It is almost universally accepted that we are moving increasingly towards an information society, where knowledge and learning are the new currency of power. This book seeks to challenge this axiom by looking in more detail at the subtle relationships between knowledge and social development. The editors are at pains to differentiate the process of knowledge creation from the simple accumulation of knowledge.The original contributions within this book are aimed at capturing new socio-economic trends and finding policy strategies promoting the learning society in Europe through joint efforts and integrated actions on innovation, competence building and social cohesion. Innovation, Competence Building and Social Cohesion in Europe will be of special interest to researchers and scholars of science and innovation and technical change. Its policy recommendations will ensure that the book will also appeal to social scientists of education policy.

In today's knowledge-driven economy, the ability to share insight and know-how is essential for driving innovation and growth. In this groundbreaking volume, scholars from around the world demonstrate how communication and information technologies are enabling dynamic project design and management practices that challenge traditional concepts of time, space and behavior. Showcasing experiments in architecture, engineering, and construction design--employing technological infrastructures that link people and their ideas across physical, intellectual, and cultural boundaries--the authors consider such issues as the links between "competence" and "innovation" and between individual and collective knowledge. At the heart of their analysis is the realization that technological innovation is chiefly a social activity. The implications are profound for the practical management of complex design projects, experiments in distance learning and virtual teams, and emerging theoretical concepts of collaborative learning and innovation.

The challenge of connecting people, ideas, and resources across communities stems from the quest for competition in a global world, at the same time that the basic infrastructure to foster wealth creation is asymmetrically distributed across regions of the globe.

"Regional Development and Conditions for Innovation in the Network Society looks at fundamental changes at the start of the new millennium, as innovation is gaining increasing importance for local economic prosperity and the emergence of learning societies. While much attention has been devoted to information and communication technologies, this analysis shows that innovation infrastructures should be understood as a broad framework for social and economic activities transcending any specific technology, even if revolutionary, and should be tied to attitudes and behaviors oriented towards the exploitation of change by adding value. This work builds on the idea of inclusive learning, which entails a process of shared prosperity across the globe following local-specific conditions, and argues that it is crucial to understand the features of knowledge-induced growth in rich countries, as well as the challenges and opportunities for late-industrialized and less developed countries. To achieve these objectives the relative importance of infrastructures and incentives is considered the increasingly important role of institutions towards the development of social capital is covered. Learning societies will increasingly rely on "distributed knowledge bases," as a systematically coherent set of knowledge, maintained across an economically and/or socially integrated set of agents and institutions.

Learning and Knowledge for the Network Society discusses technology, policy and manage-ment in a context much influenced by a dynamic of change and a necessary balance between the creation and diffusion of knowledge. It is largely grounded on empirical experiences of different regional and national contexts and addresses the dynamics of the process of knowledge accumulation, which drives a learning society. This fact is reflected in the trend in developed economies towards an increasing investment in advanced technology, research and development, education, and culture, but also in the process of inclusive development, which should be considered for less-developed countries. Concepts such as learning ability, creativity, and sustained flexibility gain greater importance as guiding principles for the conduct of individuals, institutions, nations, and regions. It is thus legitimate to question the traditional way of viewing the role that contemporary institutions play in the process of economic development and to argue for the need to promote systems of innovation and competence building based on learning and knowledge networks

At the macroeconomic level, "innovation" increasingly means the ability of institutions to cope with uncertainty and change. This change can be associated with technological advances, but also with modifications to the regulatory framework of an industry, shifts in consumer preferences, emerging demographic trends, or even major alternations of global geopolitics. The changes brought about by these conditions ripple throughout an economy, affecting national institutions and individual citizens alike. Innovation for All? considers the case of Portugal from the perspective of innovation theory, providing new insights on how knowledge is generated and diffused over time and across space. The lessons from Portugal's experience can be applied more broadly to understand the challenges of developing policies that simultaneously promote scientific and technological innovation, societal creativity, and economic growth.

The 21st century is widely considered a time when value will be based on knowledge and human capital. This book explores the "new economy" in essays by scholars and researchers from around the world who look at local, regional, national, and transnational patterns that might be successfully employed elsewhere. The volume begins with a section devoted to regional economic development, learning networks, and systems of innovations. Trends and opportunities for science, technology, and innovation policies are examined. The book concludes with an analysis of corporate strategies for the knowledge-based economy. This is a major, much-needed resource for scholars and policymakers involved with economic development and public policy.

The essays in this book examine the role of education and the university in economic development. It is the contention of the contributors that knowledge--ideas and skilled and educated people--are increasingly important for economic development. How to promote inclusive development--the process of development that includes every citizen in any country--has become a wide-ranging puzzle.

After framing the problems associated with globally integrated learning processes from the perspective of science and technology policies, the essayists look at the role of the university in the knowledge economy drawing examples from the United States, Japan, and Portugal. They then review the role of innovation in the industrial policies of a variety of countries, look at systems of knowledge creation and diffusion, and conclude with commentary on the roles of public planning and policy in the achievement of sustainable development. This wide-ranging examination of knowledge and development issues will be of value to scholars, researchers, and policy makers involved with economic growth and development.

Despite the unprecedented development and growth of knowledge during the 20th century, the evolution of a peaceful 21st century will depend on our ability to address the challenges of prosperity, sustainability, and security. From these challenges, this collection seeks to devise a research agenda to help us to understand better the knowledge-based economy.

Science and technology have acquired increasing importance in the development of contemporary societies. Governments, firms, universities, and research laboratories all take part in the process of building what has been conceptualized as national and/or regional science and technology systems. The actions of these key players and the interactions between them determine the impact of science and technology activities and, more generally, of innovation strategies on the well-being of nations. One of the most important challenges in maximizing this impact is to understand and manage the complex processes that underlie world-class science and technology research, commercialization, and management. In addition, knowledge integration in key subjects is required to enhance economic wealth, shared prosperity, and social and cultural enhancement. In this context, this volume also addresses such important topics as policy and strategies for global sustainable development.