Beginning the fall of 2010 Indiana University Northwest an External Environmental Scanning process. Environment Scanning is a process of collecting information and analyzing trends external to the university. The goal is to identify potential forces of change (i.e. trends) that could create potential threats or opportunities. Equipped with the scanning information leaders at IU Northwest will develop a new university strategic plan. An invitation was sent out to 3,000 members of the community, including IU Northwest alumni, asking them to participate in a Community Stakeholder Survey, to identify future trends or forces of change. On campus we asked administrators, faculty, and staff to submit their observations about trends using our Scanning Abstract Form. An executive summary and full trends report can be found below:
IU Northwest Environmental Scan 2011
Resources
There are a number of good scanning resources already out there, so IU Northwest will not be starting from nothing. OIER plans to compile trends from various sources, including all the trends submitted in this most recent effort, to begin building a trend report that can be discussed by planners at IU Northwest. Below are listed a number of good sources, where trends and research can be found that was produced by other scanners and organizations. Please feel free to send me [[jmnovak]] other resources that might prove valuable.
- Indiana University Strategic Planning
- Indiana Business Research Center
- INcontext
- STAT Indiana
- IN Business Review
- Indiana University South Bend Scan (2009)
- Society for College and University Planning
- Knowledge Foundation & the Institute for the Future
- The World Futurist Society
- NWI Times
- Post-Tribune
- Indiana Commission for Higher Education
