Over the last several years, government has invested heavily to create state longitudinal data systems. Policymakers stand poised to make use of these new systems to inform decision making in ways that were not possible in the past. Building such data systems requires the formation of complex networks involving the coordination and cooperation of large numbers of actors. Building these networks is no easy task and must be undertaken with careful planning. Employing Thomson and Perry's collaboration framework as a tool for analysis, this article examines the construction of one such data system, the Illinois Longitudinal Data System (ILDS), and offers lessons learned based on the successes and failures of its development. Findings focused on the role that negative histories and mandated formation play in network development.
AgranoffR., & McGuireM. (2003). Inside the matrix: Integrating the paradigms of intergovernmental and network management. International Journal of Public Administration, 26(12), 1401–1422.
2.
AndersonE., LodishL., and WeitzB. (1987). Resource Allocation Behavior in Conventional Channels. Journal of Marketing Research, 24, 85–97.
3.
AnsellC., & GashA. (2008). Collaborative governance in theory and practice. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 18(4), 543–571.
4.
BardachE. (1998). Getting agencies to work together: The practice and theory of managerial craftsmanship. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution press.
5.
BlankenbergerB., LichtenbergerE., WittM. A., & FranklinD. (online ahead-of-print, 2016). Diverse students, high school factors, and completion agenda goals: An analysis of the Illinois class of 2003. Education and Urban Society. doi: 10.1177/0013124516644047.
6.
BlankenbergerB., & PhillipsA. (2016). Implementation of performance funding in Illinois higher education: The roles of the completion agenda, budget environment, and interest group dynamics in the process. Educational Policy, 30(6), 884–915.
7.
BrysonJ. M., CrosbyB. C., & StoneM. M. (2006). The design and implementation of cross-sector collaborations: Propositions from the literature. Public Administration Review, 66(s1), 44–55.
8.
ChenB. (2010). Antecedents or processes? Determinants of perceived effectiveness of interorganizational collaborations for public service delivery. International Public Management Journal, 13(4), 381–407.
CondelliL., CronenS., GarrityP., HollenderD., MovitM., ShaewitzD. & YinM. (2012). NRS guide to state longitudinal data systems. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education.
11.
CreswellJ. W. (1998). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
12.
CropperS. (1996). Collaborative working and the issue of sustainability. In EuxhamC. (Ed.), Creating collaborative advantage, (pp. 80–100). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
13.
CummingsT. G. (1984). Transorganizational development. Research in Organizational Behavior, 6, 367–422.
DriscollJ. W. (1978). Trust and participation in organizational decision making as predictors of satisfaction. Academy of management journal, 21(1), 44–56.
EveredR. & Reis LouisM. (1981). Alternative perspectives in the Organizational Sciences: ‘Inquiry from the Inside’ and ‘Inquiry from the Outside’. Academy of Management Review, 6 (3), 385–395.
18.
GlaserB. G., & StraussA. L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. New York: Aldine.
19.
GouldL., EbersR., & ClinchyR. (1999). The systems psychodynamics of a joint venture: Social defences, and the management of mutual dependence. Human Relations, 52(6), 697–714.
20.
GrayB. (1989). Collaborating: Finding common ground for multiparty problems. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
21.
GuoC., & AcarM. (2005). Understanding collaboration among nonprofit organizations: Combining resource dependency, institutional, and network perspectives. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 34(3), 340–361.
22.
HallR. H., ClarkJ. P., GiordanoP. C., JohnsonP. V., & Van RoekelM. (1977). Patterns of interorganizational relationships. Administrative Science Quarterly, 457–474.
23.
HoraM. T., & MillarS. B. (2012). A guide to building education partnerships: Navigating diverse cultural contexts to turn challenge into promise. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.
HuxhamC., & VangenS. (2000). Ambiguity, complexity and dynamics in the membership of collaboration. Human Relations, 53(6), 771–806.
28.
KenisP., & ProvanK. G. (2009). Towards an exogenous theory of public network performance. Public Administration, 87(3), 440–456.
29.
LewickiR.J., GrayB., & ElliotM. (2003). Making sense of intractable environmental conflicts. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.
30.
LichtenbergerE., WittM. A., BlankenbergerB., & FranklinD. (2014). Dual credit/dual enrollment and data driven policy implementation. Journal of Community College Research and Practice, 38(11), 959–979.
Illinois Longitudinal Data System Governing Board Agencies. (2015). Illinois Longitudinal Data System 2015 annual report & 18 month plan. Illinois Board of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.ibhe.org/ILDS/materials/ILDSReport052815.pdf.
Institute of Education Sciences. (2009). Grants for statewide, longitudinal data systems under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009: Request for applications. US Department of Education. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/grant_information.asp.
52.
KeastR., MandellM. P., BrownK., & WoolcockG. (2004). Network structures: Working differently and changing expectations. Public Administration Review, 64(3), 363–371.
53.
HuQ., KhosaS., & KapucuN. (2016). The intellectual structure of empirical network research in public administration. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 26 (4), 593–612.
54.
KoppenjanJ., & KlijnE.-H. (2004). Managing uncertainties in networks. London & New York: Routledge & Taylor Francis Group.
55.
LaumannE. O., GalaskiewiczJ. and MarsdenP. V. (1978). Community structure as inter-organizational linkages, Annual Review of Sociology, 4, 455–484.
56.
LevineS. & WhiteP. E. (1961). Exchange as a conceptual framework for the study of interorganizational relationships, Administrative Science Quarterly, 5, 583–601.
MandellM. P. (1990). Network management: Strategic behaviour in the public sector. In GageR. W. and MandellM. P. (eds) Strategies for Managing Intergovernmental Policies and Networks, (20–53). New York: Praeger.
59.
MedcofJ. (1997). Why too many alliances end in divorce. Long Range Planning, 30, 718–732.
60.
MitsuhashiH., & GreveH. R. (2009). A matching theory of alliance formation and organizational success: Complementarity and compatibility. Academy of Management Journal, 52(5), 975–995.
National Forum on Education Statistics. (2011). Traveling Through Time: The Forum Guide to Longitudinal Data Systems. Book Three of Four: Effectively Managing LDS Data. (NFES 2011–805). Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education.
64.
OliverC. (1990). ‘Determinants of interorganizational relationships: Integration and future directions, Academy of Management Review, 15, 241–265.
65.
PattonM. Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods. (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
66.
RadinB. A., AgranoffR., BowmanA. M., BuntzC. G., OttJ. S., RomzekB. S., & WilsonR. H. (1996). New governance for rural America: creating intergovernmental partnerships. Lawrence, KS: University of Kansas Press.
SelskyJ. W., & ParkerB. (2005). Cross-sector partnerships to address social issues: Challenges to theory and practice. Journal of Management, 31(6), 849–873.
69.
ShahR. H., & SwaminathanV. (2008). Factors influencing partner selection in strategic alliances: The moderating role of alliance context. Strategic Management Journal, 29(5), 471–494.
70.
StarobinS. S., & UpahS. (2014). Educational data crossroads: Data literacy for data-driven decision making in postsecondary education. In Zamani-GallaherEboni M., The Obama Administration and Educational Reform. (pp. 141–170). Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
71.
ThompsonJ.D. (1967). Organizations in action. New York: McGraw-Hill.
72.
ThomsonA. M. (2001). Collaboration: Meaning and measurement. Ph.D. dissertation. Indiana University – Bloomington.
73.
ThomsonA. M. & PerryJ. L. (1998). Can AmeriCorps build communities?Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 27(4), 399–420.
74.
ThomsonA. M., & PerryJ. L. (2006). Collaboration processes: Inside the black box. Public Administration Review, 66(s1), 20–32.
75.
TurriniA., CristofoliD., FrosiniF., & NasiG. (2010). Networking literature about determinants of network effectiveness. Public Administration, 88(2), 528–550.
76.
U.S. Department of Education. (2009). US Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (2009) Grants.
US Department of Education National Forum on Education Statistics (2011). Travelling through Time: The Forum Guide to Longitudinal data Systems, Book III. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/forum/publications.asp.
79.
VangenS., & HuxhamC. (2003). Nurturing collaborative relations Building trust in interorganizational collaboration. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 39(1), 5–31.
80.
WittM., LinickM., & BrewerJ. (2013, June). SLDS Research agendas: National context and instructive models. Champaign, IL: Illinois Collaborative for Education Policy Research, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Retrieved from http://occrl.illinois.edu/files/Newsletter/features/SLDSResearchAgendas.pdf.
81.
WoodD. & GrayB. (1991). Toward a comprehensive theory of collaboration. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science27 (2), 139–62.
82.
YinR. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods, 4th ed. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
