ADB supports programs for knowledge
ADB defines knowledge management as the way organizations create, capture, store, retrieve, enhance, disseminate, and apply knowledge to achieve organizational objectives. ADB manages knowledge in various ways.
The overarching strategy is set by the knowledge management framework, with its five key action programs: improved organizational culture for knowledge sharing; improved management system of knowledge products and services; improved business processes and information technology (IT); well-functioning communities of practice; and expanded knowledge creation, sharing, learning, and dissemination through external relations and networking.
The operational departments help implement the framework by, among other things, embedding best practice and the latest or most appropriate technology in ADB-supported projects. Operational departments also play a major role in delivering ADB’s program of technical assistance, which generates and facilitates the use of new, useful, and usable knowledge.
The work of the operational departments is supported and complemented by the work of four knowledge departments. Three of these are in headquarters: the Economics and Research Department, Office of Regional Economic Integration, and Regional and Sustainable Development Department. The ADB Institute, in Tokyo, is able to stand back from day-to-day operations and generates and disseminates knowledge with a longer-term perspective. The Operations Evaluation Department (OED), while not formally included as one of the four “knowledge departments,” also generates a wealth of knowledge, insights, and “lessons learned” about development effectiveness. A list of main “knowledge products” produced in 2007 by these four departments and OED is in Appendix 14.
ADB'S COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGE
ADB can add value and support developing member countries by continuing to build on three areas of comparative advantage in terms of knowledge. First, ADB has deep and wide access to all governments in the Asia and Pacific region and so possesses excellent country-specific insights and regional perspective. Second, ADB is demonstrably able to provide an intersectoral and interdisciplinary approach to development issues, blending expertise in disciplines as critical and as varied as economics, finance, environment, engineering, energy efficiency, project management, and social impacts. Third, ADB not only produces knowledge: it can and does supplement that with large, long-term development financing.
ADB thus has some of the hallmarks of a research institution and of national think tanks. But its value extends beyond analytical rigor through its access to government, its capacity to identify trends within and across the region, its interdisciplinary approach, and its capacity to implement good insights and knowledge via large and attractive financing.
The following provides a snapshot of some of the main knowledge management activities delivered by ADB during 2007. Some activities were directed at external audiences, others were directed internally.
MEETING THE NEEDS OF EXTERNAL AUDIENCES
Increasing Knowledge Resources on Growth, Development, Poverty, and Equity
ADB creates and supplies knowledge to a wide external audience: developing member countries of course, but also other stakeholders interested in development and looking for good data and insights, such as other development partners, the private sector, researchers, and other developing countries outside the region that engage with the Asia and Pacific region. The following summarizes how ADB has provided such knowledge for various important themes.
The special chapter of ADB’s Key Indicators produced important new findings on an issue critical to the quality of development: rising inequity in the region. Important new insights were gained. First, the increases in inequality imply that the impact of a given amount of economic growth on poverty reduction will be less than it has been in the past. Second, the current policies in place in Asia appear to favor promoting faster growth among the richer segments of the population. Understanding why this is happening and how policy can create more jobs for relatively poorer groups will be critical for promoting more inclusive growth in developing Asia.
These ADB-generated insights drew renewed attention to the issue of equity and helped shape sub-sequent international debate. For example, the special chapter was cited in high-profile articles, including two editorials in the Financial Times, an editorial in all three editions of The Wall Street Journal, and a full-page article in The Economist. Of the 250 articles that cited the special chapter, 12 were in Chinese and subsequently carried by up to 66 websites in Chinese.
To be cited by peers is evidence of research credibility. The World Bank cited Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2006: Routes to Asia’s Trade in its East Asian Renaissance Ideas for Economic Growth; and the International Monetary Fund cited ADO 2007 and the Key Indicators 2007 in its Asia and Pacific Economic Outlook 2007, and in various United Nations publications. For the first time, The Economist carried an ADO 2007 story based on one of its feature essays: “Ten Years After the Crisis: The Facts about Investment and Growth.” A notable feature of coverage of ADO 2007 is that many media stories latched on to its policy and analytical essays. About 400 news articles on ADO 2007 were tracked, more than 60 of which appeared in the targeted media.
Poverty and equity in the region were also the central theme of Millennium Development Goals: Progress in Asia and the Pacific 2007. This important update was the latest in a series of regional progress reports. It focused on disparities—identifying some of the groups that are not sharing fully in national progress, and advocating inclusive growth. The report is a joint effort with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
ADB continued to lead in generating and disseminating knowledge and insights in this area, with several new studies unveiled, including, for example, The Dynamics of Regional Development: The Philippines in East Asia. A decade and a half since the Philippines embarked on a major program of decentralization, this book examines in detail all aspects of the country’s regional dynamics and policies. Analysis extends to comparable experiences in East and Southeast Asia, particularly the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Indonesia. The lessons of this book are relevant not only for an audience interested in the Philippines—a large developing nation with a population soon to exceed 100 million people—but also for many other developing countries now embarking on decentralization programs.
Knowledge about Economics and Finance
ADB continued to generate and disseminate important new research about economics and finance. For exam-ple, the International Comparison Program (ICP) for Asia and the Pacific enabled a meaningful comparison of major macroeconomic and development indicators across Asia. The study was then cited in more than 70 articles, including those in the websites of the International Herald Tribune, Forbes, Business Week, CNN–IBN-posted wire dispatches, Associated Press, Reuters, Thomson Financial, and Xinhua. Newspapers in many Asian countries also featured the ICP report.
The Asia Economic Monitor is a biannual publication based on a confidential report that is presented at the ASEAN+3 (Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus the PRC, Japan, and Republic of Korea) finance and central bank deputies meetings on economic prospects and policy issues. Through this vehicle, ADB is the only international financial institution that conducts policy dialogue with the ASEAN+3 finance ministers, allowing ADB to inform and influence policy making at the highest ministerial level. The July issue, which had two theme chapters on managing capital flows and the banking sector 10 years after the Asian financial crisis, was reported on in more than 50 major global newspapers and international wire agencies.
The AsianBondsOnline website provides up-to-date information on this financial instrument. The information evidently meets a need in the region: average daily visits were over 2,700 in the third quarter, 67% more than a year ago. November activity rose well above 2,800 visits per day, with average visit length of over 18 minutes. ADB Institute’s e-newsline is a free daily roundup of development-related stories in Asia, reaching over 3,000 subscribers.
ADB also organized the 17th Tax Conference to share country experiences on tax policy reforms and discuss key issues in international and national taxation in developing countries, such as transfer pricing and value-added tax. Increased globalization of cross-border economic transactions has resulted in a quickly rising number of international tax treaties within the region as well as with countries outside the region. Issues and best practices related to avoidance of double taxation and transfer pricing were therefore also discussed.
Over 600 participants registered for the 4th Microfinance Training of Trainers distance learning course. This course helped build knowledge and capacity of microfinance institutions in the Asia and Pacific region by producing 133 certified microfinance trainers from 28 countries. It did so in partnership with the Tokyo Development Learning Center of the World Bank. The knowledge generated by this training has been widely used and appreciated: training materials, for example, have now been translated into both Chinese and Vietnamese.
The Asian Think Tanks: Strengthening Knowledge Management and Knowledge Sharing workshop brought together 32 directors and senior managers of the premier knowledge institutions from almost 20 ADB member countries. The workshop presented new developments in knowledge management and knowledge sharing, and explored opportunities to achieve greater policy impact for development in Asia. Presentations by knowledge management specialists and a series of highly interactive group sessions enabled participants to prepare prioritized action plans to strengthen the knowledge management and knowledge-sharing approaches of their research institutes.
Other knowledge products may not be of such high profile yet are equally influential in helping developing member countries make good policy and investment decisions. A subset of the Statistical Database System (SDBS), for example, which contains the key economic, social, and financial indicators of ADB’s developing member countries, was made accessible through the Internet, free of charge. Since its launching, SDBS Online has already gained a wide user base.
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