Copy and Paste, or Graft and Transplant? Knowledge Sharing Through Inter-Organizational Networks

This article discusses the government's use of inter-organizational networks to promote sharing of knowledge and innovation between public service organizations. It analyses the conditions for successful knowledge transfer between organizations, and highlights the importance of recognizing the contested nature of knowledge, the differences in interests between organizations, and the importance of relationships of trust, curiosity and respect for diversity, for generating a creative process of co-creation and cultivation of knowledge. It concludes by looking at the implications for policy-making and practice, as well as for academic theory and research.