A. Hameurlain et al. (Eds.): Trans. on Large-Scale Data- & Knowl.-Cent. Syst. I, LNCS 5740, pp. 1–37, 2009. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 Modeling and Management of Information Supporting Functional Dimension of Collaborative Networks Hamideh Afsarmanesh 1 , Ekaterina Ermilova 1 , Simon S. Msanjila 1 , and Luis M. Camarinha-Matos 2 1 Informatics Institute, University of Amsterdam, Science Park 107, 1098 XG, Amsterdam, The Netherlands {h.afsarmanesh,e.ermilova,s.s.msanjila}@uva.nl 2 Faculty of Sciences and Technology, New University of Lisbon, Quinta da Torre, 2829-516, Monte Capatica, Portugal cam@uninova.pt Abstract. Fluent creation of opportunity-based short-term Collaborative Net- works (CNs) among organizations or individuals requires the availability of a variety of up-to-date information. A pre-established properly administrated stra- tegic-alliance Collaborative Network (CN) can act as the breeding environment for creation/operation of opportunity-based CNs, and effectively addressing the complexity, dynamism, and scalability of their actors and domains. Administra- tion of these environments however requires effective set of functionalities, founded on top of strong information management. The paper introduces main challenges of CNs and their management of information, and focuses on the Virtual organizations Breeding Environment (VBE), which represents a specific form of strategic-alliances. It then focuses on the needed functionalities for ef- fective administration/management of VBEs, and exemplifies information man- agement challenges for three of their subsystems handling the Ontology, the profiles and competencies, and the rational trust. Keywords: Information management for Collaborative Networks (CNs), virtual organizations breeding environments (VBEs), Information management in VBEs, Ontology management, competency information management, rational trust information management. 1 Introduction The emergence of collaborative networks as collections of geographically dispersed autonomous actors which collaborate through computer networks, has led both or- ganizations and individuals to effectively achieving common goals that go far beyond the ability of each single actor, and providing cost effective solutions, and value creat- ing functionalities, services and products. The paradigm of “Collaborative Networks (CN)” being defined during the last decade represents a wide variety of networks of organizations as well as communities of individuals, where each has distinctive characteristics and features. While the taxonomy of existing CNs, as presented later