Project

The aim of the proposed project is the development and validation of indicators for the quantification of knowledge flows and potentials within innovation systems. Its main focus is on the importance of informal exchange relationships in the generation and diffusion of knowledge. In order to develop broadly usable indicators for recording informal relationships and implicit knowledge - as opposed to explicit or codified knowledge - new data sources will be developed and analysed by means of innovative methods and methodologies. Finally, the indicators are validated and their results presented in an international comparison. The project's focus is clearly on the recording of knowledge flows between individuals and thus the development of organizational knowledge. Detailed information from three Fraunhofer High Performance Centers as well as various Fraunhofer Groups (Verbünde) and institutes are be used for the further development of the proposed indicators and in particular for their validation. Eventually, the project will produce a set of generalizable indicators that are valid and appropriate for broad use in national and international comparisons.