Expert network

Expert networks are generally people networks that connect individuals with expert resources or a Subject-matter expert to provide valuable information or assistance.

The phrase "expert network" was originally coined by Mark O'Connor of Yankee Group in presentations introducing his August 1997 Management Strategies report, Knowledge Management: People and the Process.

The first known published appearance of the phrase in this context is in the April 1999 Yankee Group white paper A Knowledge Perspective: The Knowledge Management Product and Service Domain. In the December 1999 publication, "Knowledge Evolution: Tools of the Trade," clients were advised to utilize Expert Networks to "Understand who the experts are throughout the organization (including the extended organization), and more appropriately employ that expertise within a broader range of business contexts for better decision making."

In the last 15 years, a rather large industry has sprung up facilitating "expert" connections, or providing connections to industry or subject matter experts whom a single individual or organization has no pre-existing relationship with.

The investment community is the largest consumer of expert network services; an estimated 38 expert network companies generated $364 million in revenues in 2009, according to a report by Integrity Research on the industry.

Organizations like MIT VMS have been using expert network models in support of new venture creation since 2000. The concept was born out of a need remedy a gap in how the university supports emerging entrepreneurial ventures. In this expert network concept, MIT hand selects experts from their alumni network and assigns them to individual ventures/consumers to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and information.

The concept of expert networks is being most recently applied within the construct of education. Considered an expansion of coaching and tutoring networks these private expert knowledge networks connect students and faculty to expert resources that have a preexisting relationship with the institution, in an on-demand nature. This often includes expert connections to peers, coaches, tutors, advisors, counselors, and other institutionally related experts.

Real-time and on-demand expert networks for providing technology services or code mentoring are on the rise, with several organization reaching out to industry specific expert networks to fulfill various projects on an interim basis.

There are many nuances between the types of services and experts provided by each, but historically there were two dominant business models within the industry: Subscription and Transactional Expert Networks. Recently there has also been a third rapidly growing business model which focuses on custom sourcing.

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Wikipedia