Enhancing the Social Network Dimension of Lifelong Competence Development and Management Systems: A Proposal of Methods and Tools

Competence Development and Management Systems (CDMS) belong to the category of knowledge management systems, which are structured online repositories of knowledge assets that a community of users accesses and maintains on a continuous basis for learning and knowledge sharing purposes. This concept paper addresses the challenge of enhancing the social dimension of CDMS with social network-based concepts and tools. Our premise is that knowing about and having access to the social network can help with decision-making and inform targeted efforts to promote knowledge exchange among learners. A series of tools will be presented, such as social network visualization, simulations, stimulus agents and network management policies with the aim of increasing the visibility and value of social resources within CDMS and opening up knowledge sharing opportunities among a community of CDMS users.