An approach towards the Sixth Development Plan in Iran from the viewpoint of the social capital of knowledge-based economy: with respect to the fourth and fifth palns

In the late twentieth century, the knowledge-based economy was introduced and changed the framework of development plans which have been adjusted based on knowledge components. Iran, like many other countries, adjusted its fourth and fifth development plans based on the knowledge factors. In this respect, social capital is considered as a vital prerequisite for the formation of the production, distribution and application of knowledge and the creation of knowledge components. Considering the importance of social capital in achieving the knowledge-based economy (KBE), this study, with the descriptive-analytical approach, is trying to answer this question: what approach should be employed in order to set up a social capital for KBE in the Sixth Development Plan of Iran. The results of the examination of the Fourth Development Plan showed that due attention has been made to create confidence and participation in research activities. But there are problems in the knowledge norms and research networks. In the Fifth Development Plan, there is only one article about the creation of knowledge norms and research networks and participation while ignoring all issues which could have resulted in improved confidence. Therefore, in the Sixth Development Plan, the government can provide necessary grounds for the creation of social capital for the knowledge-based economy through reforming the educational system (to incorporate knowledge norms and promote innovation), enacting laws (such as the intellectual property law) and supervising their implementation, investing in knowledge-based economy and R&D sectors, creating scientific and research social networks and information data bank, establishing political and economic stability and founding ICT infrastructure.