Background and History
The JISC Information Strategies Initiative (JISI)
In 1994 the JISC established the Information Strategies Steering Group (ISSG) to investigate the potential for developing Information Strategies within Higher Education institutions (HEIs). Research was undertaken involving 20 institutions which highlighted a genuine interest in the use of Information Strategies as a means:
- To ensure value for money from technology
- To exploit technological advances
- To cope with increased student numbers and reduced funds
- To bring about changed attitudes, particularly towards the ownership and accessibility of information within institutions
In 1995 JISC published 'Guidelines for Developing an Information Strategy' written with Coopers & Lybrand, to support and encourage HEIs to develop information strategies as recommended by the Follett report (1993).
In 1996 JISC funded the following six pilot institutions to test these guidelines:
- Bath Spa College of Higher Education
- University of Glamorgan
- University of Glasgow
- University of Hull
- University of North London
- The Queen's University of Belfast
These institutions produced case studies, documenting their experience of following the Guidelines. The experience of these institutions in turn led to the Guidelines being redrafted and reissued in 1998 as a folder containing an amended Executive Briefing; a much shorter Practitioner's Guide (based on checklists with suggested actions); a series of case studies of the 6 pilot sites; and an information and resources sheet. A further nine HEIs were chosen to act as 'exemplars' for the revised guidelines. Whilst five were developing information strategies the other four addressed specific areas of information management.
- Leeds University
- Roehampton Institute
- Writtle Agricultural College
- The Open University
- Birkbeck College
- University College Worcester (Managing the assessment process with partners in FE)
- The University of Northumbria (Selecting Management Information Systems)
- Staffordshire University (Strategic approach for disseminating information to staff and students)
- The University of Strathclyde INSIGHT (Evaluating the costs and benefits of ICT in T&L)
JISC also funded Co-ordination staff who supported an extensive series of networking activities to support gathering, distillation and dissemination of good practice, including conferences, workshops and case studies. They also provided specific advice to individual Institutions, and facilitated progress in those Institutions, for example by running internal workshops.
JISC commissioned an independent evaluation of the JISI conducted by ESYS Consulting in 2001 (JISC 2001).
