A growing marketplace and community

CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 JISC infoNet

Another advantage of the KT 2.0 approach is that it multiplies the attractiveness of one KTO's purchasing power with that of other universities. So even as a small player a KTO can benefit from the scale of economies, and the scale of scope that other universities individually and jointly bring to the market. This is the 'Flickr phenomenon". As each business development agent is brought to the marketplace all others benefit, and this provides a true driver for increased collaboration.

This is not theoretical. The Universities of Leeds, York, Oxford Brookes and Portsmouth have been collaborating in this fashion and all are benefiting from the greater aggregate market size. As new universities come on board, this benefit will increase.

The advantage for each university that comes to the network from here on is that it is much easier for them to benefit from the process, as the market grows and less effort is required.