The Quest for Innovative Strategies to Increase Productivity

Abstract

In this issue of Innovative Higher Education, Adrianna Kezar examines the followingquestion. “What is the best way to achieve broader reach of improved practices in highereducation?” At the outset, she notes that policymakers and the general public increasinglyexpect post-secondary institutions to achieve broad national goals quickly and effectively bythe adoption of programs and practices (often funded) that have been “successful” in anotherplace, a practice known as “scale-up.” In conclusion, she cautions against the use ofsimplistic scale-up models, which basically take a “successful” innovation from a localsetting and then apply it to other places with little consideration for differences in context.Followingthefailureoftop-downapproachestobringaboutdesiredchangesandoutcomes,the idea to “scale-up” caught the interest of grantors, policymakers, and educators. However,the history of scale-up innovations in k-12 is not one of success; in fact, Kezar uses the term“dismal record.” She elaborates that the adopters need to consider the concepts of depth,sustainability, spread, and ownership in order for scaling up to be effective. For change to belong-lasting, educators must attend to rewards, cultural norms, and capacity. In the end, sheconcludes that the lessons and practices of social movements and the concepts of mutualadaptionaremoreappropriateforconsiderationthanthe practicesassociated withscalingupifhighereducationistoachievebroaderadoptionofchange.Kezar’sanalysisoftheexpansionofservice learning from 200 colleges to over 3000 colleges in less than a decade provides usefulinsight for administrators considering the adoption and expansion of innovations.Kezar’s article intrigued me as I spend quite a bit of time in meetings and discussions ofhigher education problems and opportunities at the state and university level. Often theconversation will turn to the internal bureaucratic barriers to change, the lack of funding forinnovation, and sometimes the lack of interest by the constituents who must embrace andimplement new ideas and practices. Occasionally, participants will point to a successfulprogram or process at a peer or aspirational institution; and then we muse about how thatwill or will not work here. On the flip side, someone will propose that we have a successful