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Knowledge transfer (KT) has entered the higher education arena in the UK as the ‘third sector’ of higher education activity—along with research and teaching. Its antecedents lie in the commercialization and technology transfer of the late 1980s and 1990s, and this business-like orientation remains dominant in the KT policy discourse. This paper explores the extent to which policy for KT may be understood both as ‘travelling’ policy shaped by globalizing trends in pursuit of successful competition in the new knowledge economy (KE) and as ‘embedded’ policy mediated by local contextual factors that may translate policy to reflect local priorities and meanings. In considering evidence of ‘embedded’ policy the paper develops its arguments through preliminary analysis of KT policy in Scotland where—at least at the level of discourse—there is an attempt in post-devolution Scotland to encourage KT in the broader public interest. However, KT’s antecedents may continue to shape the engagement of academic staff in Scotland, as may the wider context of UK policy steering in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the knowledge and technology sourcing practices of a range of key firms and organisations across the UK based on primary research, and analyses the key factors related to managing the technological knowledge boundaries of the firm. In particular, the paper considers the dynamic dimension considerations to such issues. As such it outlines important differences between short and long time horizons, before analysing in more detail some of the implications for firms of technological change over the long term. The paper seeks to highlight the importance of the time dimension in helping to explain why and how firms source technological knowledge externally and how they align their sourcing activities to their strategies associated with developing current and future capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation intermediaries are critical enablers of inward and outward technology and knowledge transfer processes, particularly in domains and industries that are characterised by high complexity. Nanotechnology as a radical, generic technology is one such domain, which spans a plethora of different industries. As a result, intermediary organisations are essential for the future development and commercialisation of these technologies. However, little is known with regard to the inner workings of intermediaries and the knowledge management (KM) processes and capabilities deployed to facilitate matchmaking. Using an in-depth case study, the paper explores the key knowledge related challenges the intermediary faces and the KM processes and capacities utilised to facilitate intermediation. It is found that knowledge creation and exploration, knowledge storage, and knowledge transfer capacities are key capabilities that are enabled by the intermediary's proprietary access to an extensive network database. Results of the study have implications for both managers engaged or seeking to engage with intermediaries as well as managers of intermediaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much has been made of the trend towards knowledge and technology outsourcing by firms and organisations, few studies have attempted to analyse the specific factors associated with the decision to use external technological knowledge sources in the innovation process. This paper outlines some key results from a study of the practices of a number of UK firms and organisations and the development of a Decision Support Framework (DSF) model, to aid understanding of the decision-making process surrounding the external sourcing of technological knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the visualising integrated information on buried assets to reduce streetworks (Vista) project in which concept provides a suite of web technologies that will take a constrained query. The project includes research to develop better techniques to record exact information on location of buried assets. Further, Vista has designed a conceptual framework which supports knowledge on utility and integration of data with a consortium of industry and academic partners in Great Britain. Hence, integration could be easily resolved by displaying utility data as individual layers in an online geographic information system (GIS).

As economies become more reliant on innovative, knowledge-intensive firms, understanding the interaction between knowledge and improving innovation performance is increasingly important. Although most UK businesses are micro, small or medium-sized enterprises (micro/SMEs), knowledge management research has tended to focus on large companies Knowledge sharing can be critical for innovation performance, especially for smaller players with limited resources. Our study presents an insight from micro/SMEs operating in the highly knowledge-intensive and innovative games/entertainment software development sector. Using a mixed method approach, we investigate knowledge sharing and its contribution to firm innovation performance improvements. Our findings suggest that micro/SMEs are at the forefront of the creative sector precisely because of their smaller size. Our study reveals evidence of knowledge donation but limited evidence of knowledge collection in the knowledge sharing process. We develop a model highlighting the importance of industry context, individual knowledge and organizational size in knowledge sharing for innovation performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research is an exploratory study of innovative communication channels, effective coordination strategy and integrated knowledge management in the UK local government planning system. The UK local government planning system at present suffers delays, which slow down or prevent people building new homes, creating new facilities and bringing disused or neglected land and buildings back into productive use. This study has been carried out in the subject area to explore enhanced efficiency and effectiveness in the UK local government planning system. An integrated knowledge-based planning system is considered as an appropriate solution to achieve smart and sustainable development in the local government planning system. This research study is based primarily upon fieldwork conducted in five participating local authorities in the South East Midlands (Bedford Borough Council, Central Bedfordshire Council, Luton Borough Council, Milton Keynes Council and Northampton Borough Council) and on literature drawn from many different disciplines. A mixed methods approach is chosen for the research fieldwork. The key data collection methods applied during the fieldwork include: structured questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, online group forums, email correspondence, prearranged observations, literature review, document analysis and reviews of the local government publications and their statistical reports. The key purpose of this study is to investigate how the planning system in the UK local government can be transformed from its current "As-Is" state towards a smart and sustainable development future "To-Be" state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this contribution is to examine the evolutionary transformations that have characterised the UK defence innovation system since the mid 1980s. It focuses on the central and challenging issue faced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in implementing effective governance mechanisms emerging from the continuous trade-off between short-term market driven measures motivated by efficiency arguments, and more long term and relational considerations in terms of knowledge economics. Furthermore, in terms of technology transfer, this evolution has been accompanied by a gradual shift from an initial logic of spin-off to society expected from government driven military projects, to a logic of spin-in where the main concern of the military sector is to broaden its industrial and R&D base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]