Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook

TOMASZ JANOWSKI; ELSA ESTEVEZ; SUSANA FINQUELIEVICH; GUILLERMINA CLEDOU; NUNO VASCO LOPES; JEREMY MILLARD; REHEMA BAGUMA

UNESCO / IFAP

Lugar: Paris; Año: 2016 p. 185

9780321543257

The Executive Summary is divided into six sections corresponding to different chapters of the Handbook as follows: 1. Background Chapter (Section 0.1), 2. Foundations Chapter (Section 0.2), 3. Conceptual Framework Chapter (Section 0.3), 4. Process Chapter (Section 0.4), 5. Adaptation and Transfer Chapter (Section 0.5), and 6. Platform and Community Chapter (Section 0.6).0.1. Background ChapterChapter 2 describes fundamental terms for Information and Knowledge Societies ? data, information, knowledge, technology and innovation, convergence of technologies and socialization of information. It also explains how the development of Information Society leads to the emergence of Knowledge Societies in different local, national and international contexts and how the two concepts complement each other and how Knowledge Societies can further development and sustainable development agendas.ICT offer unprecedented opportunities to benefit from the right to freedom of expression, information and communication, as well as to produce knowledge and use it for individual and social evolution. Accordingly, as stated forcefully in WSIS outcome documents, this translates into an obligation for states and the international community to ensure enjoyment of these opportunities by everyone. No country starts at ?Ground Zero? in the construction and development of a Knowledge Societies, but rather the examples show that each country has its own entry point. Each local, national and regional reality is unique and needs a Knowledge Society adjusted to its circumstances. In addition, the world is rapidly changing; consequently, Knowledge Societies policies have to evolve too.When facing the generation or updating of a Knowledge Society Policy (KSP) it is necessary to bear in mind that it needs planning for the long term: from ten to twenty years. A policy or strategy with key long-term objectives xixfunctions as a framework for making decisions and provides a basis for planning. Generating a long-term strategic plan provides the insight needed to keep a government or a multi-stakeholder organization on track by setting goals and measuring achievements. By analyzing the information in the long-term plan, policy decision-makers and stakeholders can make necessary changes and set the stage for further planning.ICT are a necessary but insufficient for the societal and political process of developing Knowledge Societies. This Handbook can be useful for all, since its dynamics are intended to allow different countries ?to catch the Knowledge Societies train? at any of the ?stations?, to analyze their own context in the mirror provided by the diverse suggested steps, and to contribute to the retrofitting of the strategies. The methodology presented in this Handbook is a model intended to stimulate the actors involved to examine their country?s needs and use their best capabilities and strengths to develop an appropriate policy for it, as well as to ensure its concrete implementation in diverse development contexts. Knowledge Service, or Knowledge Management (KM) has been defined as: ?The process of capturing, distributing, and effectively using knowledge?. KM, is primarily about managing the knowledge of and in organizations. The most critical advantage in any group or environment (either public sector, private sector, NGOs, Academia, etc.) is what its people know. This knowledge, also called intellectual capital, is the organization?s primary competitive strength. Knowledge Management provides the tools for ensuring that this intellectual asset is captured, organized, analysed, interpreted, and customized for maximum return to the organization. Policies for Knowledge Societies need to take into account the ways of using Knowledge Management to profit from the existing knowledge and skills, explicit or tacit, in the country, region, or cities in which these policies are going to be applied.Knowledge Transfer (KT) is a term used to include a very broad range of activities to support mutually beneficial collaborations between universities, businesses and the public sector1 , all of them preeminent stakeholders in Policies for Knowledge Societies. KT is the practical problem of transferring knowledge from one part of the organization to another. Like knowledge management, knowledge transfer seeks to organize, create, capture or distribute knowledge and ensure its availability for future users. It is considered to be more than just a communication problem. Knowledge transfer is more complex because knowledge resides in organizational members, tools, tasks, and their subnetworks and much knowledge in organizations is tacit or hard to articulate. ICT are valuable tools for knowledge transfer between different social agents, as well as for knowledge management.Knowledge Policies are becoming a progressively significant element of Knowledge Societies, and Knowledge Economies. Such policies make available institutional grounds for creating, managing, and using organizational knowledge as well as social foundations for harmonizing global competitiveness with social order, social welfare, environmental sustainability and diverse cultural values. Knowledge Policies can be observed from a number of viewpoints: the required linkage to technological evolution, relative rates of technological and institutional change, as a control or regulatory process, obstacles posed by cyberspace, and as an organizational policy instrument. Looking at the many efforts around the world, there is no general or unique formula for successful Knowledge Societies Policies and e-strategies. Government officers, experts? teams and policy makers in diverse development countries may identify examples of successes or best practices either within their own territories, regions, or in other countries with similar conditions, and adjust them as needed to fit their local unique circumstances.The Internet can be used as a key tool to empower societies in a sustainable way. There is an enormous potential of stakeholders that act locally while thinking globally. It is at the local level where through collaboration, trust is built and implemented. It is at the local level where the visions and leadership of individuals can be seeds for global implementation.1 See more at: http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/what-is-knowledge-transfer#sthash.WK7XSOHC.dpuf Executive SummaryKnowledge Societies Policy HandbookxxPublic policies show the intentions of governments. Without policies, there can be no governance. Explicit policies allow the public to measure the achievements of the government. A policy document lists out the intentions or objectives of the government for a particular department or government area.A country has a KSP when such a policy is explicit in an official document, or implicit in a higher hierarchy document, such as a national development plan. The same is true for regions and cities: actions alone are crucial, but they are not sufficient; governments and other social agents have a Knowledge Societies policy when these actions are specified, planned and coordinated in official documents.Competitiveness, innovation and job creation in Knowledge Societies are increasingly being driven by the use of ICT. This must be supported by a qualified workforce with the knowledge and skills to use these technologies knowledgeably. As technologies develop rapidly, the skills required to use them become more and more complex and need to be continuously updated. Improving the level of e-skills in the labour force requires action at national, regional, and local levels in education, training, research, industrial and labour policies, but also in areas such as immigration and taxation policies. It is then necessary to analyse and diagnose the existence of human capital related to Knowledge Society and to Knowledge Economy (e-skills). In other words, it is necessary to identify which skills are available in each territory and which skills need to be developed through education and training. In particular fields, such as telecommunications, policies cannot be formulated at the national or regional level alone. International institutions such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) and the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) are influencing the rules for global participation. With the globalization of communications, such organizations will increasingly determine the frameworks for effective participation in public policies for Knowledge Societies. Therefore, it has become more and more important to invest intellectual resources in influencing these agendas and their outcomes. It is also relevant to train and prepare national representatives who will attend these international meetings. This is particularly important to represent the interests of developing countries and emerging economies.This Handbook serves as a tool to assist in developing Knowledge Societies policies. KSP is a collaborative, open, and permanent process, not a finished product. It is a highway, not a harbor. In order to travel through, the highway must be visualized, planed, built, and made travelable to all citizens.The Handbook is not only useful for the public sector, the business sector, and the academic sector. It is also useful for individual citizens and citizen organizations: it allows them to compare the possible policies with the policies and strategies adopted by their own governments, and hence, to make proposals or claims to their governments.0.2. Foundations ChapterBuilding on the terminology introduced in the previous chapter, Chapter 3 introduces elements of KSP. The introduction starts by positioning Knowledge Societies policy within the Sustainable Development approach. Later it presents the vision, principles, stakeholders, networks, governance and evolution, as key elements of public policies for Knowledge Societies.This Handbook defines a vision of Knowledge Societies policy as the multi-stakeholder aspiration of what a government, together with other social agents, aims to accomplish in the future (in the short, medium or long term) in a comprehensive policy for Knowledge Society, considering above all the wellbeing of its population. The role of the government is to foreknow the needs and interests of the different social actors, to coordinate the diverse stakeholders´ actions and initiatives, to create operative articulations among them, and to generate and enforce relevant legislation and control through a legal framework, as well as through explicit public policies. xxiKnowledge Societies goals may be formulated and implemented following seven vital overall guidelines: the UN 2030 Sustainable Society Agenda; the 2003, 2005 and 2015 World Summit for Information Society (WSIS) Declaration; objectives established by regions, e.g. Arab States, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, North America, East, West and Central Africa; principles and goals established by NorthSouth, North-North and South-South cooperation programmes between regions; macro-regional development objectives; national development goals; regional (provinces, federal states within a country) development goals; and local innovation and development goals. Engaging in multi-stakeholder processes have become crucial to address issues affecting Knowledge Societies. The full potential of ICT, as relevant enabling tools to support the process of development, can be utilized only if the ICT policies are effective. An essential element to make Knowledge Societies effective is to ensure the active participation of stakeholders in government, the private sector, civil society, ICT users and eventually international organizations in the formulation and implementation of Knowledge Societies.It is important to reflect on the relationships among the diverse stakeholders. Stakeholders get together through, e.g. public-private partnerships, public-private-people, government-academia, government-nonprofit, privateusers, and other partnerships to put together complementary capabilities, competencies and resources. Some of the main stakeholders are the following:? Public sector entities, and especially governments, play the most important role in the formulation of ICT policy. They decide how countries, regions and cities are able to take advantage of technical opportunities available to them and exploit them for good. They comprise central, regional and local governments, government entities like parliaments, ministries and agencies, public administrations and other publically owned entities (except in the education and research sector). Governments should help frame and guide, though their Knowledge Societies Policies, the initiatives undertaken by other stakeholders, such as companies, the science and technology sector, civil society, etc. Governments? role as coordinators of other social actors is to be carefully planned and implemented. ? Private sector entities comprise firms, companies, entrepreneurs, SMEs, corporates, and other profit seeking organizations operating in the market and private sector, including the commercial ICT and technology sectors, as well as the representatives of these stakeholders such as employers? and trade organizations. The business sector accomplishes an essential role in the establishment of a Knowledge Economy. International, national and local IT enterprises can promote the formulation, updating or changes of Knowledge Societies. It is a strong actor that frequently leads technological and organizational innovations.? Education and research entities are vital agents in building Knowledge Societies as they provide highly qualified human resources, researchers, and the necessary knowledge. Such entities encompass schools, colleges, universities, research institutes, and research and innovation labs of all types, technology parks whether in the public, private or civil sectors. Education and lifelong learning are viewed as conditions to keep pace with continuously changing societies, global job markets and technologies. ? The civil society comprises both non-profit formal organizations like NGOs, charities, foundations, associations, trades unions and social entrepreneurs when not profit-seeking, as well as more informal communities, interest groups and movements, citizens and ICT users. Basically, civil society means community groupings or networks, and their activities. The role of civil society in Knowledge Societies is multiple. It includes assessing the impacts of technologies in society, to defend the users´ interests, to contribute to public policies from the point of view of citizenship, and to guide technological applications to the goal of sustainable development. ? ICT users are individuals and groups who use computers, mobile devices, cellular technologies and IT tools, in their inter-organizational and interpersonal interactions. These technologies shape who they are as organizational representatives, what they can do in terms of exchange, important aspects of their Executive SummaryKnowledge Societies Policy Handbookxxiiinteractions with other actors (e.g. speed, complexity), and influence the perceptions of other actors and the nature of reciprocal engagements, as well as social actors? perceptions about themselves. ICT users can influence the design of technological devices, or software, by modifying them or giving them unforeseen uses. It is important to stress that in Knowledge Societies all stakeholders can potentially become both ICT producers and users.? International organizations include international government organizations made up by independent states like e.g. UN, OECD or WTO, and international non-governmental organizations that operate internationally like e.g. International Committee of the Red Cross, Doctors without Borders and others. The role of international organizations in domestic and international public policies is not to be ignored. International organizations frequently trigger regional and national initiatives to develop national information and knowledge society policies. They also provide assessments and best practices of ongoing Knowledge Societies policies.In this Handbook, governance is defined as connected to the processes of interaction and decision-making among the actors involved in a collective problem that lead to the creation, reinforcement, or reproduction of social norms and institutions, as well as public policies and strategies.Multi-sectorial policies are a challenging point in Knowledge Societies governance. Diverse sectors and stakeholders hold various and often opposing positions and interests. Negotiating with the sectors to achieve a common policy is an art which requires political mastership, and which often depends on the agency and individuals in charge of formulating a policy. Coordination mechanisms need to be put in place in order to ensure the formulation, implementation, assessment and updating of the policies and strategies.Governance for KSP should stress the need for quality, quantity and prompt delivery of public services. They also need to emphasize the importance of equality and equity in their provision and greater access to them, also leveraging ICT in innovative ways. Policy features are subject to the quality of government institutions such as the institutionalization of congress, the independence of the judiciary, the quality of the civil service, and the institutionalization of political parties. Hence, to materialize Knowledge Societies benefits, it is useful to invest in increasing governments? capabilities. Government capabilities are important for better policy features. Countries that have more capable bureaucracies, more institutionalized congresses, independent judiciaries, and institutionalized political parties tend to have policies that are more stable, adaptable, coherent, efficient, and public regarded.The strategies and policies of developing countries? governments need to be aimed at turning those nations into forerunners in terms of technological, social and economic organization and innovation. In order to achieve this, it is necessary to focus on technological and scientific production, innovation, education, specialized training, knowledge management and the use of existing brains, avoiding ?brain drain? and encouraging ?brain gain?, through coordination plans with science and technology centers abroad.Knowledge Society policies and strategies need continuity across diverse governments and administrations. It is frequent that a given policy or plan is dismantled by the following government, which would like to make a fresh start, with its own plans and its own staff. Sometimes, within the same government or political party, internal struggles among diverse groups result in destroying valuable and effective policies. Therefore, when formulating a Knowledge Society policy, it is important to have it approved as a Law that ensures that the policy will survive and thrive across several governmental periods. Building institutionalization, particularly in emerging and developing countries, is essential to grant the success and durability of KSP.According to WTO, Intellectual Property Rights are ?the rights given to persons over the creations of their minds. They usually give the creator an exclusive right over the use of his/her creation for a certain period of time?. Intellectual property rights are customarily classified into two main areas: a) Copyright and rights related to copyright, encompassing the rights of authors of literary and artistic works (books and other writings, musical compositions, paintings, sculpture, computer programs and films. b) Industrial property, including two main areas: i) the protection of distinctive signs, mainly trademarks and geographical indications. ii) Other types of xxiiiindustrial property are protected primarily to stimulate innovation, design and the creation of technology. There is a lively debate on intellectual property and the right to access intellectual production. In Knowledge Societies, information and knowledge can be accessed in larger ways than in traditional industrial societies. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that has created diverse kinds of licenses to allow individuals to choose which type of copyright protection best suits them and their work. Creative Commons licenses allow their holders to grant broad permission to others to share, remix, use commercially, or otherwise use their work without having to ask specific authorization for each use. A Policy for Knowledge Societies needs to debate about the different options of Intellectual Property, and to explicitly define the country?s, regions?, city?s choicesIn order to encourage citizens to get integrated into Knowledge Societies and reap their benefits it is necessary to provide them with e-services designed to make their life easier. For example, as e?government grows and more public sector services are available via digital technologies, citizens will realize the advantages of time-saving online services, such as to access city information on the go, report issues, submit service requests and get follow up notifications. Other applications allow users to search development projects, apply for permits, track progress through the process, schedule inspections, and pay for services, and register for municipal activities. Also, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are perceiving the value of using digital technologies to serve their clients. Mobile devices, such as smart phones, are crucial for developing countries? populations to access and appropriate the benefits of Knowledge Societies. The majority of the population in developing countries does not own computers, but an increasing number use mobile phones that connect them to the Internet. It becomes important to consider the use of mobile devices in KSP. It is relevant to consider the production of specific contents (educational, commercial, management of money and banking, agricultural news, public health, etc.) accessible from these devices. The governmental and non-governmental provision of telecommunication infrastructure and connectivity services contributes to the people e-readiness. Cybercafés, information kiosks, community technological centers, telecentres, public libraries, schools, and cell phones nowadays represent the access door to cyberspace for a large number of Latin American, Asian and African people.Networking for KSP means exchanging information and experiences among stakeholders, between the specific sectors involved, and among geographical regions. Electronic networks, virtual or face-to-face workshops, seminars, communities of knowledge, communities of practice, databases and websites allow diverse stakeholders to interact. Though networking regional cooperation can become a mechanism to address public policy issues such as legal framework, norms and standards, and can help to introduce innovative procedures in different regions and countries? policies.Knowledge Societies are emerging around the world but in many ways are witnessing the initial stages, even prehistory, of this concept. Looking at the past and attempting to draw predictions, this Handbook examines the evolution of the concept of Knowledge Societies. People around the world are facing new needs. These new needs, coupled with fast technological innovation, result in the necessity to foresee the policies that we will have to generate in the short and medium run. While future needs for public policies are multiple, this Handbook mentions just a few: policies for e-Inclusion, education, and lifelong learning; policies to preserve multilingualism on the Internet; policies for digital citizenship; policies for digital preservation; and policies for green technologies, among many others.Executive SummaryKnowledge Societies Policy Handbookxxiv 0.3. Conceptual Framework ChapterChapters 2 and 3 provided the contextual background to the understanding and development of information and knowledge societies and their basic foundations in terms of visions and principles. In contrast, chapter 4 builds on this by applying an overarching conceptual framework as a basic tool to structure and then implement Knowledge Societies policy. The overall conceptual framework is designed as a set of heuristic models to be both simple but also robust and effective in describing the main elements of KSP and their interrelationships. The framework enables both analysis, i.e. understanding how each element functions individually, and synthesis, i.e. understanding how they operate together.A societal architecture model can show how Information Societies transformed the Industrial Societies that preceded them, and then how Information Societies themselves are being transformed into Knowledge Societies. This involves the development and incorporation of transformed organizations, institutions, infrastructures, and of systems of thought and culture, into the overall structure of society. Compared to the four basic Industrial Societies? components (i.e. society, economy, environment and governance), Information Societies incorporate a new Information and Communication (InfoComm) component defined as the ability to use ICT to create new information and dramatically increase communications. In turn, Knowledge Societies further recognize two additional components related to education and research, on the one hand, and the generation and application of knowledge itself on the other. This results in a Knowledge Societies model made up of seven components. It is also possible for pre-Industrial Societies, such as some developing countries, to by-pass the traditional Industrial Societies stage and jump straight to Information and Knowledge Societies. These seven components of Knowledge Societies, however, are not important for their own sake, but rather as ?means? to the important ?ends? of global sustainable development, consisting of the three dimensions of economic development, societal development and environmental protection. In this context, it is possible to directly map the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, agreed by the United Nations and Member States in September 2015 as part of the global 2030 Agenda, against each of the seven components making up the Knowledge Societies Architecture.Taking the four main stakeholder groups introduced in Chapter 3, it is possible to draw an analogy with how DNA produces living cells in biology by twisting these together as intertwining strands that intimately interact with each other to produce new forms of knowledge and innovation. This is generally known as the ?quadruple helix? model consisting of 1) public sector entities, 2) businesses, 3) education and research entities, and 4) civil society. Researchers and practitioners have now also added a fifth helix comprised of the natural environment to form the quintuple helix model which for the first time incorporates the ?socio-ecological transition? necessary for full sustainable development. This combines all sources and kinds of knowledge and know-how, including from the natural environment, and provides the wisdom needed to deliver all the Sustainable Development Goals, including the environmental underpinning.Such knowledge and know-how are used in different ways and combinations, as well as by different stakeholders and different stakeholder combinations, to undertake innovation. Innovation itself can be defined as the creation and application of new knowledge and know-how to meet specific needs, in many different ways and for a myriad of purposes. These range from traditional top-down innovation undertaken by large hierarchical organizations, through technology and business model innovation and the increasing involvement of the users of goods and services in user-driven innovation, to so-called open innovation characterized as being bottom-up and fully open to the involvement of all stakeholders.Six of the seven components of knowledge societies, based on the five components of the quintuple helix plus InfoComm, can be envisaged as six interacting sub-systems which together form the knowledge societies system as the seventh overarching component. Traditionally, each sub-system is envisaged, organized and operated independently from the others, but this dissipates their beneficial impacts and can in many situations work xxvagainst both sub-system and whole Knowledge Societies system impacts. Where there is interaction between sub-systems, these can often be exploitative or damaging, as for example when the economy sub-system pollutes the environment sub-system. Instead, an effective Knowledge Societies policy has as one of its prime objectives to ensure that together these sub-systems operate in a mutually supportive, interactive and highly synergistic manner, both through the direct intervention of the policy itself and by ensuring that overall system and subsystem mechanisms can self-adjust as necessary.In this conceptual model, the six sub-systems interact together through the circulation of knowledge leading to the creation of different types of capital within each. For example, human and science capital, economic capital, natural capital, technology capital, and social and cultural capital, and thereby to different types of innovation. If an input of knowledge is taken into one of the sub-systems, an exchange of knowledge takes place creating new knowledge and/or new inventions, products and services, which are then fed to other sub-systems in the form of new know-how. Each of the six sub-systems can stimulate innovation which directly impacts Sustainable Development, but this impact is progressively increased through the combined effect of two or more sub-systems, and ultimately the whole Knowledge Societies system.The critical issue for both Information and Knowledge Societies policy is, in practice, whether and how people and organizations use these tools, information and knowledge they have at their disposal. Five levels of their use, deployment and exploitation can be conceived, which are typically cumulative and progressively increase their impact on sustainable development:1. Access and availability: for example to InfoComm in the form of ICT including the Internet, broadband, computers, mobile devices, relevant online services including social media and content, etc. 2. General and basic skills and opportunities: of the people involved as individuals or in groups and organizations. For example, whether they are actually able in terms of their skills, capabilities and motivation, and have appropriate opportunities, to deploy the available tools, information and knowledge. 3. Human resources and development: of the people involved as individuals or in groups and organizations, for example in terms of their education, occupation, labour market status and income, also taking account of their demographic characteristics like gender and age. 4. Beneficial use: by the people involved, as individuals or in groups and organizations, of tools, information and knowledge, for example whether and how they are deployed appropriately to provide the benefits intended. 5. Beneficial participation and co-production/co-creation: in developing new or improving existing tools, information and knowledge by the people involved, as individuals or in groups and organizations, in an active or even proactive manner. Levels and 1 and 2 basically represent supply-side issues and are subject to Knowledge Societies policy initiatives over the relatively short-term. As such they can be seen as quick wins, although they are not necessarily easy or inexpensive. Levels 3 to 5, on the other hand, represent demand-side issues which are also subject to Knowledge Societies policy initiatives but over the relatively longer-term. Although typically requiring both levels 1 and 2, it is first during levels 3 to 5 that widespread sustainable development impacts are achieved. These levels, and in particular levels 3 to 5, also highlight how digital and socio-economic divides become serious barriers to sustainable development. The pace of change means that there is a constant danger that the poorest, the least well educated and those living in remote areas become doubly cut-off from the potential benefits that ICT and Knowledge Societies can deliver. Knowledge Societies policies thus become critical, both to bridge such divides but also to ensure that all members and aspects of society are able to develop and prosper in sustainable, equitable and fair ways.Executive SummaryKnowledge Societies Policy Handbookxxvi 0.4. Process ChapterChapter 4 provided an overarching conceptual framework as a basic tool for the processes needed to plan, structure and implement knowledge societies policies, which Chapter 5 then builds upon. Any level of government which has policy-making powers over the territory it represents, whether international, national or sub-national including at city level, can prepare, implement and sustain a KSP developed in relation to the territory?s specific needs and future aspirations. This should also be undertaken taking account of its regional and global context, and the imperative of embedding the KSP strongly within and as part of the government?s existing overall policy portfolio for the territory.A successful and well implemented KSP will put any government in a much better position to tackle both large and small scale societal challenges, whether these be climate change, poverty and inequality, demographic change, food and water security, biodiversity, education, health, jobs, habitat or infrastructure. It will also ensure that such challenges are seen as strongly interdependent requiring a coordinated and integrated, rather than a siloed or piecemeal, response.The process framework presented in Chapter 5 for building a KSP is a structured and interrelated checklist of important issues and activities, rather than a rigid or prescriptive plan of operation. Every government territory is unique, has its own starting point and specific potential and requirements. It is also important to appreciate that each process component outlined in this approach, despite the sequence followed, can also lead back to a reassessment of previous components, as part of a feed-back process, although too much of this could lead to delay and procrastination. The overall focus must be on moving forward steadily if not rapidly, experimenting, testing and adjusting on a small scale along the way, but always making progress. As described in the following, seven components make up the process framework, the first five of which constituent the policy cycle as relational steps in a logical sequence, whilst the last two are components which are on-going throughout the duration of the KSP and need to be continuously deployed.? Component 1 ? Contextualizing and diagnosing, typically starts the policy cycle and addresses, first the territory?s global and regional context, second its specific needs and aspirations, and, third embeds it in the government?s policy portfolio. ? Component 2 ? Visioning and goal-setting, continues the policy cycle and draws on all relevant stakeholders and interests to create an overarching vision for the medium- to long-term of what the KSP should be and how it should be achieved. This takes place through the generation and deployment of new types of knowledge, know-how and innovation, prioritizing what is most important and translating this into strategy development and goal-setting. ? Component 3 ? Analyzing and designing, is the third step of the policy cycle concerned with establishing governance structures and stakeholder roles, including multi-stakeholder configurations, to support the preparation of detailed policy designs through an analytical process leading to coordinated programs of policy intervention. Each of the latter require specific objectives and actions, for which necessary inputs, activities, outputs and outcomes are planned and assessed for financial and operational feasibility, in the context of Component 6, for successful contribution to the KSP goals. ? Component 4 ? Implementing, represents the fourth policy cycle component and develops and operates detailed action plans to meet project and program objectives, ensuring that all inputs and activities are carried out as intended. Appropriate professional and transparent management and coordination tools and techniques are deployed which also protect legitimate rights, ensure inclusivity and fairly balance competing interests. ? Component 5 ? Updating and sustaining, closes the policy cycle and has the objective of updating either xxviithe whole KSP process and/or individual components of that process, and thereby aims to achieve longerterm sustainability. This takes place both in response to the KSP?s implementation experience and how this is monitored and evaluated by Component 6. It also assesses changes in the societal and global environment of the KSP, in particular whether and how to response to new opportunities or threats and to ensure the KSP remains relevant and sustainable. Sequential policy components 1 to 5 are divided into three overall policy phases: 1) the preparation phase, 2) the formulation phase, and 3) the implementation and sustaining phase. Each is punctuated by two or three milestones which can be used to plan and structure the KSP process and ensure that it is on track to meet its objectives. There are also continuous feedback loops ensuring that these objectives are adjusted as necessary to remain the right ones, even when new opportunities or threats appear during the duration of the policy, or the external environment changes in ways which might affect it.? Component 6 ? Monitoring and evaluation, is an ongoing component throughout the whole policy cycle supporting all others through its provision of the rationale and tools for the systematic measurement and evaluation of the KSP?s inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts, as well as maximizing its continued efficiency, effectiveness, utility and sustainability. ? Component 7 ? Communication, is also a component ongoing throughout the whole policy cycle linking all others to the wider society and external stakeholders and interests, including to the general public as the broader stakeholder base. It consists of two-away communication enabling the KSP to disseminate information and raise awareness, on the one hand, and encourages public consultation and engagement on the other. It thus combines communication, awareness-raising and outreach strategies. Ongoing components 6 and 7 together ensure that the KSP retains overall relevance, coherence and effectiveness, by both feeding off and feeding in new knowledge and know-how. This approach also makes it possible to prioritize and scale policy cycle components 1 to 5 according to need in a timely and flexible.0.5. Adaptation and Transfer ChapterChapter 6 considers how a public policy for Knowledge Societies, developed considering the concepts described in Chapters 2 and 3, and following the process outlined in Chapter 4, could be adapted to different social, economic, cultural, institutional, etc. contexts, how the policy can be transferred from one context to another, and what are the role of different responsible agenda in adaptation and transfer activities.This Handbook considers the governmental officers and civil servants of the national or local state structures, which face the challenge of initiating, reviewing and/or updating the process of the elaboration of a public policy for Knowledge Societies.The roles of career bureaucrats in public policy-making, mostly in policies and strategies related to Knowledge Societies, are prestigious, but they also constitute an issue of contradictory and differing interpretation, practice, and direction. While higher public servants have always played a major part in shaping public policy, the extent of their involvement has subsided and flowed in response to legal, structural, and political changes at the macroregional, federal, state, and local government levels. There are several issues to be taken into consideration by the agents responsible for leading and coordinating the process of Knowledge Society policy development:Executive SummaryKnowledge Societies Policy Handbookxxviii? Political will: In order to formulate a Knowledge Societies policy, it is necessary that governments fully acknowledge that ICT are a matter for public policies (Guerra, Hilbert, Jordán, & Nicolai, 2008). Although in many countries the political and technical civil servants in charge rotate in different positions, the designation of the people in charge of promoting this process, as well as their capacity of management and negotiation with the government and other actors, will have a fundamental impact in the Knowledge Societies future (UNESCO, 2009).? Hierarchy: The process of coordinating the development of Knowledge Societies will be more fruitful if the responsible agent is located high in the government hierarchy. The higher the level, the stronger the support for the policies proposed, and the higher the possibility of implementing them concretely. ? Interaction Strategy: The scope of information policy is very broad; it overlaps with four policy fields: technology, industry/economy, telecommunications and media. ? Sectoral interactions: It becomes relevant to reflect on the achievement of the agent?s goals regarding the Knowledge Societies considering the participation of government and other stakeholders in economic and societal affairs, as well as other public policies and plans regarding related issues, such as education, health, urban and regional planning, telecommunications infrastructure, science and technology, innovation for development policies, and others.? Organization building: The governmental agent in charge needs to be sure that he/she maintains the right organizational structure to operate in a truly effective way, given that Knowledge Societies deals with national, regional, and/or local aims as well as with global interests and contexts. ? Leadership development: The government and other stakeholders must be sure that they have the right leadership model for the agent charged with Knowledge Society development. How can a public policy for Knowledge Societies adapt to a given context and vice versa? There are many factors to be considered: ? Political and economic factors: External factors are exogenous to political decisions on Knowledge Society strategies; the strategies? designers and decision-makers do not have decision power over them. ? International organizations: International organizations frequently trigger regional and national initiatives to develop Knowledge Societies. They also provide assessments and best practices of Knowledge Society Policies. ? Commercial alliances or partnerships strongly influence national policies and strategies. ? Awareness of political groups: If a government is informed and willing to build Knowledge Societies it will be probably supportive of and receptive to the changes proposed by the policy.? ICT Infrastructure and services: The most obvious thematic topics of Knowledge Society strategies focus on the building of the digital infrastructure and services. Policies should be aimed at fostering universal access and use of the technology by providing a basic minimum of connectivity for the whole of society. ? National and regional regulatory frameworks are key elements in the formulation of public policies for Knowledge Societies. The regulation of the telecommunications industry and the strengthening of ICT markets are some key policy areas.An enabling regulatory environment, a favorable investment climate and cooperation and funding of the international community are fundamental elements for the overall development of the knowledge society agenda. Developing Knowledge Societies in a given context, or adapting a successful policy initiative to it, also means assessing the economic, social, human and technological conditions of a country, region, or city regarding its e-readiness and the existing Knowledge Societies in place. Studies and research will have to be conducted and used. In some cases, these studies may be produced by chambers of IT enterprises; the institutions responsible for xxixstatistics and censuses can also provide helpful findings. What factors need to be taken into account when evaluating the cross-national or cross-regional transferability of Knowledge Society policy initiatives? How are Knowledge Societies transferred among diverse national, regional, or local contexts? ? Cross-national experience has an increasingly powerful impact upon decision-makers within the private, public and third sectors. Policy transfer and lesson-drawing is a dynamic activity where knowledge about policies, administrative arrangements or institutions is used across time or space in the development of policies, administrative arrangements and institutions elsewhere (Stone, 2001). ? Networking is an important element in policy transfer among contexts. Networks that join policy makers, governments, researchers, practitioners, entrepreneurs, etc. facilitate the circulation of policy cases and models, and may help policy makers to adapt such cases and models into their own contexts.? Policy transfer should not be taken casually. Policy makers should be aware of the characteristics of the environments they are going to operate, the demands of the local population, their historical and geographical contexts, their local culture, and their level of e-readiness before transferring external models that may not respond to local needs.? It is important to identify the obstacles and positive factors that can influence policy transfer. The most common obstacles could be: historical and cultural, e.g. resistance to change; the countries? diverse development levels, managerial obstacles; political obstacles, e.g. power struggles, institutional factors: infrastructural factors; geographical factors; insufficiency of human resources, etc.? The obstacles identified for each one of the proposed goals can be removed by the impulse of accelerating or facilitating factors. Accelerating factors are measures or actions taken at institutional and political levels; they entail coordinated operations between the diverse actors involved. Accelerating factors need financial investments, specialized human resources, communication strategies and training strategies. The implementation of a KSP may require institutional transformations: changes in the legislation, regulation norms, standards, or even new governmental institutions, such as a Knowledge Society Agency. In some cases, these changes may generate conflicts of interest among the diverse actors taking part. The coordinating team or agency should be alert and organize as necessary a debate about each conflictual issue.0.6. Platform and Community ChapterThe chapter describes the UNKSOC.ORG Platform ? the digital face of the Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook and Library. It starts by addressing the Platform?s content and functionality and how it can be used; profiles of the expected users; and the ways the Platform might be used by the different user profiles.The chapter also focus on the expected role of the UNKSOC.ORG Platform on promoting the emergence and consolidation of a community of interest and practice around the Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook. Such community involves practitioners (individuals participating in policy-making processes related to the knowledge societies, either as elected politicians or technical staff), researchers, educators, experts and citizens. The action of the members of this community will be central on shaping the evolution of the UNKSOC.ORG Platform. This evolution will also be influenced by what initiatives the promoters of the Knowledge Societies Policy Handbook will launch in order to foster the acceptance and application of the Handbook.