Knowledge management and network building for the support of regional development
Brigitta Widmaier
IAT, Research Center NRW, Gelsenkirchen, Germany, Tel. +49 209 1707 0
widmaier@iatge.de
Abstract
The contribution deals with expereinces from a research project that is working on a new conceptual framework for regional economic development and its empirical application in two business support agencies in Germany. Mainly, two conceptual approaches are used in the context of the project: The notion of knowledge managment and the role of networking.
It is claimed that innovative regional development under ever changing global and regional market conditions needs an integrated, strategic approach in order to give a location, a city or a region, a particular profile. The project develops strategies for local and regional development and provides an IT-based tool for the management of relevant knowledge in this context. Parallel to the IT-based tool networks are developed which, in social exchange, support the strategic goals. Both instruments are applied and tested so that they can also be used by other regional or local agencies to support their tasks in responding to new requirements.