1. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20091 Cultivating Collaboration: Lessons Learned from the DLF Aquifer Initiative Katherine Kott Erstwhile Aquifer Director CNI Spring Task Force Meeting April 7, 2009

2. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20092 Why this talk? Transitions—time to capture learning from Aquifer Increased importance of collaboration Collaboration might want to be free…

3. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20093 Aquifer background Successor project to Digital Library Federation distributed open digital library (DODL) Subset of DLF members participated from 2005-2009

4. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20094 Why DODL dawdled Overly ambitious scope/resources Loose definition/structure not conducive to accomplishing goals

5. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20095 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

6. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20096 What made the difference? Creating a framework Gathering resources

7. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20097 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

8. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20098 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…”

9. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 20099 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.

10. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200910 Participation and governance At a high level, representation Where the work gets done, skills-based

11. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200911 Organizing volunteers Match “organizational” needs with volunteer interests It is OK to set expectations Select motivated leaders Set clear decision processes

12. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200912 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.”

13. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200913 Awareness of what is going on in participant organizations Changes in leadership Changes in staff Funding cycles Shifting priorities

14. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200914 Staying in touch with participants If you think busy people are reading your email… Phone calls when obvious changes occur Focus group enabled us to hear participants talk among themselves about priorities

15. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200915 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

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20. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200920 More details about lessons learned DLF Spring Forum in Raleigh, NC Focus on assessment Technical development status

21. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200921 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???

22. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200922 When the project ends Individual organizations pick up viable products Celebrate!!!

23. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200923 What would we do differently? Develop awareness of funding cycles Plan for the end at the beginning

24. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200924 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

25. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200925 From innovation to development to production service Share information about processes that work as well as accomplishments with the community

26. CNI Spring Task Force Meeting 200926 Thank you for your interest Questions or comments? For more information--kkott@stanford.edu