Archived Information Dissemination Strategies for a Hub and Spokes Model Mentoring Institution with Adaptors

1. Archived InformationDissemination Strategiesfor a Hub and Spokes ModelMentoring Institution with Adaptors Based on presentation notes by Laurie Schreiner, Eastern College at the annual FIPSE Project Directors’ Meeting, November 2000 lschrein@eastern.edu Edited by Rosemary Wolfe, former FIPSE program officer

2. If you’re thinking of disseminating your program…. • Do you have a documented measurable track record of success? • Strong evaluation data based on student learning and performance • Measures that are objective and go beyond self-reporting and participant attitudes

3. Disseminating your program…. • Do you have committed, active, and competent team leaders in your program? • Including all relevant levels of the campus community • Administrators, faculty, staff, students

4. Disseminating your program…. • Do you have strong commitment from adaptors? • How will you sustain the program’s dissemination and scale-up to a national level?

5. Select Adapters Carefully • Communicate clear expectations to adapting institutions • Institutional buy-in is essential • Encourage recruitment of team members who • are capable of implementing the program, have credibility, and possess excellent interpersonal skills • Research the systems, infrastructure, and capability of the institution • not only to implement the program but also to continue to support it beyond the grant period

6. If you plan to adapt a proven model…. consider these conditions for successful reform on your campus

7. Four Key Conditions Conducive to Adapting a New Model at Your Institution • Institutional Buy-In 2. Clear Implementation Goals 3. Capable Team Members 4. Sound Infrastructure

8. Adapting a New Model at Your Institution 1. Institutional Buy-In • secure commitment from the president and administrators in positions to “get things done” • include the VP and other key administrators on program planning teams • build on previous collaborations with the mentoring institution that form the basis for continuing relationships

9. 2. Clear Implementation Goals • Detailed expectation of all partners • what are they supposed to do? • what is their commitment? • Outcomes clearly defined • what will success look like? • how will you measure success?

10. 3. Capable Team Members • The “doers” with good interpersonal skills • “people power” to help others understand the program and want to be part of it • Enthusiastic participants who believe in the program • NOT reluctant appointees

11. 4. Sound Infrastructure • Available equipment? • Cost share for overhead contributed? • Support for continuing and institutionalizing the program after funding?

12. Disseminating the Program: Collaboration Strategies That Work • Build on previous research collaboration and needs assessment • Conduct workshops at mentoring institution • Establish contact procedures • Site visits to adapting institutions

13. Collaboration Strategies That Work • Establish partnerships • Individual work with each campus • Campuses working with each other • Replicate key program elements • Adapt to campus needs

14. Collaboration Strategies That Work • Active and regular communication • Regular “face” meetings with community building activities • Flexible approach to unique approaches and systems on different campuses

15. Obstacles to Successful Dissemination • Team turnover • Team leader not empowered to act • Insufficient communication (on campus, as well as between adaptor and mentor) • Campus systems are too complex for change or are incompatible with grant goals • Campus politics

16. Dealing with Obstacles • Team turnover • breadth of support is important: with many on campus informed and involved, someone can step in if a team member leaves • encourage teams to meet regularly • establish stable teams with a two to three year commitment to the project

17. Dealing with Obstacles • Team leader not empowered to act • determine if the problem is with leadership skills or with delegation of authority • consider adding a co-leader or substituting an alternate • talk with higher-level administration to empower or replace leader

18. Dealing with Obstacles • Insufficient communication • regular meetings scheduled in advance • communicate with teams rather than with individuals only • have team co-leaders at each site

19. Dealing with Obstacles • Campus systems are too complex or incompatible with program goals • have administrator on each team who can cut through the “red tape” • find out ahead of time about hardware/software systems available • identify campus system support offices and policies for grants, finance, publicity

20. Dealing with Obstacles • Campus politics • Team leader must be highly credible • Provide advance publicity of grant activities and purpose • Maintain full support of upper-level administration • Recruit energetic team members with broad-based campus support • Conduct site visits that include faculty workshops • Intentionally address issues of faculty territoriality and workload

21. Dissemination Beyond the Adapters • Communicate through print and web with • Newsletters, web sites, national conferences • Published compendium of best practices and sample syllabi • Establish a home-based resource for training and follow-up • Campus visits based on interest in the program • Market plan for independent sustainability

22. For more ideas….. • Check the abstracts on FIPSE dissemination projects • Read “Lessons Learned” for best practices www.ed.gov/FIPSE