Istanbul held the fourth annual Knowledge Economy Forum (KEF IV) on March 22-24, 2005. The event was co-sponsored by the World Bank and the Government of Turkey represented by the State Planning Organization - SPO.

This was the fourth event that the World Bank organized to support countries in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) in their transition to the Knowledge Economy. The first Forum took place in 2002 in Paris and focused on the definition of national knowledge economy strategies, primarily in EU accession countries. The 2003 Helsinki Forum hosted discussions on issues related to the implementation of knowledge economy strategies and targeted both EU accession and EU candidate countries. The 2004 Forum, recently held in Budapest, focused on the role of knowledge in enhancing countries' competitiveness and for the first time expanded the target audience to include delegates from countries in the Balkans and Central Asia.

The general objective of the 2005 Istanbul Forum was to discuss with representatives from ECA countries how to increase their private sector productivity and economic growth. The agenda for KEF IV built on the findings of last year's Forum and further explored topics that emerged as critical for increasing competitiveness and economic growth in the region.

While acknowledging the importance of macroeconomic factors, KEF IV concentrated on the need for governments to go beyond sound macroeconomic policies in order to increase private sector productivity and achieve sustainable growth. The Forum's agenda focused on two main themes: (a) improving the business environment to facilitate business start up and operation, and (b) improving firms' use of knowledge - e.g., through facilitation of technology adoption and diffusion at the firm level, and improvement of the skills of the labor force.

The topics proposed for discussion at KEF IV fell under three main themes: (A) business environment, (B) innovation, and (C) learning and skills development.

While not exhaustive, the proposed areas are essential for development of a Knowledge Economy and are key determinants of private sector growth. Reforming the business environment by reducing regulations that create hurdles and increase the costs of doing business is important to ensure that firms can attract and develop knowledge. Improving innovation and the skills of the labor force allow countries and firms to create and use knowledge, adding value and diversifying the productive and export structure of the economy, which ultimately drives productivity increases. While the proposed scope of the Conference is broad, there were covered only a few selected topics in each of the three proposed areas to ensure that presentations and discussions focus on how to replicate successful experiences throughout the ECA region. The Forum was intended to have a pragmatic - rather than an academic - approach, helping the participants devise ways to define and implement specific reforms in the areas addressed by the Conference. Below is a brief description of the topics that we propose to discuss within each of the three main proposed themes.

The Istanbul Forum brought together representatives from Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovakia, and Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Ukraine, Uzbekistan. Each country delegation comprised representatives from various Ministries (such as Economy, or Industry and Trade, Education, Science and Technology), universities, think tanks and NGOs, and the private sector.

The Russian delegation included:

• Dr. Yuri Hohlov (Head of Delegation) - Chairman of the Board, Institute of the Information Society; Chairman, PRIOR Expert Cponcil; Deputy Chief Architect, Electronic Moscow Municipal Program;
• Ms. Irina Cherdantseva - Chair of Forecasting Committee, Department of Economy, Tomsk Region Administration;
• Ms. Tatiana Ershova - Director General, Institute of the Information Society;
• Ms. Maria Sigutina - Student, Russian State University for the Humanities;
• Mr. Oleg Sokolov - Consultant, Department of Scinece and New Technology, Government of Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation.

Click here, to view a complete list of Country Delegations.

The Forum Agenda comprised:

• Plenary sessions, which provided an overview of the key topics discussed during the conference;
• Parallel panel sessions, which brought together international experts, government representatives (who have been involved first-hand in a reform process related to the subject being discussed) and representatives of the private sector;
• Country working groups, where country delegations produced short descriptions of initiatives that they would like to pursue in their countries based on the concepts discussed during the conference.

Plenary and parallel sessions were complemented by site visits to:

• Ford Otosan - one of the pioneers of the Turkish automotive industry established in 1959 as Otosan Inc. Representatives at Ford Otosan highlighted the innovative research programs that the firm is currently undertaking to maintain its competitiveness in European markets. The presentation was followed by a plant visit illustrating the most innovative aspects of the automobile production process.
•    Gebze Organized Industry Zone (GOSB) - the first Industrial Park that was established in 1986 without any revenues from the State in Turkey. Its modern infrastructure and services provided are at par with those found in developed countries. GOSB has a turnover of $10 million, with 8600 people actively working in the zone. The presentation at GOSB discussed a plan to start a Technopark in collaboration with Israeli investors and Sabanci University. The presentation was preceded by a brief tour of the world-class infrastructure and services available to the firms based in the GOSB area. 
• Sabanci University - established in July 1994 and is led by the key philosophy of a "world university". Sabanci University is committed to being an innovative institution responsive to the needs of their constituents through a participatory, team-based culture. They envisage an interdisciplinary educational infrastructure that will create and disseminate knowledge, in addition to becoming a global reference point for educational innovation.
• SAKOSA - started production in 2000, as an equally shared joint venture between Kosa (USA) and Sabanci Holding (Turkey). SAKOSA is the second largest HMLS (high modulus low shrinkage) polyester yarn producing plant in Europe and the Middle East. The presentation at SAKOSA discussed the specific advantages it derives from the integration of production processes, and innovative training programs introduced to ensure that the skills of their labor force are consistent with the needs of the modern industry.
•  TUBITAK Marmara Research Center (MAM) - one of the research and development (R&D) units of Turkey National Scientific and Research Council, was established in 1972. TUBITAK-MAM currently has 700 trained and experienced personnel, including about 400 researchers.

The Forum presentations will be available soon at http://www.worldbank.org/eca/ke.