0.6 Discussion  (Page 4/8)

Culture

Most developed and emerging economies are strategically targeting the knowledge economy as a development priority. At the recent Global Conference ‘Shaping the Future’ (Milken Institute, Los Angeles 2010), senior thought leaders concluded that mankind’s challenges distilled down to two issues; Education and Energy. Education creates Human Capital; the raw material of the knowledge economy, without which any strategy is doomed to failure. Human Capital, their knowledge, skills and ideas, need to be embedded in a culture where they can be nurtured and allowed to flourish. Without the appropriate culture even the best talent will struggle and inevitably decide to relocate to where the culture is appropriate and supportive.

Throughout the study, four themes reoccurred, namely openness, collaboration, global perspective, and multidisciplinarity. A cross-cutting aspect of this is the requirement for an open culture as in the knowledge economy of the 21 ^st Century no single individual, enterprise or region can succeed alone. Further, in order to succeed and sustain success, organisations need to work in relationships which recognise that each partner has to achieve its value goals, including ensuring its own sustainability.

Effective and sustainable collaboration has to be based on honesty and truth; values that are often claimed but not always honoured in spirit or letter. An open collaboration is often one with organisations that offer different but compatible skills, expertise and other resources. The relationship shares the same goals and seeks to achieve the same collective outcomes even though the value achievements of the partners may be different and perhaps not equal, but always fair and equitable. The context of the 21 ^st century inevitably requires partnerships to be global in certain aspects. Rarely can a knowledge driven commercial initiative optimise value for all stakeholders unless the initiative has a global strategy and global aspirations. The International Space Station (ISS) is an extreme example, though even small research commercialisation opportunities rapidly look towards world wide markets. Multidisciplinarity is rapidly becoming a prerequisite for success, with partners willing to bring different but compatible expertise. The regional culture must recognise the aforementioned attributes of being open, collaborative, multidisciplinary and global, while governance processes must ensure that a supportive and enlightened culture is embedded.

Another essential feature of the optimal culture is often referred to as ‘a can-do attitude’. Often, particularly in public sector organisations a ‘oh we did our best’ mindset prevails while opportunities are missed. Many observers of the Welsh comment on the acceptance of the lowest common denominator. As long as we are all the same and no one stands out then it is acceptable. This will not do in the modern world, where success must be celebrated and failure forgiven. Observations are often voiced regarding the willingness of the public sector in Wales to hide behind the ‘rule book’ rather than find a way of working through the rules to achieve a goal. For example, good and wise European guidance on matters relating to State Aid and Procurement are seen by civil servants as insurmountable barriers and result in avoidance of taking risk or, even to avoid seeking a constructive way to proceed. This approach is not replicated in other competing regions and can in certain scenarios lead to Wales being disadvantaged. Culture change takes time and must be nurtured by a governance infrastructure and process that ensure the development and protection of that culture.