Excerpt:

"In examining the relationship between education and economic growth, authors such as Glewwe (2002), while identifying weaknesses in educational systems and arguing quite soundly for improvements in the content and delivery of education in ‘developing’ states, fail to examine the absolute usefulness of high-level skills in societies that lack the capacity to absorb or fully utilise these skills.  As Gooding (1981) notes, regions such as the Caribbean are faced “not only with the challenge of creating a pool of skilled workers, but of providing an environment that would encourage them to remain in the area.” (Gooding, 1981: 211)  It is this context that gives rise to the concept of Knowledge Mobility Management. 

The absence of Knowledge Mobility Management is reflected in the duplication and discontinuity of efforts by the Caribbean Diaspora to promote technology transfer in the absence of proper support and/or information.  The need for Knowledge Mobility Management also emerges from the observation that the Caribbean and its Diaspora, and indeed the Global South as a whole, is not aware of the nature and location of the skills and knowledge that lie within its borders and/or diasporic networks[1].  The knowledge economy is virtually redefining the concept of territory.  Highly mobile populations will have to be considered a norm, and innovation strategies and policies in the South should be changed to suit this emerging reality. 

Knowledge Mobility Management comprises four (4) major elements:

A. Migration Research and Forecasting

In addition to forecasting demographic shifts and human capital needs, especially in the Global North, research geared towards providing a clear understanding of social dynamics (including attitudes towards the use of ICTs) within Diaspora is essential to any successful policy or strategy from governments, firms and NGOs in the Global South. 

B. Strategic Migration

Global South governments and educational institutions, while improving education per se, must also account for human capital migration in their education and training policies.   A basic element of this approach would involve the surveying of attitudes towards migration among persons in the region pursuing educational certification.  The Caribbean has historically been the recipient of skilled personnel and the networking and technology-transfer potential of new populations should also be explored.  Another aspect of strategic migration policy could be the provision of incentives and/or logistical support for migrants to penetrate technology-rich areas and institutions, including transnational corporations.

C.  Diaspora Skills Banks

ICT and ICT-related services are central to the development, maintenance and proper use of national and regional diasporic skills banks. The inability to pool and co-ordinate resources leads to lower levels of impact and misallocation of resources.  A primary means of addressing this would be the sharing of skill rosters and databases among states in the Global South.   While extant networks such as alumni networks should form the basis for these facilities, their biases and limitations should be noted. 

D. Virtual Collaboration/Investment in Transnationalism

The use of ICTs in the networking and technical remittance strategies of the Caribbean Diaspora will have to be adapted and improved in the implementation of knowledge mobility management strategies.  Virtual collaboration as an economic activity is usually the result of communication within and among transnational households.  As a result, the promotion of linkages and communication among transnational households through the strengthening of ICT infrastructure should be given priority.  Knowledge mobility management may also involve taking advantage of pre-existing fora for information transfer and networking, such as sporting and cultural events in the region and the Diaspora.

As the North’s demand for skilled labour increases in an aging, knowledge-based global economy, institutions in the Global South will have to innovate in their approach to citizenship by embracing the concept of active and flexible partnerships with local and diasporic students, apprentices and professionals.  For the South, the development of networks of mobile human capital, via the appropriate deployment of ICTs, rather than ultimate control over the mobility of human capital or embodied knowledge should be considered an important aspect of sovereignty, viability, and territorial security. "