Institutional collaboration as strategy

Posted on by Brian Hughes

Brad Wheeler says that higher ed is a “different” kind of industry in that institutions don’t directly complete against each other. Instead, and as a consequence, ed organizations should follow a strategy to approach problems in similar ways (across a wide range of activities).

He spoke about the growing set of activities that are leading to a “meta-university.” Parts of this tool-set, he says, come from the following inter-institutional collaborations that have resulted in the following software projects/platforms:

He also talked about the foundation for joining collaborative development across institutions. Some key factors:

  • Goal alignment
  • Values alignment
  • Temporal alignment
  • Talent alignment
  • Governance clarity
  • Problem solving alignment

So, to summarize, it sounds a bit impossible to join one of these efforts. On the other hand, I would love to see PocketKnowledge develop in a direction that brings in external collaborators (even leaders!). To that end, he mentions several of the “many ways” individuals and organizations can collaborate beyond contributing code, such as…

  • commenting
  • testing
  • critiquing
  • creating buzz

An interesting model for PocketKnowledge might be what he calls “Institutional Sourcing” (as opposed to “Commercial Sourcing” or “Consortium Sourcing”)… where an institution’s reputation drives its roll as leader and manager of a particular tool.

Shackled to problem-solving

Posted on by Brian Hughes

This article in the Times provides a brief introduction to a fad that’s sweeping through Silicon Valley these days: escapism.

Timothy Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Workweek”, promotes “pulling the plug” on your fast, information-driven life (though no one, it seems, has actually read the book).

I admit, it sounds exciting, but then the details start to come to light: hiring personal assistants in India (who tells them what to do?), outsourcing your relationships, primarily getting your news from waiters – it’s obviously a very different kind of life.

While self-help gurus come and go, the impulse to “escape 9-5, live anywhere, and join the new rich” never seems to wane. But, for me at least, the thought (and details) of actually succeeding serve more as a grim reminder of how much fun it is to solve real problems. Sure, there’s plenty of ways to live off the fat of the land in modern times, but isn’t it more fun to try and work in an area where the impact of creativity and hard work is important enough to persevere for more than four hours each week?