The Design of an Information System to Support Network Development

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ABSTRACT The leaders of Networks for School Improvement (NSIs) have complex, challenging jobs which require constant learning and adaptation. To support these leaders, the contributors to this volume have developed a survey-based data visualization system—the Improvement Network Health Development (INHD) Information System—designed to generate insight about key aspects of network health and functioning. The INHD Information System constitutes the third leg of the boundary object, described in the introduction, that was developed by our project. This article describes and provides the rationale for six key design features of this system: (1) offering bounded customization of key terms used in different improvement networks; (2) anchoring results in the Improvement Network Health and Development (INHD) Framework and the measures from the INHD Survey; (3) signaling the information that merits further consideration; (4) illuminating variation in beliefs and practices; (5) providing evidence in a timely fashion to inform network improvements; and (6) safeguarding the system as a formative tool supporting network development. We also share preliminary evidence of the uses of the system by NSI leaders.