Defining and Measuring A2K: A Blueprint for an Index of Access to Knowledge

Abstract

Access to knowledge (A2K) is increasingly recognized as the central human development issue of our time. Yet to date there has been little literature defining precisely what is meant by this term, much less how to evaluate the progress toward achieving it. To help bridge this gap, this article offers a blueprint for an A2K index: a quantitative tool integrating a variety of data points to assess how well countries promote access to knowledge. The proposed index tracks five key dimensions of access to knowledge: education for informational literacy, access to the global knowledge commons, access to knowledge goods, an enabling legal framework, and effective innovation systems. The resulting conceptual map offers a concrete introduction to the A2K framework for information scholars and professionals.