To function and prosper in the learning society, the management of knowledge is becoming a new and crucial challenge for both private companies and public organisations. It is increasingly important for companies and organisations to produce, share and use knowledge on a national and global scale. However, there is an urgent need for analysis of the knowledge economy both at the micro- and macro economic level in order to understand its characteristics and dynamics, and to identify the most appropriate routes for policy development. Little is known on how sectors and organisations could use knowledge more efficiently and how to benchmark organisations as learning organisations. This book is an ambitious attempt to address these issues through a better understanding of knowledge and learning processes at a sectorial level. It analyses and compares concretely the processes of knowledge production, dissemination and use in the engineering, the information and communication technology, the health and the education sectors.

Governments urgently need better knowledge bases for determining educational policy and practice in an increasingly interconnected world. The rate, quality and success in knowledge creation, mediation and application are relatively low in the education sector compared with other sectors. Unlike sectors such as medicine and engineering, education has not yet seen continuous and clear improvements due to technical and organisational advances. The book makes a strong plea for strengthening the knowledge management at every level of the education system.