Epistemic Management
Epistemic Management and Epistemic Risk
Epistemic risk is defined as a threat to fundamental, status-defining aspects of knowledge about a subject. It is a risk of intentional or unintentional knowledge distortion and mismanagement, and a risk to knowledge as:
- Sum of meaning and wisdom
- Strategic system of depositable information assets (SSDIA)
- Platform for position in social and political settings
From the technical and academic points of view, Epistemic Management is defined at the intersection of Knowledge Management (KM) and Strategic Communications.
The terms epistemic management, epistemic risk, epistemic lifecycle and strategic system of depositable knowledge assets were coined and put into circulation as commercially-relevant concepts by V. Henry Kotanjyan – a US-based business professional and social scientist.
Forbes magazine estimates that Fortune 500 companies lose roughly “$31.5 billion a year” by failing to manage knowledge (Babcock, 2004, p. 46), and concludes that it is a “scary figure in the global economy filled with turbulence and change.”
Epistemic Communities and the Internet
The current state of information technology is presenting a combination of challenges and opportunities for commercial and political interests.
The power of the Internet provides a unique environment for the construction, dissemination, storage and erosion of sustainable opinions that matter in terms of political weight and commercial advantage.
The Internet broadens the definition of epistemic communities (knowledge stakeholders), which, in addition to subject-matter specialists, now includes a wide range of non-expert actors operating in virtual reality.
The Epistemic Approach
In contrast to the approach used in commercial advertising that targets emotional responses, the epistemic approach focuses on the development of content that delivers strategic knowledge to targeted audiences.
ARACS Group engages epistemic communities with the help of the Web to achieve paradigm shifts in key message areas.
ARACS Group and its international partners provide the following services using the epistemic management toolkit:
- Strategic communication services for commercial firms, with the focus on epistemic approach
- Services for aspiring, emerging, and under-branded countries, regions and self-governing territories around the world. We help create and enhance political brands, advise how to overcome negative branding and assist in resolving brand conflicts, such as brand overlap, brand hijacking & usurpation or premeditated brand attrition.
- Issues analysis and management; crisis communications
- Epistemic crisis management for government institutions and commercial firms
- Knowledge management solutions for advocacy group, NGOs and mission organizations
Resources for country branding
- World International Property Organization’s guide on the role of intellectual property, in particular, trademarks and geographical indications, in creating, developing and strengthening a national brand. Click on LINK.
- World International Property Organization’s guide on the role of intellectual property, traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions/folklore in creating, developing and strengthening a national brand: Click on LINK.
