Qualities of our Service in the Institution

Our efforts can be thought of as Building Supportive Communities that are characterized by:

• planning that takes into account the often-limited and uncertain state of resources, guides where we put our not-unlimited energies, and seeks to make the result sustainable or cumulative.

• community-building, not only for the sake of a sustainable product, but so participants/ collaborators value their involvement in the process.

• probing what has been taken for granted or left unarticulated until coherent principles emerge to guide our efforts.

• transparency and inclusiveness of consultation in formulating procedures and principles and in making evaluations available.

• documenting process, product, and evaluations to make institutional learning more likely.

• organization, including efficient use of computer technology, to support all of the above.

• taking care for colleagues' reputations when disputes arise, especially colleagues coming up for or currently under review.

• equity in relation to explicit guidelines (thus eliminating suspicions of favoritism).