Open Source, IT Governance, and Standards

This ECAR case study complements the 2008 ECAR study, Process and Politics: IT Governance in Higher Education, by Ronald Yanosky with Jack McCredie. ECAR undertook this case study of Queensland University of Technology (QUT) to demonstrate how the underlying elements of a mature governance process facilitate the strategic development of information technology (IT) services. QUT has carried on a sustained program of IT governance development for almost a decade, in order to create a mature set of institutional supports, a layered advisory and decision-making structure that feeds innovation, and a network of involved governance participants, with the ultimate goal of developing a set of optimal IT services for the university. Characterized as "relationships underpinned by light-weight process frameworks in order to extract value from technology tools," QUT's IT governance structure relies on engaged people who drive the process as well as the project management and financial tools that assist with decision making.

This ECAR case study complements the 2008 ECAR study, Process and Politics: IT Governance in Higher Education, by Ronald Yanosky with Jack McCredie. ECAR undertook this case study of the University of California Berkeley to demonstrate how a large, decentralized research university approaches a complete rethinking of a campus information technology (IT) governance structure and the steps taken to initiate the transition to the new structure.

Citation for this work: Spicer, Donald Z., and Judith A. Pirani. "Reforming IT Governance at Berkeley: Introducing an Enterprise Perspective to a Decentralized Organization" (Case Study 3). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.

This research bulletin explores the importance of focusing on innovation in decision-making about IT. Acknowledging the apparent dichotomy between the efficient use of resources in a centralized IT model and the effective application of IT resources toward innovative research and pedagogy, the bulletin presents a model for IT service delivery that can be used or adapted in colleges and universities.

Citation for this work: Frederick, Lawrence W. “Recasting the Centralization–Decentralization Debate: Advancing the Innovation Support Cycle” (Research Bulletin, Issue 10). Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research, 2008, available from http://www.educause.edu/ecar.