Crafting Collaborations: An Art or a Science?

1. Crafting Collaborations: An Art or a Science? Bob Sorensen CIO Ivy Tech State College

2. Ivy Tech State College • Public, 2-year Community College • Fall 2004 Enrollment: FTE – 35,000 Headcount – 65,000 Annualized HC – 107,000 Growing at about 7%/year • 14 Regions with 23 instructional sites • 41 nodes currently in our network

3. Levels of Collaboration • Regions and sites • System level Institutional initiatives Statewide initiatives through IHETS – Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System

4. Levels of Internal Collaborations • Project may start at very senior level and be handed down • Or project may be initiated at any level • Key element is that all participants, at all levels understand the rationale for the project • To be successful it will require top-down and bottoms-up processes

5. Regional Examples • Lafayette Campus joint library project in collaboration with the Tippecanoe County Public Library • Columbus Campus Columbus Learning Center in collaboration with Indiana University, Purdue University, and IUPUI

6. System Level • Institutional Initiatives Indiana Law Enforcement Academy Sakai • Statewide initiatives through the Indiana Higher Education Telecommunications System (IHETS) ILIGHT2 IP/Video Streaming Video

7. Empowering Indiana’s Digital Economy: The Opportunity • Telecommunications companies in Indiana have miles of “orphaned” fiber which generate no revenue for the private sector nor benefit to local communities. • Akin to a car without gas. • I-Light 2 unlocks this resource. • Working with the private sector to light their dark fiber infrastructure, not build new fiber. • State investment assures placement of high-speed digital on-ramps for all Hoosier communities.

8. The science aspect of collaborations • Following the steps in problem solving What is the problem? What are the requirements of a solution? What alternatives meet the requirements? Select and implement the preferred alternative • Document, document, & document

9. The art aspect of collaborations • Identifying potential partners • Brainstorming collaborative efforts • Understanding organizations’ cultures • Communication strategies Face-to-face or electronic?

10. Which End is Up?

11. Seeking a Balance “Better vaguely correct, than precisely wrong”

12. The Challenge • Many, including me, believe that computing is an emotional activity • Many also believe, including me, that you can’t deal with emotional issues rationally • If you accept these two premises, then you at least have to wonder and deal with the belief that you can’t manage computing in a completely rational way