Partnerships in Ireland: The Champion and Framing Collaboration

2 Ireland Context o OECD Review (2003) o Top ranking within OECD countries o Quality o Levels of participation in post-secondary education o Integrated system of higher education o Celtic Tiger ( )

Change and Partnerships o Motivations for Partnerships o Save resources o Common goals o Challenges of Partnerships o Coordination o Reward structure o Sustainability

Irish Higher Education Setting o 20 Tertiary Institutions o 7 Universities o 13 Institutes of Technology + DIT o The Universities Act of 1997 o Recognized universities o Centralize higher education oversight o Regional Technology Act of 1999 o Designated the 13 Institutes of Technology o Dublin Institute of Technology

Partnership Literature o Partnership Model (Amey, Eddy, & Campbell, 2010) o 3 stages o Partnership Capital o Framing (Fairhurst & Sarr, 1996) o Champion/Leader (Kotter & Cohen, 2002)

Methods—Case context o PRTLI (Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions) o 1998 o 4-cycles o €865,273,117 o 83 Funded Projects o Cycle 5—applications submitted, no awards to date

o 5 partnerships o Humanities Serving Irish Society (HSIS) o e-INIS/Cosmogrid (Irish Infrastructure) o GradCAM (Graduate School of Creative Arts and Media) o Molecular Medicine Ireland (MMI) o Environment and Climate Change (ECC) o Partners (2-8 for each case) o Interviews=26 Methods—Cases

Findings o Framing a Common Ground o Bridging Divided Loyalties o Navigating Shifting Sands of Context

Framing a Common Ground o Motivations provide scaffold o Individual social capital o Organizational resources o Creating new infrastructure

Bridging Divided Loyalties o Trust building o Short-term wins o Institutional priorities trump group— Janus

Navigating Shifting Sands o External changes o Economy o Trinity-UCD innovation corridor o European Union o Funding levels o HEA commitment

Conclusion o Need for shared vision o Role of initial framing o Communication to build trust o Policy impact o Increase in research o Increase in partnerships o Question of sustainability

Implications o Clear goals/roles o Environment ripe for change o Second-order change o Question of assumptions/actions o Acknowledge role of institutional culture o Leadership needs to value collaboration

Thank you! New Direction for Higher Education International Collaborations: Opportunities, Strategies, Challenges Anticipated June 1, 2010