| Abstract: | Knowledge Information Systems (KIS) institutions must receive strong and focused external pressure to function synergetically
over sustained periods. This external pressure should be exercised by other elements in the system. Without such pressure,
institutions and personnel act to fulfill their own social and political needs more than those of their clients, and their
effectiveness is inevitably reduced. This article is concerned with the “moving forces” that instill public agricultural knowledge
systems with particular dynamics. The article's objectives are to predict under what circumstances external pressures will
occur and their likely outcomes, and to advise KIS managers on how they can be managed. The first section reviews the evolution
of the concept of external pressure as a moving force in the dynamics of technology systems. The next four sections examine
the roles of policy makers, foreign agencies, farmers, and the private sector, respectively, in pressuring KIS institutions.
The sixth section explores how institutions behave without external pressure. A final section looks at what all this implies
for KIS managers' “room to maneuver.”
David Kaimowitz can be reached at ISNAR, P.O. Box 93375, 2509 AJ, The Hague, The Netherlands. His interests include agricultural
research and technology transfer. |
