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 Agriculture and Agribusiness Innovation in Africa,” May 12-14, 2008, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
2. Publications
3. Recent Events
4. Upcoming Events
5. Staff Changes
1. Highlight
Developing Agriculture and Agribusiness Innovation in Africa, May 12-14, 2008, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The overall objectives of this Forum are threefold: to facilitate learning on key practices and policies that enable or hinder innovation and technology development in agriculture, food industry, rural energy and physical environment; to discuss how to operationalize agricultural innovation systems; and to strategize on how to promote agricultural innovation at the national level. The geographical focus at the Forum will be on Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. Full Story. 
2. Publications
Building Knowledge Economies: Advanced Strategies for Development. This book consolidates main lessons and findings of the K4D program since its inception. In many parts of the world, knowledge is being put to work to accelerate and deepen the development process, promoting innovation and helping to generate wealth and jobs. This book discusses advanced development strategies that take into account education, innovation, information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure, and the prerequisite economic and institutional regime. To view the full text of the book, 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. For more information, please visit our web-site. Knowledge, Technology, and Cluster-Based Growth in Africa. Africa is on the move, demonstrating in recent years a significant potential for economic growth. Although the region still faces many challenges, it is also generating pockets of economic vitality in the form of enterprise clusters that are contributing to national, regional, and local productivity. Through case examples from Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, this book provides an understanding of how these dynamic enterprise clusters were formed and have evolved, and how knowledge, human capital, and technology have contributed to their success. For more information, please visit our web-site.
3. Recent Events
Workshop on Access to Global Knowledge, March 17, New Delhi, India. In the context of preparing the India Innovation project and as part of the Diaspora of Highly Skilled practice, this workshop, organized by the Indian Department of Science and Technology, explored contest-based mechanisms to elicit proposals from diverse actors of Indian society to generate diversity of models and mechanisms to leverage India's talent abroad. Participants included senior officials from the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, Indian Department of Biotechnology, NAASCOM, other organizations, and members of the Indian Diaspora. For more information, contact Yevgeny Kuznetsov at ykuznetsov@worldbank.org. Education and Economic Development for Integration into the Global Economy, March 3-5, 2008, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The second OECD Global Forum on Education took place on March 3-5, 2008 on the theme of Improving the Effectiveness of Education Systems, with particular emphasis on teaching, teachers, and innovation. The K4D program delivered a session on Education and Economic Development for Integration into the Global Economy. For more information, please contact Kurt Larsen at klarsen@worldbank.org. Knowledge Economy Forum: “Advanced Strategies for Development: Building Knowledge Economies for Senior Asian Policymakers,” February 22, 2008, Seoul, Korea. This event was developed jointly by the Korea Development Institute School of Public Policy and Management (KDIS) and the K4D program. It attracted high-level policymakers, and addressed an entire range of Knowledge Economy issues and best-practice from advanced and developing countries including Korea, USA, Ireland, Arab, and other Asian countries. For more information, please contact Jean-Eric Aubert at jaubert@worldbank.org. Linking Research Communication to Policy Impact through Knowledge Management, February 19-21, 2008, Buenos Aires, Argentina. This event, hosted by the Global Development Network (GDN) and Centro de Implementación de Políticas Públicas para la Equidad y el Crecimiento (CIPPEC), an umbrella network comprised of NGOs and research policy institutes in the region, brought together about 30 participants who actively contributed ideas on how GDN, CIPPEC, and their partners can effectively build capacity in the area of research communication and policy impact. For more information, please contact Ronald Kim at rkim@worldbank.org. Action Plan for the Knowledge-Based Economy Campaign in Qatar, February 2-8 2008, Qatar. The K4D program delivered five Feasibility Sessions as part of the TA Project launching an Action Plan for a Knowledge-Based Economy Campaign in Qatar. The main conclusions and suggestions from the 5-day sessions are been included in the final KE Action Plan. For more information, please contact Kurt Larsen at klarsen@worldbank.org. Dissemination Seminar: "Korea as a Knowledge Economy: Evolutionary Process and Lessons Learned," December 13, 2007, Washington, DC, USA. The dissemination seminar for this book was held at World Bank Headquarters. The book is one but a number of joint products between the Korea Development Institute (KDI) and the K4D Program of the World Bank Institute. For more information, contact Derek Chen at dchen2@worldbank.orgor visit the web-site. Workshop on Contributions of Chilean Talent abroad to Innovation at Home: Mentoring Chilean Firms in Biotechnology and ICT, December 13, 2007, Santiago, Chile. This workshop was organized in collaboration with Ministry of Foreign Relations, proChile and ChileGlobal and brought together successful and influential Chilean high-tech entrepreneurs from the diaspora, Chilean start-ups and spin-offs, and public sector officials. For more information, contact Yevgeny Kuznetsov at ykuznetsov@worldbank.org. Knowledge Management for Organizational Capacity South Asia Brainstorming Session- December 5-7, 2007, New Delhi, India. The event was hosted by the Global Development Network (GDN) as part of its capacity building program for research institutes. The workshop brought together 31 practitioners of knowledge sharing and research communications from NGOs, universities, and research institutes in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan with the goal of strategizing on policy outreach needs in the region and planning a range of activities to address these needs over the next 3-4 years. For more information please contact Ronald Kim at rkim@worldbank.org.
4. Upcoming Events
Fourth World Conference on Intellectual Capital for Communities, May 22-23, 2008, Paris, France. Following on previous Intellectual Capital conferences, this event will explore the challenges and opportunities stemming from today's increasingly knowledge-based economy. This year’s conference will examine, 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. Pre-Conference Workshop at eLearning Africa, May 27, 2008, Accra, Ghana. This workshop, at part of the eLearning Africa Conference, is 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 will be discussed and prioritized, and concrete ways of addressing those needs, especially in relation to capacity building, will be shared and developed. It is being sponsored 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. Developing Knowledge Economy Strategies to Improve Competitiveness, July 15-18, 2008, Seoul, Korea. In partnership with the Korea Development Institute School (KDIS), the K4D program is designing a broad-based learning course which would allow participants from selected countries, such as Lao, Cambodia, Mongolia, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Philippines to engage in a process of developing coherent knowledge economy (KE) strategies in their countries. The main aim of this course is to have a broad discussion with a wide range of stakeholders from government, private sector, and civil society on how these countries can leverage their potential to further compete in the global KE, and identify appropriate processes and policies that can help them achieve their goals. For more information about this event, please contact Anuja Utz at autz@worldbank.org.
5. Staff Changes
The K4D team bid farewell to Ms. Lan Joo, who made extensive contributions to strengthening the various aspects of K4D’s work, particularly the Knowledge Assessment Methodology. Ms. Lan Joo has moved to WBIHD’s Education team. The team would like to say thank you to Lan Joo and wish her all the best for the future. We’re also very happy to welcome some new team members: Ms. Yu Sun has joined the Knowledge for Development (K4D) Team as a Consultant. She is responsible for managing and maintaining the Knowledge Assessment Methodology ( KAM). Yu is currently a second year student in the Ph.D. program in Economics at George Washington University. She received her Master's and Bachelor's degrees from Fudan University in China. Yu has also written papers on China's transformation to a market economy. Also joining our WBI Paris Office is Ms. Christine Uhder. Christine will be working with the K4D Team on an upcoming conference on Intellectual Capital, as well as videoconferences on agricultural innovation. Christine, a French national, has a special interest in Development Policies in African countries. Prior to joining the Bank, Christine worked with the Research Department of the French Development Agency (AFD) in Paris on a comparative study on Vocational training in the informal sector in seven Francophone African countries. This work entailed different missions on the field. She has also worked for UNDP in Mali, helping in the set-up of the Service Centre.
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