Sponsored by IBN
March 7-8 , 2007
Dusit Dubai
Dubai
James L. Morrison, Facilitator

Middle Eastern colleges and universities, like all institutions of higher education around the world, are being bombarded by tumultuous forces for change in the political, technological, social, economic, and environmental sectors, locally and globally. In order to plan effectively in this environment, institutional leaders must be able to anticipate the direction and implications of these forces in order to plan more effectively.

Objectives

The objective of this workshop was to assist leaders in colleges and universities and in higher education ministries to enhance their competency to systematically factor the external environment into their planning activities. The expected outcomes were that participants would gain experience in:

• identifying critical trends that define the context within which Middle Eastern higher education will function in the coming decade;
• identifying potential events that could affect Middle Eastern higher education;
• using strategic foresight tools to analyze and interpret potential events that could affect Middle Eastern higher education;
• exploring environmental scanning models and how they could be implemented and used by leaders in individual colleges and universities and in ministries of higher education to enhance strategic planning.

Preparation 

Participants were requested to review the following publications prior to this conference:

Approaches to anticipating the future:

Suggested

1. Morrison, J. L. (1996). "Anticipating the Future." On the Horizon, 4(3), 2-3.
2. Morrison, J. L. (1997). "Transforming Educational Organizations" On the Horizon, 5(1), 2-3.
3. Morrison, J. L. (1992). "Environmental Scanning.” In M. A. Whitely, J. D. Porter, and R. H. Fenske (Eds.), A Primer for New Institutional Researchers (pp. 86-99). Tallahassee, Florida: The Association for Institutional Research.
4. Simpson, E. G., McGinty, D. L., and Morrison, J. L. Environmental Scanning at the Georgia Center for Continuing Education: A Progress Report. Continuing Higher Education Review, 1-20.

Additional

1. Mack, T. "An Interview with a Futurist." Futures Research Quarterly, 2003, 19 (1), 61-69
2. Morrison, J. L. US Higher Education in Transition. On the Horizon, 2003, 11(1), 6-10.
3. Morrison, J. L. & Wilson, I (1997). "Analyzing Environments and Developing Scenarios for Uncertain Times.” in M. W. Peterson, D. D. Dill, L. A. Mets, and Associates (eds.), Planning and Management for a Changing Environment. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.
4. Ashley, W. L. & Morrison, J. L. (1996). "Anticipatory Management Tools for the 21st Century.” Futures Research Quarterly, 12 (2), 35-49.
5. Ashley, W. L. & Morrison, J. L. (1997). "Anticipatory Management Tools for Better Decision Making.” The Futurist, 31(5), 47-50.
6. Morrison, J. L., Renfro, W. L., and Boucher, W. (1984). Futures Research and the Strategic Planning Process. (1984). ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Research Report.
7. Morrison, J. L. (2005). "Experiencing the Online Revolution." In G. Kearsley (ed.),Online learning: Personal Reflections on the Transformation of Education. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.

Mailing List
All participants were enrolled on the workshop mailing list (dubai@listserv.unc.edu) and encouraged to post a brief biographical sketch describing their educational/employment background and work responsibilities in their current organization. In addition to using this means of introducing ourselves prior to the workshop, the mailing list allowed participants to ask and respond to questions prior to, during, and after the workshop.

Proceedings
Participants wanted to have a proceedings of the products of the exercises described below. The draft proceedings are now available for comment via the mailing list for later incorporation into the proceedings as appropriate.

Agenda