Dear all,

I received this from another listserv which may be of interest to you.

Ceri



Networks: Innovation & Effectiveness


Sept 10-13th, University of Greenwich, London

This is a four-day series of workshops examining tools and techniques for
enhancing innovation and collaboration within and between organisations.
It combines practitioner and researcher perspectives with short courses on
using network, collaborative and creative techniques.

The workshops centre on the notion that organisational performance can be
enhanced by judicious combinations of strong and weak networks. In general,
weak ties are a source of novelty and creativity but strong ties are needed
to turn creativity into marketable innovation. Explorative performance
(scope economies) is often enhanced by extensive external ties and
effectiveness often by dense concentration of internal ties (scale
economies). The ability to learn, or absorptive capacity, is enhanced by
combinations of both.  But the particularities of such combinations - their
effects and their generation - have only begun to be examined by
researchers and practitioners.

Located at the magnificent baroque World Heritage Site of the Old Royal
Naval College in Greenwich, the workshops provide a great opportunity to
engage with practitioners and researchers at the forefront of
organisational networks and development.

Call for papers:

Papers are invited on the impact of networks on organisational
collaboration and innovation, particularly those dealing with the
configuration or management of networks or assessing tools and techniques
in this area. Themes include:

- Managing complex networks


- Network archetypes


- Collaborative networks


- Network stimulation


- Network optimisation

To have a paper considered for presentation, please supply an abstract of
no more than 250 words by August 6th to: [log in to unmask]

Programme:

Sept 10th


- Introduction to Social Network Analysis with UCINET - a practical
introduction to the analysis of organisational networks.


- Cayenne - an engaging, competitive process challenges  participants to
run a  simulated project through the pre-study, design, development and
implementation phases, and learn to deal with unexpected events and
changing project conditions

Sept 11th


- Tools and techniques for enhancing innovation and collaboration in
organisations


- Keynote: Victor Newman, former Chief Learning Officer Pfizer.

Sept 12th


- Research papers on networks; innovation and effectiveness.


Sept 13th


- Social Network Analysis with Pajek - a practical engagement in innovative
techniques in organisational network analysis, introducing Pajek software.


- The Medici Game - a 3 hour journey into the "intersection" - a creative
place where perspectives from more than one culture, gender or field help
you break down linear thinking and associate barriers to create an
explosion of remarkable ideas.

Sponsored by the London Knowledge Network and the University of Greenwich
Business School.



http://www.gre.ac.uk/schools/business/departments/ibe/newsevents/networks-innovation-_and_-effectiveness

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