Chris Macrae, 10-Feb-04 @ 17:55PM

voluntary NoE

I dont know if the sig editors of knowledgeboard think of themselves as the soul of a network of excellence, and indeed whether Kboard's 5000 members would want them to think like that. I do know that we have by a strange constitution been told that all sig editors should be voluntary and operating in virtual space (we are not even funded costs to meet regularly), while professional managers meet and make other decisions like what format reversioning gets what priority.

This introduction leads me to wonder whether if sig editors are to be the interactive soul of knowledgeboard as a NOE - or even help seed the EU's 2010 paradigm-intents for many other white-boxable NoE's, whether we should study cooperative commuanl principles

I dont wholly know where the first space to study such practices is but until others tell me this link looks in the right ballpark

http://wiki.uniteddiversity.com/shared_principles

As a mathematician who loves mapping systems until we can all openly see/feel their true senses of direction , I loved this 14 principle list which United Diversity celebrates as well as its updates on chaordic commons thinking:

Donella Meadows advice about Dancing with Systems:-
Get the beat.
Listen to the wisdom of the system.
Expose your mental models to the open air.
Stay humble. Stay a learner.
Honor and protect information.
Locate responsibility in the system.
Make feedback policies for feedback systems.
Pay attention to what is important, not just what is quantifiable.
Go for the good of the whole.
Expand time horizons.
Expand thought horizons.
Expand the boundary of caring.
Celebrate complexity.
Hold fast to the goal of goodness.
Chris Macrae
@Emotional Intelligence
@valuetrue transparency maps
@Networks of Excellence or Curiosity

Chris Macrae, 30-Jan-04 @ 13:49PM

2 different models of NoE that work opposite ways round

It occurred to me it might be useful to segment how to architect a NoE where the excellence issue involves huge change before we can start motoring towrads the destination excellence and those where the network already knows where excellence is.

This is quite a big hidden agenda, at least in conversations I have had with someone who has been mentired by Tom Peters who after all put the word into the management vlexicon with his book on serach of excellence. Where a practice needs huge change, we jokingly agree there's a different book to be written : In Search of Cheek

Perhaps because so much of my work involves trying to connect meta-disciplinary organisational systems, I probably care more about the model of NoEs where job number 1 involves asking what huge change we are up for? To date our best modle has a preliminary stage before we scale up for large networking support. We try and find 5 (nothing magical in 5 but more than 3 and less than 10) experts who are prepared to openly discuss what the challenge is and earn the trust of each other to pool everything we think we know; then as a combined core looking how to scale up the network becomes relatively downhill. What then becomes criuciall is making sure that early hubs of the network are all aborad in terms of the change breakthroughs the cheeky but trusting experts have mapped out for action learning. Throughout all this open space is the method to earn trust whether we are open spacing the deep trust and agony of changing 5 experts ways until they are aligned as openion leaders with one excellence-voice or preparing many people to coordinate hub roles or getting people at each chapter hub together. The reasons why open space is simplest include:
-highest transparency
-action participation by everyone
-builds trust relationships before expert ones
-iterates challenging agendas which virtual community spaces can pick up the baton on

Chris Macrae, 29-Jan-04 @ 19:13PM

the world's most connected networks

I was wondering if we could think aloud about this and then map back to any lessons for NoE

my guesses:
10 Families connected by a chronic illness (of a child) where local professional knowledge isnt necessarily the world's best

5-10 People who share a similar demographic - eg youth who feel the world needs to change, and networking tools provide a new way to unite around a big human issue

9 People who face a common challenge, and though they may have passionately different solutions have been communed through some faciliator be this the physical one of alwways bumping into each other (eg an inner city) or a suitably organsaied one such as open space

7-10 People who feel they are the alumni of the best in the world school at something, which may be led by a founder who has by now become famous as the oracle on how to do it

7-10 People connected by a game with a world stage of rankings or some other collectibles, where at least at any given time there is a popularly agreed most valuable association to have or support

Have you got some more to add to this list. ( I was by no means attempting to be comprehensive; more to provide some diversity). Do you roughly agree with my rankings (where 10 denotes strongest connections that impact doing something)? Does this tell us anything that NoE's could learn from?

Chris Macrae, 27-Jan-04 @ 13:38PM

neighbouring knowledge

I think there may be some clues to valuing and startegising of NoE's in this emerging thread http://www.knowledgeboard.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=122271&d=1&h=417&f=56&dateformat=%o%20%B%20%Y

Please note I am the first to recognise this neighbouring thread needs a lot of editing and attributing to people who have led the way more than I in mapping exhannge-based theories of firms and networks. (Bit time pressed this week due to snow-days cancelling school and family troubles)

Chris Macrae, 24-Jan-04 @ 22:39PM

questions about linkedin.com

Would enjoy dialogue on these questions, whether in this thread or direct at wcbn007@easynet.co.uk

1) the sort of data I get looks impressive, but as a newbie , I really dont know how to start; equally should other NoE's be using this sort of onlin support platform or not?

2)I find the geographical profile extraordinary - do you?

Basics About Your Network
Users you can reach through your connections: 12,100+
Users more than four degrees away you can contact without referral: 10,700+
Total Network Size: 22,900+
New users since your last login: 6557
Most connected user: 556 connections
Job seekers: 12,100+
Contractors: 14,600+
Deal makers: 16,100+
Industries and Regions
Your industry:

Management Consulting: 1500+ users
Top industries:

Computer Software (18%)
Information Technology and Services (13%)
Internet (9%)
Management Consulting (7%)
Telecommunications (6%)
Venture Capital & Private Equity (5%)
Marketing and Advertising (5%)
Online Media (2%)
Financial Services (2%)
Public Relations and Communications (2%)
Your region:

United Kingdom: 2000+ users
Top regions:

San Francisco Bay Area (25%)
United Kingdom (9%)
Greater New York City Area (6%)
Finland (6%)
Greater Boston Area (5%)
Canada (4%)
Greater Los Angeles Area (4%)
Washington D.C. Metro Area (3%)
France (2%)
Greater Atlanta Area (2%)

Chris Macrae, 16-Jan-04 @ 20:25PM

Biological Comparisons of Networks

I have a friend and university professor of Biology who is keen on nature's models of networking

To tell you the truth when he shows me patterns of how cell cultures internetwork, I can understand quite well the cooperative and competition dynamics that nature uses to select the open value multipliers from the Androids. But when he puts it in his own words I sometimes get a bit lost (probably a good experience for me). I asked him for a summary that networks of excellence people could learn from and got the followinhg in return. If you see anything here that you would like to question, clarify etc, please post it , I will collate any such posts together and endavour to get a reply from my friendly biology networker of excellence

Professor R
"A fundamental consideration in how networked systems can be made evolvable and responsive is the distribution of internal space and its relation to external space through intermediary boundaries. Many biological networks, such as those formed by blood systems, nerve systems and fungal mycelia consist of labyrinths of channels connected in parallel, with boundaries whose permeability and deformability can be varied according to circumstances and function. The connectivity of internal space in these labyrinthine networks is crucial to their power to supply resources along paths of least resistance to locations of high demand on their boundaries: e.g. it literally enables fungi to 'mushroom'. Correspondingly, labyrinthine networks have considerable communicative, transformational and distributive potential. By contrast, 'nodal' networks or 'webs', of the kind featured in much modern network theory, with string-like rather than pipe-like interconnectedness, have effective strength and energy-gathering properties (as in a spider's web), but lack evolutionary plasticity and responsiveness. This distinction has fundamental implications for our understanding of communication and information systems both in natural and in human social and engineering contexts. The unwitting imposition of nodal structure on the design of distributive systems is and has been dysfunctional, resulting in bottlenecks, overloads and degeneracy. To develop and apply understanding of this distinction between nodal and labyrinthine systems to its full potential will require novel mathematical, scientific and sociological concepts and methodologies, based on dynamic, space-including, rather than fixed, space-excluding contextual framing."

Chris Macrae, 15-Jan-04 @ 15:53PM

Who is KM's meta-net of excellence & how to inquire part 2

Continuing KM's meta-net nominations at:http://www.kwork.org/Stars/starlinks.html

Carol Kinsey Goman
Berkeley, CA, U.S.,STARp,Web,
Books:

Ghost Story: A Modern Business Fable
This Isn't the Company I Joined
Creativity in Business
The Human Side of High-Tech
Managing for Commitment
Adapting to Change: Making it Work for You
The Loyalty Factor
Managing in a Global Organization


Simon Lelic,Ark Group, Knowledge Management Magazine, London, UK,STARp,Web,

Mark McElroy
KMCI & Macroinnovation,Vermont, U.S.
STARp, web,Books:

The New Knowledge Management - Complexity, Learning, and Sustainable Innovation
Key Issues in the New Knowledge Management (co-authored with Joseph Firestone
The Open Enterprise ; co-authored with Firestone

Victor Newman
Chief Learning Officer, European Pfizer Research University, Sandwich, UK
STARp, Books:

The Knowledge Activist's Handbook: Adventures from the Knowledge Trenches


Melissie Clemmons Rumizen, Ph.D.
Buckman Laboratories, Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.,STARp,Web
Book:

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Knowledge Management


Hubert Saint-Onge
Konvergeandknow, Toronto, Canada
STARp,Web,Book:

Leveraging Communities of Practice for Strategic Advantage


Megan Santosus, CIO Magazine
Knowledge Management Research Center, CIO.com,, Mass, U.S.,STARp ,Web

Charles M. Savage
Knowledge Era Enterprises, Mass, U.S. and Munich, Germany.STARp,Web
Book:

Fifth Generation Management, Dynamic Teaming, Virtual Enterprising and Knowledge Networking


David Skyrme , Highclere, England
STARp ,Web, Blog, Books:

Knowledge Networking: Creating the Collaborative Enterprise
Capitalizing on Knowledge: From E-Business to K-Business


David Snowden
Director, IBM Cynefin Center for Organizational Complexity, England
STARp, Web site

Ash Sooknanan,Bank of Montreal Group of Companies,STARpage,Web

Tom Stewart, Harvard Business Review, Mass,U.S.,STARp,Web,
Books:

The Wealth of Knowledge: Intellectual Capital and the Twenty-first Century Organization
Intellectual Capital: The New Wealth of Organizations


Karl-Erik Sveiby,SKA Brisbane, Australia
STARp,Web,Book:

The New Organizational Wealth: Managing & Measuring Knowledge-Based Assets


David Weinberger
Web marketing guru, Brookline, Mass, U.S.
STARp,Web,Books:

The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual
Small Pieces Loosely Joined


Karl M. Wiig,Knowledge Research Institute, Inc., Arlington, Texas, U.S.
STARp,Web,Books:

Knowledge Management Foundations: Thinking About Thinking - How People and Organizations Represent, Create and Use Knowledge
Knowledge Management: The Central Focus for Intelligent-Acting Organizations
Knowledge Management Methods: Practical Approaches to Managing Knowledge
Knowledge Management, A Trilogy

Chris Macrae, 15-Jan-04 @ 15:52PM

Who is KM's meta-net of excellence & how to inquire -part 1

With KM being such a Catholic church, and if the bet with the public's money the EU is making a defining human meta-discipline in the evolution of 21st C organisation, a transparency question of great interst to me is who is the patron net of gurus that navigates how the KM curriculum moves forward

Of course, in reality its messier than that because there will never be one agreed board of studies of KM, but one can ask for bookmarks that show a galaxy of Km stars and have loosely networked them together by for example ensuring they have been through a parallel process of debriefing how they see KM evolving. I look forward to any bookmarks that may help us visualise who the meta-net of KM is. Here is one such contribution:http://www.kwork.org/Stars/starlinks.html

Verna Allee
Verna Allee Associates, Toronto, Canada & US West Coast. STARpage. Web,Books:
The Future of Knowledge: Increasing Prosperity through Value Networks
The Knowledge Evolution


Debra M. Amidon
Entovation International, Mass, U.S.
STARpage,Web,Books:

Innovation Strategy for the Knowledge Economy: The Ken Awakening

The Innovation Superhighway


Patti Anklam,
Hutchison Associates, Mass, U.S.
STARpage,Web


Jerry Ash
Association of Knowledgework, Florida, U.S.
STARpage,Web,Book:
Personal Knowledge Management: How to Leverage What You Know


Dede Bonner
New Century Management, Leesburg, Virginia, U.S.,STARpage,Web, Book:

In Action: Leading Knowledge Management and Learning


Nick Bontis,McMaster University, Canada
World Congress on Intellectual Capital
STARpage,Web,Book:

The Strategic Management of Intellectual Capital and Organizational Knowledge


Robert H. Buckman
Buckman Laboratories. Memphis,Tennessee, U.S.
STARpage,Web


Richard Cross , InnovationX
STARpage, Web

Stephen Denning
Author, speaker, independent consultant, DC. U.S.,STARpage,Web,Book:

The Springboard: How Story-Telling Ignites Action in Knowledge-Era Organizations


Nancy Dixon
Common Knowledge Associates, Washington,DC, U.S.,STARpage, Web,
Book:

Common Knowledge: How Companies Thrive by Sharing What They Know


Leif Edvinsson
Professor of Intellectual Capital, University of Lund, Sweden,CEO of UNIC,STARPage,Web
Books:

Intellectual Capital: Realizing Your Company's True Value by Finding Its Hidden Brainpower
Corporate Longitude: What You Need to Know to Navigate the Knowledge Economy


Carl Frappaolo
The Delphi Group, Mass, U.S.
STARpage,Web,Book:

Knowledge Management (Express Exec)

Chris Macrae, 14-Jan-04 @ 15:46PM

knowledge city = meta-NoE

I am wondering whether perfect knowledge cities of the future will also be pretty good examples of meta-NoE (networks of NoE)

What I am getting at is a model which suggests that NoE's are grassrooted on what everyone enjoys communal confidence in co-creating - transparency that this won't later be appropriated by any one sectional interest if the network starts having sucess in specific area (particularly those that someone might suggest floating off);

Of course, there is a key specific of a city that it is has a tangible location, but if our forms of governing and communing can't yet be maturely modelled (to transparently multiply value for everyone) for a knowledge city, maybe it will be all the harder for more virtually communally proertised NoE's

Incidentally, if this post has muddled up NoE with a different networking term - especially if you dont feel NoE's need transparency of what their core dynamic value building blocks are - please tell me what network term fits with this parallel of knowledge cities,

Chris Macrae, 14-Jan-04 @ 14:39PM

questions raised by E100 case

I have always thought of E100
http://www.entovation.com/kleadmap/index.htm
as an excellent case of NoE

But it also raises questions: if its pattern tells us that individuals of great depth in their field will globally network anyway, what extra is it that policy makers like the EU can add

I'd like your list:

ensure gateway representation across all 25 countries

choose topic areas where there is more value to openly multiply than to close in copyrights

choose areas where the expert innovators should also be questioned by the public because ultimately they are in a 'commons' area of public good like health, or developing an environmental choice or infrastructure which generations will be stuck with

bring together 2 disciplines that have never connected before but where huge innovation could be gained by bridging

-what would you put in this list?

Vitaly Titov, 10-Jan-04 @ 11:10AM

Transparency Anatomy of Knowledge Banking and Value Control metrics

I see that the spectrum of White Paper topics anonced by You, Chris, as a draft of Transparency Anatomy of Knowledge Banking and Value Control metrics.

It would be good subject for Europian Commission (EC) coordinators. What you think about this view across the PRISM 2004 on the EC budget basis?

Perhaps we can to cooperate with Verna Allee, with the European industrial association, with High-Level Experts on Sustainabile Development and another experts.

Chris Macrae, 09-Jan-04 @ 17:22PM

NoE subcircles and celebrating whole

Vitaly - thanks for the information on Prism; I am also wondering if these WPs are the same as this labelling I came across elsewhere
- Strategic coordination (WP1)
– Dissemination (WP2)
– Policy implications (WP3)
– Financial analysis (WP4)
– Macroeconomic statistics (WP5)
– 'New economy' indicators (WP6)
– Banking and VC metrics (WP7)
– E-government forum (WP8)
- Cases ?WP9

Secondly, are sub-networks quite a common device within EU NoE's - certainly the way Angels tried to evolve RTDs would suggest so

Thirdly, if NoE's have a sub-Noe architecture, how much effort goes into the parts and how much into celebrating the whole system? 20 years ago - and I'm the first to admit a lot may have changed - I was involved in the earliest computer modelling of organisational identities- we found that 15% of people a year forgot the main connecting purpose of an organsiation unless it was communicated as simply as possible in every talk and every walk. So sub-nets are great for fast evolution but any conflicts emerging between them needs constant auditing and above all imo there needs to be enough open space to celebrate the whole NoE

Chris Macrae http://www.valuetrue.com 2004, Year of Transparency

Vitaly Titov, 08-Jan-04 @ 19:40PM

Policy Research into Innovation and Measurement practice in the Intangible Economy

WP1-WP11 is White Papers (or Work Pages) of European Comission Information Society Technologies Programme: PRISM (Policy Research into Innovation and Measurement practice in the Intangible Economy)

The list of WP1 - WP9 discussion papers is prezented in APPENDIX I of "Report of Research Findings and Policy Recommendations" that is prepared by Clark Eustace, Director of the PRISM group.

Chris Macrae, 07-Jan-04 @ 17:21PM

Query about working circles of Prism's Intangibles NoE

As part of ist 2003 progress report, Prism referebces the following working circles - can anyone tell me what the Wp1 to Wp11 stand for?
WP1 MCL C.G. Eustace
WP2/5 Cass Business School, London Prof. C.W. Holtham
Prof. T.P. Hill
R.D. Youngman
WP3 University of Ferrara Prof. P. Bianchi
Prof. S. Schweitzer (UCLA, visiting)
Dr S. Labory (University of Bergamo, visiting)
A. Cottica
M.R. Di Tommaso
F. Galassi
R. Iorio
N. Malagoli
S. Mancinelli
D. Paci
G. Ponti
WP4 University of Ferrara Prof. P. Bianchi
Prof. S. Zambon
Dr S. Labory (University of Bergamo, visiting)
Prof. M. Abernethy (University of Melbourne, visiting)
Prof. Marcia Anisette
Prof. F. Donato
Prof. B. Lev (NYU Stern School, visiting)
Prof. G. Masino
Prof. D.W. Young (Boston University School of
Management)
I. Bergamini
M. Cordazzo
V. Crosara
A. Del Bello
S. Droghetti
N. Malagoli
WP6 Copenhagen Business School Prof. J. Mouritsen
M. Johansen
G. Kaleva
S. Thorbjørnsson
S. Thrane

WP7 Copenhagen Business School F. Morck
M. Hall
E. Vali
WP8 Henley Management College Dr E. Truch
WP9.1 University College, Cork Prof. C. Murphy
M. Fahy
J. Feller
P. Finnegan
WP9.2 KTH Stockholm Prof. N. Enlund
Prof. R. Wallis
A. Jonsson
C. Knudsen
J. Matic
Dr K. Sabelstrom-Möller
K. Wesslau
O. Wikstrom
WP9.3 TSM Enschede Prof. C. Millar
P. Bliek
Dr A. Groen
Dr P. van der Sijde
I . Wakkee
WP9.4 Cass Business School Prof. C.N. Hendry
J. Brown
S. Woodward
WP9.5 IESE Barcelona Prof. R. Andreu
Prof. S. Sieber
A. Grau
E. Lara
WP10 IntangAbility Ltd T.C. Hoad
WP11 Courtney Consulting Dr N. Courtney

Chris Macrae, 05-Jan-04 @ 12:12PM

questions on excellence and roles

I'm a bit worried about the word excellence since it implies someone sets one standard and knows how to divide up different areas of excellence in ways that don't necessarily respect systemic wholes let alone system of system flows. If we could put the definition of excellence back to a diverse caucus including those most imapcetd by the NoE's work and open dialogue that might be OK. At the same time, I applaud trying to make a network have a transparenct and hugely attractive gravity and if excellence is the way to give that membership gravity then amen. We have a more general discussion on is excellence all we need at http://www.knowledgeboard.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=121237&d=1&h=417&f=56&dateformat=%o%20%B%20%Y

Back specifically on NoE, I think there is a critical issue which needs lots more clarity of construction as it it is a defining dynamic of what makes networking different: what roles do we need people to carry on for a NoE to sustain greater and greater achievements? I have tried to start a parallel thread on this. http://www.knowledgeboard.com/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=121335&d=1&h=417&f=418&dateformat=%o%20%B%20%Y

Alongside roles, we need to ask the transparent question of: with whose time is this being done?: one of the problems of many NoEs that I can see is that people are being delegated there from their organsiations which then expect a closed payback and not an open one in terms of value multiplication.

Vitaly Titov, 05-Jan-04 @ 08:49AM

Networks of Excellence for purposeful Self-Learning

Yes you are right that in common Open Space of modern InfoERA we all can more concretely research and study professional cases for common Educational Excellence.

What You think about a classification of many NoE by interest directions. For example: Excellence in Engeneering, Excellence in Health Service, Excellence in Management, Excellence in Policy, Excellence in Learning etc.

Excellence Research retrospective on Knowladgeboard:

Knowledge Angels - to set up a network of excellence

Chris Macrae, 04-Jan-04 @ 10:57AM

-part 2

Let me illustrate with 3 cases:

Worldwide humanitarian responsibility; clearly we could (some would say must as a matter of survival) network much better than we do as yet; if any big organisation is wholly committed to such networking of excellence then we at http://www.collapsingworld.org would like to hear from them (vested interest I act as Europe connector for this non-profit network of networks)

Assuming my father and I’s model for lifelong elearning of every child to adult is correct in terms of "try to find the 10 best personal mentors for you and use networking’s technology to do that as well as large scale real/community meetings" ( see KMEI sig ), then a network of excellence for teaching how to do this in schools would be a huge win-win for every kid. Hundreds of us have started looking but there’s little evidence in most developed economies that all the core parties understand this yet.

At KMEI we propose that if Knowledge Management is truly about systemising the most for knowledge workers and human capital, then KMEI should transparently grow in a meta-disciplinary way. An emotionally intelligent (trustworthy) beginning for such a network of excellence would be to openly catalogue all management methods (those pre-existing digital and those in part designed around digital age) in terms of: does this method provide a win for all knowledge workers as individual value multipliers, a lose, or not have any system impact at the people value multiplying level? At the moment, my research shows we need to keep on asking are there any big vested interests who will misunderstand or miscommunicate the purpose of such transparency cataloguing?

Join in 2004, Year of Transparency

Chris Macrae, 04-Jan-04 @ 10:56AM

making leadership challenges of networking theory transparent 1

I am 21 year olds in studying networks; my father at The Economist and I co-authored the first book on the future scenarios of networking in 1984. Our core assumption ( see KMEI sig ) as social and economic systemisers : networking technology will cause even greater human change than the invention of the steam engine, and this has global opportunities and threats to make transparent where ever people converse about the future or make system of system investment decisions.

A practical exercise whenever people start debating a networking term is : clarify its biggest boundary controversies because networks have no innovation value in them unless we are changing boundaries between systems and people. My guess is that with the term networks of excellence the 2 biggest first questions you can truly ask are:
-1-is this excellence application one where there are huge potential win-wins for all parties?
-2-do all parties wholly recognise that networking can sustain huge win-wins for all?

I have to say that I know of many examples where the answer is yes to the first question and no to the second question. I will leave those who mention networks of excellence they are interested in to declare their own contextual answers.

Chris Macrae, 03-Jan-04 @ 12:13PM

quick exercise in lateral thinking

This bookmark just popped into my inbox- how would I do a quick test to see if the alumni associated with it are one of India's leading NOE?
http://www.icfai.org/icfai_university.asp

I ask because I do try and do a lot of connecting across India - working on a project there in 1985 opened my eyes to what a British Empire had largely been forgiven for and which each Brit bears some responsibility to trying to make good (however small the way) and however long the after.

Chris Macrae, 03-Jan-04 @ 11:17AM

could we each prolfile a NoE we know

I am not sure I understand all the dynamic subsystems of big NoE, and indeed there may be many typologies. People have already mentioned a few NoE they would passionately like to see grow up great, so do you have time to profile one so we can all see it more concretely and have a common case base to discuss

I'll choose http://www.collapsingworld.org - partly because anyone of deep concern is openly invited to multiply their excellence and because the homepage gives a clear scale impression of 200 NGOs who an Australian Professor of Ethics has linked together starting the day after 9/11

I can map at least 5 subsystems:

there are people who have met for real as over a hundred did in London fall 03 - including 50 experts who gave testimonies from conflict issues all around the world - so this is people networking from their individual issues of passion up ( the next retreat is Goa fall 04)

then there are pre-existing circles in the network where people trust each other because they come from the same locality (whether geographic or issue), or organisation or ... (perhaps this is what SNA maps show but actually at a first level just how people declare there own connections in time and close relationships interests me)

then we have the patron board which includes 3 Nobel Peace winners, 1 former country president; we need to know how their own networks and deep causes match with some that the whole of http://www.collapsingworld.org could multiply- how do we maximise everyone's time in doing some openly valued progress not just talk?

then many of the NGOs signed to collapsingworld are either huge eg Unesco, or deeply expert in a specific area

then we have interfaces with large scale humanitarian networks like youth and medical ones linked by trying to educate about HIV etc ; we also need in my view to multiply trust with the other 5 greatest network of networks in the world of recociliation (which? don't yet know other than I'd vote http://www.practiceofpeace.com as one)

Vitaly Titov, 03-Jan-04 @ 06:35AM

Open Space BeyondBrand

Many networks do form one Open Space
that do involve to collaboration many experts of InfoERA. So I have the proposal that we can change the very long title ERAnats project to “Open Space InfoERA”.
I think that this title don’t conflict with
purposeful collaboration for goals of the European Commission.

Look at art image of OSIER: "Spring. Osiers is blooming"

Greeting by pack ring out by smack

Chris Macrae, 03-Jan-04 @ 01:53AM

real meeting spaces

I would be especially interested to hear of views on how networks make the most of occasions when many of the network members meet for real.

Open Space is the only method that gets my vote with complete confidence every time I've seen a network use it but it would be great to hear what else works for you.

(Regarding Peter's mention of a Prague conference on NoE if there is a conference pdf that helps us to understand the dimensions of interest that delegates will be exploring which you would like attached as a resource of this thread please send it to me at wcbn007@easynet.co.uk )

Incidentally does anyone know who first coined NoE and in what context? I'll will take open and transparent views of the value dynamics of networking purpose unless someone wants to correct me. From google I note that the term is a favourite one in many EU settings http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22networks+of+excellence%22&btnG=Google+Search

Verna Allee, 02-Jan-04 @ 22:52PM

Research project on networks

There is a current research project that may be relevant to this topic. It is a project for the European Commission so when it is completed the research will be publically available.

We are just getting underway with the work so we do not have anything to report yet, but I will share the question we are pursuing.
The project is ERAnets (Evaluation of Networks of Collaboration between Participants in IST Research and their Evolution to Collaobrations inthe European Reearch Area.)

That is a very long title, but the question we are pursuing is "how does an informal network of excellence (in this case researchers) evolve into more purposeful collaborations?? I find this question particularly intriguing because it is working the interface between non-commercial network relationships and value creating organizations or sets of relationships. My hope is that this will help us better understand the cellular level of value creation in both tangible and intangible terms.

The research will be led by the Rand Corporation in Amsterdam. Some of the methodologies we are considering are social network analysis and my ValueNet Works methodology. There is a downloadable white paper and overview of the value network approach in the library on my website (http://www.vernaallee.com) for those of you who are not familiar with it.

If any of you know of relevant research, articles, stories or materials we would be glad to know about them. As the material becomes publically available I announce it here.

Verna Allee

Vitaly Titov, 02-Jan-04 @ 11:11AM

Network of Knowledge Exellence in Industry and Multilanguage Community

I'm support the idea of "Excellence Network surveying" and look at Knowledgeboard.com as good example of excellent network organization.

Also I have interest to the topic "Network of Excellence in Industry" and to the pages www.ewf-europe.com

I would like know: "What labor languages will be used in the planed conference in Prague further to German?"

Peter Sachsenmeier, 02-Jan-04 @ 00:13AM

Networks of Excellence in Industry

I am a VP in a European industrial association, originally concerned with engineering workflow (www.ewf-europe.com)

We have developed a keen interest in industrial networks of excellence and will organise a conference in Prague at the end of 2004.

Also, some of our members - including myself - have formed a task force which supports the the formation, management and evaluation of networks of excellence.

Would appreciate hearing from others interested in the topic.