IT TAP-KNOwlEDgE
The TAP Knowledge neTworK: ProfessionAls commiTTed To Knowledge develoPmenT & mulTi-disciPlinAry collAborATion By Dr. Tonio Fenech, Chairman, The TAP Knowledge Network
In a world where the requirements of and for professional services are becoming simultaneously more complex, borderless and specialised, there is an increasing need to provide solutions that are responsive, highly tailored and yet tightly integrated across domain expertise, industry and geography.
The TAP Knowledge Network (www.tapknowledge.net) is a developing peer network of independent service providers offering integrated professional services solutions on an EU-wide basis and beyond through an open-architecture collaborative working system. The Network members are committed to nurturing knowledge-based initiatives that assist in the development of a knowledge society as whole. The business model they have developed is built around structured collaboration among independent centres of expertise with a common infrastructural platform, favouring integrated solution capabilities, while minimising cost-driven pressures on fees which are typically a necessary corollary to maintaining independent support infrastructures. The system has been designed to ensure flexibility, but without losing the economies of scale brought by concerted action. Each centre of expertise thus inter-acts with the market as an independent professional services organisation, but enriched by a multi-layered and multi-disciplinary support infrastructure.
Network objectives ceNtres of expertise TAP-K Network members believe that they share a responsibility to contribute to the development of a smarter, more sustainable and inclusive global society through the integrated application of specialist knowledge. They have designed three broad Objectives for the Network: 1. To develop fora for regular knowledge sharing and development, as well as life-long education, targeted both within and outside the network; 2. To encourage more integrated approaches to professional services, by creating a platform for members to share their own knowledge, as well as tap into the knowledge potential of other professional disciplines, in a structured and collaborative manner;
3. To seek out, develop and implement projects and initiatives that further the pursuit of these objectives, and encourage its members to form sub-groupings for the development of project-driven integrated knowledge solutions under the banner of the network as a whole. Membership is by invitation and presently includes centres of expertise in three broad areas of professional discipline, being: Corporate: comprising legal, accounting, fiduciary and corporate services, management consulting, corporate and project finance, including specific expertise in the area of EU funding programs, as well as project organisation, handling and management support. Also included are specialist outsourcing services for office infrastructure and management resources; Technology & Communication: comprising expertise in ICT integration, including business intelligence and CRM systems, social media integration as well as marketing and communication strategies; Modern Living: comprising expertise in property procurement, relocation and yachting services;
coNclusioN The business model adopted by the TAP-Knowledge Network is becoming a centre of attraction, both for professionals who prefer an independent pursuit for agility and adaptability, as well as for organisations who are determined to thrive in a globalized economy and who require integrated approaches from their advisors. What is common between them is a recognition of the advantages to be gained from leveraging off a collaborative multi-disciplinary platform for seamless integrated solutions....where the whole can truly be greater than the sum of its parts. TEU
February 2014 | THE ECONOMIC UPDATE
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