Dear Colleagues,

The warm response to Dick's idea
and my expansion on the theme
has been surprising and delightful.

I'm especially partial to Terry
Love's suggestion of a collaborative
project with the We-B Research
Centre at Edith Cowan University
Western Australia.

My appreciation for such a
venture is based on three issues:

1) the center is a technical
center with rich facilities and
solid experience,

2) Edith Cowan is working to
establish effective collaborations
with other universities and
research centers,

3) Terry Love is an experienced
project manager with a real
ability to get things moving
and working.

In addition, the presence of
major IT and communication
design resource centers in
Australia with colleagues
such as John Gero and David
Sless make Australia a promising
venue in even more regards.
I'm not speaking for David
or John here, but I am hoping
in a top-of-the-head kind of
way that they, too, might
add know-how to the venture.

The whole point is to develop
something where we can all
and each contribute in different
ways to content, structure, and
development with a home site
and mirrors.

Today's technology means that
an experienced and skilled
project manager at a place like
Cowan can develop a system
into which we can all feed
resources and content as
appropriate. Once working
protocols are established
with levels of access, management
routines, etc., this could become
a tool we have all needed for a
long time.

I'm also hoping that some of the
other groups and projects such
as Paul Gutherson and his
colleagues or Harold Nelson and
Erik Stolterman at the ADi
might work conjointly.

Hosting this in a university
environment and collaborating
across and among universities
might also facilitate Rob Curedale's
excellent suggestion that this might
itself become a doctoral project.
This is always an issue for
individual scholars, but it's
possible that the doctoral
consortium might wish to be
involved. And while there may
be no specific doctoral work in
this if there is no specific
candidate who wish to do this,
there may well be serious
involvement by and among
many doctoral scholars, both
in development, management
and content.

In offering these ideas, I'm
only speaking for my sense of
what might be developed.
.
One reason I am so pleased with
the enthusiasm I've seen is that
I can't play much of a role in
this other than content. I am
already over-extended on projects
with promised books to complete
and other irons in the fire. I am
happy to add content and share
editorial experience.

May I suggest that if Terry Love
is willing, he might serve as a
point man to explore the project
and see who might join a team ?

If you are willing to take on this
role in an exploratory way, Terry,
please announce it to the list.

Rather than write me off-list,
I'd like to suggest you post your
ideas and willingness to enter
such a venture to the list or
directly to Terry if you have
resources to offer the collaboration
suggested in his post.

Best regards,

Ken

--

Ken Friedman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Leadership and Strategic Design
Department of Knowledge Management
Norwegian School of Management

School

+47 22.98.50.00 Telephone
+47 22.98.51.11 Telefax

Home office

+46 (46) 53.245 Telephone
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