| Abstract: | Knowledge increasingly has become a vital resource. Within our communities, institutions, and organizations, practical insights
are needed for optimizing its use. Knowledge management needs to become an object of study. This article deals with two issues.
First, using both knowledge systems concepts and tools, and insights gained from comparative research, it explores the vital
qualities of agricultural knowledge systems. These qualities, like the multiplicity and relative autonomy of the actors, the
level of integration reached through linkage mechanisms, and the coordination needed to overcome default situations, might
provide leverage points for effective knowledge management. Second, it probes into a more specific definition of the tasks
and areas of attention of the knowledge manager. Knowledge management can focus on various levels of a system (e.g., the individual,
organizational, or system level) and can make use of a variety of instruments and skills.
Paul G. H. Engel is also a member of the Department of Extension Science, Wageningen Agricultural University, P.O. Box 8130,
6700 EW Wageningen, The Netherlands. His interests include rural development and the transformation of agricultural knowledge. |
