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East County Information Technology Consortium

R. D. Walleri, "Planning Practice: Community-Based Planning for Technology," in J. V. Boettcher, M. M. Doyle and R. W. Jensen, Technology-Driven Planning: Principles to Practice, Ann Arbor, MI: Society of College and University Planning, 2000 (pp. 129-130).

SUMMARY: The concept for the East County Information Technology Consortium (ECITC), near Portland, Oregon, grew out of a meeting of superintendents and board officers from the eight K12 districts, Multnomah Education Service District (MESD) and Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) in April of 1998. One of the important missions of these institutions is to anticipate and assist with emerging educational issues in the community. The pace at which technology is changing and becoming increasingly essential is one such issue. Given the costs involved in keeping pace with technological change, it was agreed at this meeting that the organizations should make an effort to conduct joint planning for current and future needs related to information technology. The driving forces behind the ECITC are as follows.

1. Responding to the training and education needs for all segments of our communities.
2. Responding to the education and training needs of business and industry.
3. Enhancing information exchange, coordination of services and articulation across educational segments.
4. Positioning for public and private grant funds available only for collaborative efforts.

Potential projects include area technology center, distributed community learning centers, distance delivery of instruction via the web and video, collaborative staff development programs, web-based services and data sharing, and linkages to other educational segments and workforce development programs. Projects completed or in process include inventory of current capacity, need analysis, identification of common points of interest and potential partners, mission statement and plan, Web site (www.eastcounty.org), and pursuit of funding sources targeting consortium efforts and technology. The ECITC is currently overseeing a Community Access Capital Grant from the Mt. Hood Cable Regulatory Commission to develop applications of the institutional network (I-NET) being implemented by AT&T. Partners include Corbett School District, Gresham/Barlow School District, Reynolds School District, LSI Logic Inc., and Fujitsu Microelectronics Inc. MHCC provides administrative support and coordination for the ECITC.

Through this process the number of organizational and individual members of the ECITC was increased to cover business and industry, local government, workforce development and non-profit, social service organizations. There are currently 40 organizations involved with 70 individuals participating. Quarterly meetings of the ECITC have been occurring since June 1998.

PROCESS: The Web site provides both a description of what has been accomplished and a time-line for the work of the ECITC. The success of the planning process is based on the commitment of various organizational leaders to the benefits of collaboration. This commitment helped ensure the participation of the technology and program people needed to make the ECITC a reality. From an organizational perspective, outcomes include cost/resource sharing, efficiencies and access to resources (grant funds) that otherwise would not be available to the individual entities. Grant programs such as the Technology Opportunities Program (TOP, formerly TIIAP) from the US Department of Commerce, AACC/Microsoft Working Connections, and Community Technology Centers program out of the US Department of Education require consortium-based applications. From a community perspective, the ECITC offers a vehicle for expanding access to information technology resources, especially for low income and disadvantaged populations.

TECHNOLOGY IMPACT: Expanding community access to information technology has been a major driver in the development of the ECITC. For example, the business partners need education and training services independent of time and place. They also need customized training programs that can be delivered to their business sites. Thus, the ECITC is pursuing the delivery of these services through the local cable franchise grant. The costs of developing and maintaining a community-based information technology infrastructure was a key factor in motivating various organizational leaders to initiate a collaborative planning process.

WHAT WORKED?: The ECITC has reduced "turf" issues and the natural tendency of these organizations to compete among one another for limited public and private funds. Success has been fueled by completion of specific projects of mutual benefit to the organizational partners, such as the Web site and cable grant. Next steps include formalizing the governing structure (bylaws) and reducing the dependence of the ECITC on the local community college for administrative support.

LESSONS LEARNED: To be successful, collaborative planning involving multiple organizations must be based on mutual gain rather than just altruism. The process has allowed the college and local K12 districts to look at more options for achieving programming goals. An example would include the shared cost/use of computer labs. The K12 distict computer labs are often unused in the evening and on weekends. The college can use these labs to provide courses for adult learners.

The ECITC should have addressed the issue of governance earlier in the process. Long-term success requires ongoing commitment from the members. Currently, ongoing operations are overly dependent on the college.

The ECITC experience has clearly demonstrated the opportunities available from community-based planning for technology. Time will tell if the benefits actually realized justify the effort and results in long-term sustainability. For higher education institutions, a lot can be gained from such an effort with minimal risk.

WHO ELSE: Current members of the ECITC executive committee are as follows.