Organizational silos trap knowledge and expertise
Since 2002, open access has been used to describe publicly-listed research articles, online and that are free to read. It is an ever-growing philosophy, yet still to this day, knowledge and expertise scarcity remains a persistent issue in the worldwide spread and collaboration of research knowledge. Reluctance to share scientific or business information, due to a range of external factors, and need to protect intellectual property, has led to the phenomena of Organisational Silos; a mindset in which departments, sectors or would-be collaborators do not share information with others in the same field or even the same organization.
Contemporary research environments, with ever-present competition for funding and publication, can exacerbate already inwardly focused scientific culture, however, the inability to effectively combat the cause reduces operational efficiency and affects the morale of organizational groups. Pressure from previous methods of silo-like information privatization has left our modern, more connected world with hangovers of the past.
Successful results when identifying and addressing silos
Addressing organizational silos in research has demonstrated success. The Polymath Project, initiated by mathematician Tim Gowers in 2009, directly challenged this mindset, attempting to unify the shared knowledge of a global community through an online blog. In doing so, in 37 days Gowers and the collaborative team solved a new proof for the density Hales-Jewett theorem, an important mathematical problem. For this community pursuing knowledge, the sharing of ideas, filling-in of blanks and offers of constructive criticism proved revolutionary in forming a successful hypothesis.
Similar positive results were seen with the rise of open-source software. Investors in Red Hat open-source software were regarded with distrust and skepticism. Red Hat products now support Apache servers which in turn power ~46% of websites worldwide. Uber and Airbnb platforms were constructed on open-source tools and looking now to 2024, open-source software is expected to have a US$ 48 billion market, up from US$17 billion this year. Heavy reliance on open source in our modern world shows that liberating knowledge and expertise domains from once regimented organizational and intellectual silos can bring new ages of individual and organizational success.
Solve silos long term with collaborative bridges
To address this issue for knowledge and expertise domains in research, modern intuitive solutions are needed to empower individuals and organizations to build bridges between silos. It is important to recognize that inwardly focussed research culture, where research knowledge and experts rarely extend into the public domain, currently rely on silos to operate and communicate domain expertise. Removal of silos was attempted in the corporate sector with the ‘open plan office’, and rather than building collaboration and increasing output, the open-plan architecture triggered social withdrawal and drove interaction to the further distant means. As such in solving organizational silos, the answer to the issue should not simply be to remove this structure.
Instead, a solution to address cultural and engrained issues, to build bridges between silos and to unify knowledge and expertise domains is the answer. Treebute is a company working in this space, looking to bridge academia & industry with open science. Treebute draws inspiration from the seeds of open access sown in 2002, using cutting edge AI to make knowledge more available through deeper transparency and to highlight scientific experts and competencies, research partners and collaborators, subject matter experts and rising stars. By incentivizing collaboration as well as reputation, driven by openness and skill, Treebute hopes to provide a foundation to liberate knowledge and expertise trapped in organizational silos.
Written by Jack Kelso-Ribbe, as part of his internship with Treebute during Christmas break.
Jack is a Medical Student at the University of Queensland, and he’s been a huge contributer to the content in this blog !
