Higher education institutions are extraordinarily complex systems. To make that complexity understandable and shareable, I developed the Sentient Knowledge Map (SKM)—an information-sharing approach that reveals institutional structures, interrelationships, and resources in their full context.
The SKM is a community-developed, Creative Commons–licensed, visually intuitive relational database presented through conceptual maps. It is designed to give leaders, faculty, and staff a shared, living picture of how their institution actually works.
To see SKM in action, watch my video, “A high-level overview of Sentient, including its purpose, how it works, and its most important capabilities,” available on the HELLO Community site.
In this overview, I walk through:
- The institutional pain points Sentient was designed to address, the goals of the initiative, and the benefits an adopting institution can expect.
- How modeling a complex organization leads to deeper understanding for all stakeholders and supports more effective management.
- What the Sentient Knowledge Map is and how it functions as a relational, conceptual model of your institution.
- The relationships between the Sentient Initiative, the Sentient Knowledge Map, and the HELLO Community.
- Sentient’s longer-term vision for supporting collaboration, learning, and decision-making across higher education.
About HELLO
This general announcement was shared on the Higher Education Leadership Learning Online (HELLO) Community. The HELLO Community is an international, peer led and fed organization whose vision is “to become the resource of choice for higher education leaders when seeking practical information about performing their jobs with excellence”. HELLO is an information aggregator of articles, books, useful web sites and events, a powerful set of networking tools, and an open source online journal focused on practical solutions to higher ed management and leadership issues. Community membership is required for complete access to resources and is restricted to those who hold or have held a higher ed leadership position. There is no cost, advertising, or membership data sharing with other organizations.
Useful links:
- Register to become a member (you can quickly register and login using your LinkedIn or Facebook account)
- 10-minute video overview of the features and tools of the community site
- New member welcome page
- Advisory Board members