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The role of digital networks in promoting collaboration and innovation

The huge investment worldwide in telecommunications infrastructure and Grid technology is being partly justified by the potential for digital networks to promote collaboration and innovation. Australia's Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST) states on its recentlyestablished e-Research Consultation website (DEST, 2005) that "e-Research has the potential to usher in a new era of innovation and help overcome the tyranny of distance by allowing our researchers to collaborate at the national and international level." The theoretical and empirical bases for this claim are not clear. In particular, while it seems reasonable to assume that the existence of digital networks are are necessary condition for innovation into todays research environment, are digital networks sufficient for innovation? The answer, of course, is no. Careful attention needs to be paid to network structure (not just the physical structure, but the social structure) and governance if Australia's investment in telecommunications infrastructure to support e-research is to lead to a “new era of innovation”. In this paper, a review of research into social capital, economic models of innovation and the structure of the World Wide Web (WWW) is presented. It is argued that these research strands are relevant for assessing the role of digital networks in promoting collaboration and innovation. They may also be important for the design of appropriate governance structures for digital networks.