Insight 1 from Research Focus on excellence - great teams need solid strategy
Jinfo Blog

By Robin Neidorf

Abstract

Jinfo's Centre of Excellence model creates clarity for information teams. We provide a research-based framework for developing what teams already are working towards while offering a roadmap for further planning, decision-making and service reengineering.

Item

Thriving information teams work from a clear, updated strategy that incorporates two components:

1. Enabling end-users: ensuring knowledge workers anywhere in the business can access the information they need and identify the skills they need to use information effectively
   
   
2. Delivering expert information services: applying specialist expertise to the biggest information-related challenges in the organisation and making the most of opportunities while managing risk.

Your information strategy defines how you balance these areas of focus as well as the specific services you offer. Depending on the size of your team and the overall culture of your organisation, you may emphasise one or other of these components. They may also show up in equal measure in your strategy.

Here's what you need to know:

• These components require your team to develop different skills
• These components must operate in parallel and towards the same overall strategy
• You need to manage both, and with the understanding that your organisation's needs will look entirely different in three years.

Evolving to an Information Centre of Excellence requires you to examine how you deliver service today, what you're developing for the next two years and to evaluate your long-term plans. It requires you to balance your attention and capacity between enabling end-users and delivering expert services.

The Centre of Excellence model creates clarity for information teams. It provides a research-based framework for developing what you already have been working towards. It offers a structure and a roadmap for further planning, decision-making and service reengineering.

The resources developed in this Research Focus, "Creating an Information Centre of Excellence", will give you access to the structure and show you how to adapt the roadmap.

Resources relating to this insight:

Articles

• Representing a Centre of Excellence online
• Jinfo model of an Information Centre of Excellence
• Balancing your information strategy to meet end-user needs and business strategy needs
• What are your variables in evolving to a Centre of Excellence?
• Jinfo survey on developing an Information Centre of Excellence (part 1 - core services)

Reports

• Jinfo survey on developing an Information Centre of Excellence

Webinars

• Managing your evolution towards an Information Centre of Excellence, 23rd May

Community sessions

• Balancing end-user and expert services, to build a Centre of Excellence, 16th May

Contact us about Jinfo Consulting. Our workshops can jump-start or reroute your strategic planning process for creating an Information Centre of Excellence, or to dig into the details of reengineering to move your services in a more valuable direction.

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