Knowledge and Learning in Complex Urban Renewal Projects; Towards a Process Design

Learning steps

Case study questions

Supporting factors (from literature)__________________

Hindering factors (from literature)___________________

Collective vision,
goals strategy /
determine which
knowledge is
needed

- How were the vision,
goals and strategy of the
network agreed upon?

- Was a collective strategy
for information gathering
formulated?

- overarching goals that provide a sense of direction for the
network’s learning process (Child and Rodrigues, 2003)

- combining goal seeking and goal realisation (Van Buuren,
2005)

- problem structuring process (Edelenbos et al. 2004)

- jointly agreed research design (Van Buuren, 2005;

Edelenbos et al. 2004)

- differences in frames (Van Buuren, 2005)

Knowledge
development,
joint fact finding

- Which knowledge is
developed internally?

- Which knowledge is
bought?

- Which knowledge is
developed with third
parties?

- employees committed to network goals (Weggeman, 1997)

- balance between safety and threat (Van der Knaap, 1998)

- use of external knowledge (Van der Knaap, 1998)

- top managers’ behaviour: learning role models (Smith and
Taylor, 2000; Schein, 1997)

- line managers as coaches (Smith and Taylor, 2000)

- project teams with complementary competencies and
knowledge-sets (Child and Rodrigues, 2003)

- decentralized, horizontal organisation structure (Gibson,
1997; Castells, 1996)

- over-emphasis on individual learning (Vince, 2000;
Dilworth, 1996)

- fixation on formal training (Dilworth, 1996)

- blame culture (Vince, 2000 p.40)

- lacking of sufficient critical information (Van der Knaap,
1998)

- blindness to new information / tunnel vision (Van der
Knaap, 1998; Watkins and Marsick, 1993)

- vertical bureaucratic structure (Child and Rodrigues, 2003)

Knowledge
sharing

- Which knowledge is
shared and with whom?

- Which knowledge needs
to be shared and which
doesn’t?

- Which knowledge do
people keep to
themselves?

- Is there a shared body of
knowledge that parties

- trust (Van Buuren, 2005; Cross and Prusak, 2003)

- pursuing negotiated knowledge (Edelenbos et al., 2004)

- links between knowledge production arenas (Edelenbos et
al. 2004)

- room for novel communication patterns (Van Buuren,
2005)

- strong ties: strong relationships ease communication
(Hansen, 1999)

- group identity: people are likely to share knowledge within
their social group (Child and Rodrigues, 2003)______________

- knowledge struggle and report wars (Van Buuren, 2005)

- technocratic approach to knowledge (Fisscher, 1990;
Edelenbos et al., 2004).

- groupthink and defensive routines (Van der Knaap, 1998)

- autocratic leadership styles (Dilworth, 1996)

- knowledge gap is too wide to bridge, on individual, team
or organisational level (Cohen and Levinthal, 1989)

- power differences (Cross and Prusak, 2003)

- a culture where possession of knowledge means power