Complex Systems and How Complex Non-Profits can Harness the Flow of Information

Darin Freeburg ()
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Darin Freeburg: School of Library and Information Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, United States

Journal of Information & Knowledge Management (JIKM), 2020, vol. 19, issue 03, 1-15

Abstract: Non-profits must continuously adapt themselves to changing circumstances, but they often lack the resources necessary to adapt successfully. This paper proposes a model to help non-profits overcome this challenge. It explains the role of information in the adaptation of complex systems and suggests a process that non-profits can follow to direct the flow of this information. The Information for Innovation Model (IIM) presented in the paper explains how the inflow and outflow of information influences a system’s adaptation. A series of steps are then proposed for the design of Communities of Practice (CoP) that can help organisations implement the model. Librarians, trained in information-seeking and focused on increasing their reach beyond the library, can support a non-profit following these steps. This paper contributes to the literature on complexity science by articulating a process that organisations can follow to influence the inflow and outflow of information. This process highlights new roles for both CoPs and librarians within non-profits. This is important because non-profits often lack resources necessary for innovation, and librarians are looking for new ways to extend their reach.

Keywords: Innovation; communities of practice; complex adaptive systems; information seeking; experimentation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1142/S0219649220500276

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