Networks and Collaborative Work
It is relevant to say that we live in a more fragile, complex and connected world than ever before – even if the “networked society” is not, historically speaking, a new issue. It is often emphasized that success today is, as it has been in the past, enabled through networking and concrete cooperation. These standpoints can be considered prerequisites for (academic) research and development. Professor Markku Wilenius endorses this by saying:
Networks are the form of social organisation of this new era, cultural competence is its most essential competence and creativity its main driver. Competence in the network society differs from that of the industrial society. At its core are human management and the ability to create trust. It is ever increasingly based on questioning existing solutions and creating new innovations. Success in network society requires the ability to draw the right conclusions from the megatrends that affect the structure and processes of the society. These, in turn, show that economic growth is more and more based on immaterial goods and that a shift from exploiting natural resources towards the use of immaterial and human resources is taking place. (italics SI)
Cooperation networks come in various concrete forms. A few examples of cooperation networks discussed in the literature of the social sciences are supply networks (just in time), strategic alliances (airlines), production networks (product licenses), innovation networks (cooperation between industry and universities), client networks (product development in cooperation with clients), standardization coalitions (e.g. businesses supporting a certain standard for the next generation of mobile phones), and policy networks (policy related cooperation between governmental, public authorities and other actors).
In addition, subcultures and ground level organizations cooperate with each other in a creative and networked manner, and increasingly this cooperation is global and multicultural, and it makes good use of the social media applications (web 2.0) on the Internet and on mobile networks.
As stressed above, it is crucial to understand that cooperation is undertaken by people, not by organizations. Developing cooperation built on trust and a real, open interaction between people is a challenging task. Experiences from businesses, communities and regions suggest that successful cooperation between institutions and individuals relies on a shared willingness and trust between the participating people and communities. This is also true for various service design practices and processes. Understanding the theory and practice of networks, Albert-László Barabási sums this up:
The most visible element of this [organisatorial] remaking is a shift from a tree to a web or a network organisation, flat and with lots of cross-links between the nodes. As valuable resources shift from physical assets to bits and information, operations move from vertical to virtual integration, the reach of business increasingly expands from domestic to global, the lifetime of inventories decreases from months to hours, business strategy changes from top-down to bottom-up, and workers transform into employees or free agents.
Further reading:
Inkinen, Sam (2008). Innovation and “innoflation”. Some hot trends in design and technology world: hybrid media, social media, information design… In Finnish Design Yearbook ‘08–09, 12–21. Helsinki: Design Forum Finland.
Kakko, I. & Inkinen, S. (2009). Homo creativus: creativity and serendipity management in third generation science and technology parks. Science and Public Policy 36 (7), August 2009, pp. 537–548.
Kelley, T. (2001). The Art of Innovation. Lessons in Creativity from IDEO, America's Leading Design Firm. New York: Random House.
Morak, F. (Hg.) (1999). Die organisierte Kreativität. Kulturpolitik an der Wende zum 21. Jahrhundert. Edition Atelier.
Sternberg, R. J. (ed.) (2002) [1999]. Handbook of Creativity. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.