One thing I hope will be very clear is that the Cabinet for Institutional Change is working hard to communicate well. We want the campus community to know what we're up to. And more importantly, we need to hear your ideas.
To help, we'll be experimenting with two new approaches - in addition to formal consultations, forums, meetings, and individual conversations.
First, Cabinet members will be blogging. We'll post frequent updates to keep you informed about the actions we're taking, what we're thinking about, and some of the challenges we're facing. Our hope is that - compared to the usual minutes that usually result from committee meetings - this will be a more personal and timely way to communicate.
Second, we've set up an online system for the campus community to share ideas related to the Cabinet's work and to discuss those ideas. This is where the term "experimental" really comes into play. The site - hosted through a service called Uservoice - allows you to suggest ideas, comment on ideas and vote for the ones you like. The Cabinet can also post some of its ideas to get campus reaction, and we can post ideas that come up during some of our meetings with campus groups. Uservoice has been used by hundreds of companies, non-profits and elected officials.
To get to the Uservoice site, follow the "share your ideas" or "feedback" links on the Cabinet's website. You'll need to register to get started.
I'd like to thank the staff in Marketing & Communications for helping us set up these communications tools. I'd also like to thank my fellow Cabinet bloggers. They're giving a great deal of time to the Cabinet's work, and though they accepted these new tasks enthusiastically, blogging and checking in on Uservoice has added even more to their workload.
If you have any suggestions or difficulties with the blog, Uservoice or any other communications from the Cabinet, please let us know. You can talk to any of us in person, call us or e-mail us. Our contact information is on the website.