Digital Commons Network^™

It Centralization And The Innovation Value Chain In Higher Education: A Study For Promoting Key Innovations Through Innovation Management And Organizational Design, Edmund Udaya Clark

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the impact of organizational centralization in higher education technology support units on institutional innovativeness. The centralization tools used for the present study included measures developed by Hage & Aiken (1971), Kaluzny, et al. (1974), and Ferrell & Skinner (1988). The innovativeness measures were established by Hansen & Birkinshaw's (2007) tool for evaluating innovation value chain activities in organizations. Data were gathered from a nation-wide sample (n = 303) of IT workers at 38 research one institutions in the United States. The results indicated that innovation value chain activities (idea generation, conversion, …

A Strategic Funding Process: Emphasizing Shared Governance And Transparency, Lynn D. Akey

Academic Affairs Publications

The Purpose

Provide an opportunity and seed funding for innovative ideas to emerge from the campus community in support of the Institution’s strategic priorities.

The Process

The Strategic Priority Funding process that exists at Minnesota State University, Mankato today has roots extending back to pre-2004 as an innovation fund.

• Pre 2004 – An Innovation Fund
• 2004 – Strategic Priority Funding – Administrative
• 2006 – Strategic Priority Funding – Administrative/Planning Sub-Meet
• 2011 – Strategic Priority Funding – Joint Open Process

The process has primarily changed in ways that reflect greater shared governance, transparency, and assessment of results.

The Results

During the …

Building A Culture Of Innovation: A Case Study In Digital Integration, Anthony H. Vonbank

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This case study dissertation examines the implementation of digital technology in a mid-sized public school district in southern Minnesota. The methodology involved unstructured interviews and close observation of several teachers, administrators and related staff in the junior-senior high building. These observations were presented in informative vignettes that help to tell the story of the culture of innovation in this school, as well as highlight some of the implementation strategies that aid this school and district in meeting its goal to meet all learners in a 21st century society. The study identifies common barriers such as staff resistance, funding, and technology …

Increasing Capacity For Innovation Through An Inquiry Approach To Instruction, Nicholas Jacob Schmitz

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The requirements of a 21st century society are described particularly as they relate to the needs of individuals. Developmental theories are compared and reviewed in light of educational practice and goals. Assumptions regarding mankind's needs for inquiry are reflected in the processes of the human mind. The pathways are described through which cognitive processes are developed in students. This summary paints a portrait of humans as natural innovators deriving much of their meaning in life from solutions to challenges. The literature, by comparing the innovative needs of society with natural inquisitiveness in individuals, makes a compelling case necessitating reform in …