I agree about your point on willingness to open one’s networks to outsiders, and it is my belief that just this point has been turned upside down: before, keeping your knowledge for yourself was an asset; now, it is a barrier. Especially in cooperation, for once and forever nonprofits should learn to cooperate… or maybe disappear.

About the gift economy. Well Yochai Benkler puts it way better than I, but the idea is the one I put with “what you give is what you get”. In a networked world/economy, you’re just a node of a network. If you don’t contribute to it, the network finds you’re useless and just cuts its links to you, so you’re actually kicked out of the network.

And if you depended on that network – and I think we all do, especially if you work on cooperation for development – you just cannot afford to be disconnected.

Actually, your comment on collaboration and learning (and knowledge exchange in all its shapes and degrees) is just an issue that perfectly fits in my gift economy point.

nice points you put together. I would recommend another point for collaboration and learning. Can cooperation lead to collaboration and does and can learning take place?
Another point I find interesting is the openness of networks. Open access is one aspect but I often wonder to which extent organizations are willing to open their networks for outsiders?
I do not get the gift economy part. What do you mean by that? Thanks!

Best regards Christian