If colleges and universities--and corporations--can't afford to go it alone in these turbulent and resource-constrained times, neither can they afford unsuccessful partnerships. Each partner must, by definition, both give and take for partnering to work, yet understanding of the problem, technical sophistication, resources, and commitment to the partnership are often unevenly distributed. Moreover, it's the rare vendor who is not seeking a "partnership."
Innovation--What novel partnerships are you participating in? What new types of partnerships have you formed to address the changing role of IT on campus?
Getting started--When do you consider forming a partnership? How do you quantify possible advantages? How do you approach the prospective partner(s)?
Successes--What partnerships have been most successful? What made them successful?
Legal aspects--When is it necessary to get the lawyers involved? What have been the legal issues in the partnerships you have formed?
Outsourcing--Have you followed the recent corporate strategy to focus on competitive strengths and outsource processes that others perform better? What are the gains and losses?