study provides a broad, cross-sectoral analysis of Brazil's capacity for producing knowledge and innovation. As such, it moves beyond the traditional recommendations- that is, build a stable macroeconomic environment and business-friendly physical and policy infrastructure – and instead seeks a more comprehensive approach. For more information, please visit our web-site. Mexico's Transformation to Knowledge Economy: Challenges and Opportunities. This book explores political economy issues related to Mexico's transition to knowledge-based growth. Its focus on the “how to” aspects of such a transformation: focus on actors, concerted action, roadblocks to reforms and the entry points to ameliorate them, makes the book relevant for other middle-income economies. Update: The book is now available for download from our web-site.
3. Presentations
Higher School of Economics – Moscow, Russia, April 28, 2008. As part of a team working on the internationalization of Higher School of Economics Reimbursable Technical Assistance (HSE RTA), Yevgeny Kuznetsov worked with HSE management to launch a survey and outreach program for Russian economic diaspora and to start mapping a strategy of HSE engagement with India and China for more intensive student exchange. He also made a presentation on ”Articulating a World Class University in a Rent-seeking Environment: Lessons from Mexico and Other Economies” at a workshop on higher education organized by Europe and Central Asia Human Development Sector Unit for HSE. For more information, please contact Yevgeny Kuznetsov at ykuznetsov@worldbank.org Knowledge Architectures for Development – Challenges Ahead for Asian Business and Governance - Singapore, March 24-25, 2008. Derek H. Chen delivered one of the two keynote addresses, “Using Knowledge for Development – General Strategies and the Case of South Korea”. The presentation emphasized the importance of knowledge for long-term economic development, introduced K4D program products and services, and provided an overview of the K4D report on “Korea as Knowledge Economy – Evolutionary Process and Lesson Learned”. The conference, organized by the Singapore Management (SMU) Business School, was well attended with about 50 presenters and participants from the ASEAN region. Participants included academics, representatives from government agencies, the private sector, international organizations and the Singapore media. The conference agenda, designed to bring together for the first time content on knowledge for economic development at the macroeconomic, organizational and firm levels, was rich with case study presentations on 9 countries. These included Malaysia’s Multimedia Supercorridor, Korea’s public R&D system, Indonesia’s knowledge sharing system among the government, academia and the private sector, India’s National Knowledge Commission, knowledge management implementation in the Singapore civil service, and the status of the knowledge economy in Vietnam. For more information, please contact Derek Chen at dchen2@worldbank.org Education and Economic Development for Integration into the Global Economy - Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, March 3-5, 2008. At the request of the OECD, Kurt Larsen was invited to facilitate a session on "Education and Economic Development for Integration into the Global Economy" at the OECD’s Global Education Forum. More than 200 participants from 50 countries participated including ministers or deputy ministers of education from Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Georgia, Romania, and Trinidad and Tobago. For more information, please contact Kurt Larsen at klarsen@worldbank.org.
4. Recent Events Pre-Conference Workshop at eLearning Africa - May 27, 2008, Accra, Ghana. This workshop, as part of the eLearning Africa Conference, was designed to maximize the sharing of insights and experiences on the challenges and opportunities that exist in a number of African countries in the area of ICT for education. Needs were discussed and prioritized, and concrete ways of addressing those needs, especially in relation to capacity building, were shared and developed. This workshop was done in partnership with the Government of Korea, and in collaboration with the World Bank's Africa Region and Global ICT department. For more information, please visit the web-site. Fourth World Conference on Intellectual Capital for Communities - May 22-23, 2008, Paris, France. Following on previous Intellectual Capital conferences, this event explored the challenges and opportunities stemming from today's increasingly knowledge-based economy. This year’s conference examined, among other topics: intellectual capital in a historical perspective, metrics and standards, spatial issues (city planning and knowledge, global/local tensions), societal and organizational design. For more information, please visit the web-site. Practicing Agricultural Innovation in Africa: A Platform for Africa - May 12-14, 2008, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The overall objective of the Forum was to facilitate learning on key policies, practices, and actors that help enable innovation and technology development in agriculture, food industry, rural energy and physical environment in African countries, using analytical materials – in the form of case studies – to stimulate dialogue and debate. The intended result was to inform representatives from the private sector including small and medium enterprises (SMEs), universities, research institutes, government agencies, and civil society on crucial agricultural innovation and technology development issues, with an emphasis on identifying and discussing technological advancements in the above-mentioned sectors and replicating and scaling up success in African countries. A final objective was to establish tangible next steps, offer support to the participants in their technology-related work, and continue the learning on these critical topics. For more information, please visit the web-site
5. Upcoming Events
Accountability and Autonomy in Engineering Education: What is Working? - July 9-10, 2008, Global Education Center, Infosys, Mysore, India. This 2-day conference will present and discuss an increasing number of experiences with autonomy and accountability in the Indian Engineering Education system and will provide insights from similar experiences from around the globe. It will present the experience and views of state governments and highlight cases of newly autonomous institutions that have become more dynamic and innovative under increased autonomy. The forum seeks to provide a high level forum for exchange of best practices, learning, and debate among interested stakeholders. For more information, contact Anuja Utz at autz@worldbank.org
Maximizing the Impact of Agricultural Research in Africa: A Workshop on Research Communications - September 23-25, 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Given the growing prominence of rising food prices and food insecurity, the role of research in stimulating greater agricultural production is more critical than ever. However, research by itself does not necessarily lead to change either in the field or at the policy level. How can this link be strengthened? This workshop will explore in detail how research institutes working in agriculture can maximize the impact of their work through enhanced communication efforts. Partners working with K4D in organizing the workshop include the Global Development Network, International Food Policy Research Institute, Overseas Development Institute, and African Capacity Building Foundation. For more information, contact Ronald Kim at rkim@worldbank.org.
6. Welcome New Colleagues We’re very happy to welcome some new team members who will be working with us during the summer: • Ms. Anna Reva has received a Master’s of Science in Foreign Service Degree from Georgetown University (concentration International Development). She has almost five years of professional experience at UNDP Ukraine, where her responsibilities included coordination of all monitoring, reporting and evaluation activities as well as contribution to development of new programs.
While with K4D, Anna has drafted two background papers on the knowledge economy in Mongolia and the Philippines (in preparation for the workshop in Seoul) and is currently working on the paper on Inclusive Innovation. Anna’s hobbies include: reading, going to theaters and operas as well as shopping. • Mr. Florian J. Theus, a German national, graduated recently with a Masters in International Relations and Economics (focus on innovation policy and China) from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Johns Hopkins University. He has worked for DaimlerChrysler in the North East Asia Strategy BU and the European Commission on Cooperation and Development Issues in Beijing, China, as well as for the DC-based think tank CSIS.
While with the K4D Program, Florian has been working on the production of a publication on Agriculture Innovation in Africa, as well as helping to gather and analyze materials for an Action Plan on Agriculture Innovation in six African countries. This Action Plan will be based on the outputs of the recent forum on agriculture innovation held in Dar es Salaam. In his leisure time Florian enjoys going to art exhibits, theatre, and hiking.
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