CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Cultivating Collaboration: Lessons Learned from the DLF Aquifer Initiative Katherine Kott Erstwhile Aquifer Director CNI Spring Task Force Meeting April 7, 2009

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Why this talk? Transitions—time to capture learning from Aquifer Increased importance of collaboration Collaboration might want to be free…

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Aquifer background Successor project to Digital Library Federation distributed open digital library (DODL) Subset of DLF members participated from

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Why DODL dawdled Overly ambitious scope/resources Loose definition/structure not conducive to accomplishing goals

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Aquifer accomplishments Research and best practices –Metadata guidelines –Tools inventory –Metadata crosswalks –Digital library assessment –Interoperability American Social History Online (funded project) –Open sources code –Web site and services for scholars

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting What made the difference? Creating a framework Gathering resources

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Framework for collaboration Collaborative entrepreneurship—Raymond Miles –Applies to innovation incubation –Suggests explicit attention to structure/process is important for success Resources for collaboration –Focused attention –Consistent attention over time

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Collaboration or cooperation "...we suggest that collaboration differs from... cooperation in two main ways. First, cooperation is motivated by the benefits each party expects to receive from sharing ideas, information or resources. Therefore, while cooperative behavior may be enjoyable in its own right, it is primarily extrinsically motivated. Second, because cooperative behavior ultimately involves the pursuit of self-interest, it requires periodic or even continual assessment by each participant of the amount of trust and commitment of the other party…”

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Collaboration In collaborative relationships, on the other hand, each party is as committed to the other's interests as it is to its own, and this commitment reduces the need for the continual assessment of trust and its implications for how rewards will be divided." Miles, Raymond, et al.. (2005). Collaborative Entrepreneurship. Palo Alto: Stanford University Press. p.40.

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Participation and governance At a high level, representation Where the work gets done, skills-based

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Organizing volunteers Match “organizational” needs with volunteer interests It is OK to set expectations Select motivated leaders Set clear decision processes

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Pooling resources “We recruited staff we knew, with the skills we needed but the project wasn’t going anywhere. It occurred to us that we needed to check in with the library directors.”

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Awareness of what is going on in participant organizations Changes in leadership Changes in staff Funding cycles Shifting priorities

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Staying in touch with participants If you think busy people are reading your … Phone calls when obvious changes occur Focus group enabled us to hear participants talk among themselves about priorities

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Tools don’t make the team—but they help Face to face meetings Conference calls Wikis/blogs/PM/Bug tracking software –Base camp –Confluence –SourceForge

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting More details about lessons learned DLF Spring Forum in Raleigh, NC Focus on assessment Technical development status

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Where is Aquifer now? Products developed through American Social History Online being maintained by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign –Web site –Collections registry Standards and best practices –MODS metadata guidelines migration to LoC –Other documentation???

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting When the project ends Individual organizations pick up viable products Celebrate!!!

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting What would we do differently? Develop awareness of funding cycles Plan for the end at the beginning

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Fostering collaboration Open source movement Fedora and DSpace Educopia Institute Open Knowledge Commons LOCKSS Hathi Trust DLF/CLIR Ad hoc groups Ithaka OER Commons Funders? OCLC/RLG

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting From innovation to development to production service Share information about processes that work as well as accomplishments with the community

CNI Spring Task Force Meeting Thank you for your interest Questions or comments? For more