INFORMATION RESOURCES STRATEGIC PLAN

FISCAL YEARS 1997 - 2001

December 18, 1996

Table of Contents

• EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
• INTRODUCTION
  • Major Information Resources Projects Completed
  • Major On-going Information Resources Initiatives
  • Proposed Major New Information Resources Initiatives
  • Challenges
  • Current Information Resources Environment
• PLANNING FACTORS AND ASSUMPTIONS
• IR GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
  • Linkages to Agency and State Goals, ADDITIONAL IR OPPORTUNITIES
• SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
  • Organization and Personnel
  • Policies and Practices, Methodology for Information Resources Planning
  • Configuration, Telecommunications Infrastructure, Interagency Network Participation
  • Databases, Major Applications

Universities are in the process of making a dramatic transition. Less bound by the ivy-walls, they are becoming hubs of information exchange and knowledge development. Electronic networks are facilitating worldwide linkages among researchers, mentors and students. Because of the base of power created by this access to information, it is vitally important that universities employ these electronic resources in a way that facilitates individual and societal development.

These resources must be available to each member of the university community, empowering each to become a creative, independent problem solver. Information access should be flexible, transparent and reliable. Use of this information should engender collaboration, coordination, collegiality, cultivation of talent, openness, and disciplined self-governance.

This environment blurs/breaks down lines that divide units within the university and that impede them from working together freely and effectively. It encourages a "win-win" mentality, a sense of teamwork, and a spirit of cooperation, and it discourages a sense of competition for, and ownership of, resources. (from Preamble to the UNIVERSITY OF NORTH TEXAS VISION FOR THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, Fall 1993)

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