Knowledge Broker
Description
From the Wikipedia:
"A Knowledge broker is an intermediary (an organization or a person), that aims to develop relationships and networks with, among, and between producers and users of knowledge by providing linkages, knowledge sources, and in some cases knowledge itself, (e.g. technical know-how, market insights, research evidence) to organizations in its network." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knowledge_broker)
More Information
“Knowledge brokering, a systematic approach to seeking external ideas from people in a variety of industries, disciplines, and contexts and then of combining the resulting lessons in new ways.”
In this article, published in the Inside Knowledge magazine of March 2008 (http://www.ikmagazine.com/), Milton Correia de Sousa introduces de concept of knowledge brokers and how these can increase the effectiveness of open innovation processes. The article starts by explaining how the movement from internal R&D to external connect and develop opens the door to companies – large and small – to reach beyond their core competencies to remain competitive in an increasingly complex, uncertain and changing environment. The article further explains how knowledge brokers can act as intelligent change agents that stimulate innovation while keeping focus and creating momentum for action. The article provides also some examples and a case report.
The key attribute of knowledge brokering is facilitating a two-way or multiway exchange of information. “A knowledge broker … sits in between knowledge producers, [such as] scientists … and those who use knowledge, such as policymakers, the general public, or people working in the health domain. Knowledge brokers try to bridge the gap that can exist between those two worlds and build connections,” explains Morgan Meyer, a postdoc at the Center for the Sociology of Innovation at the École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris who researches knowledge brokering. Jobs involving such tasks have existed for a while. There's a close connection between knowledge brokering and certain areas of science policy, for example, and also technology transfer, where the goal is to establish business relationships between academic scientists and the for-profit sector. But knowledge brokering has emerged only in recent years as a distinct profession with its own label and job opportunities, say Meyer and other experts.