New ECAR Study on IT Collaborations in Higher Ed

The latest EDUCAUSE Center for Applied Research (ECAR) study, “IT Collaboration: Multi-Institutional Partnerships to Develop, Manage, and Operate IT Resources,” explores multi-institutional collaboration in terms of the types of information technology collaborations in higher education and the practices associated with positive outcomes. It is available to ECAR subscribers and through purchase, but the key findings and roadmap are publicly available.

The study is based on a literature review to identify issues and develop research questions; a screening survey of 586 colleges and universities to distinguish collaborators from non-collaborators; a follow-up survey tailored for 157 institutions presently engaged in at least one form of collaboration and a separate follow-up survey tailored for 113 institutions that have elected not to participate in IT collaborations; qualitative interviews with IT leaders from 30 institutions including both collaborators and non-collaborators; consultation with a select group of chief information officers who are extensively engaged in collaboration; and two in-depth case studies that look at how collaborators form, manage, and sustain their ventures.