Understanding Knowledge Societies in Twenty Questions and Answers with the Index of Knowledge Societies (with Corrigendum)

This study examines the parameters of participatory and transparent governance from the fresh perspective of policy focused on mass-production of knowledge. The report traces the uses made by governments, in developing and developed countries, of new information and communication technologies (ICT), as well as obstacles to their successful application. A ranking of 45 countries in an “Index of Knowledge Societies” is provided. An outgrowth of the 2003 World Public Sector Report, "E-government at the Crossroads," the volume attempts to establish how governments can lead and how societies can organize for the ongoing transformation into knowledge society—one in which institutions and organizations enable people and information to develop without limits, and where open opportunities make it possible for all kinds of knowledge to be mass-produced and used by anyone. The report provides the answers to 20 questions about what a knowledge society is and how to get there; it includes many factual tables about the state of the world but no index. Annotation ©2005 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR At head of title: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Public Administration and Development Management. This report talks about knowledge in its explicit and tacit forms.