Stop Managing in the Dark: Free Video on Visualizing Your Institution with Sentient

Higher education institutions are extraordinarily complex systems. To make that complexity understandable and shareable, I developed the Sentient Knowledge Map (SKM)—an information-sharing approach that reveals institutional structures, interrelationships, and resources in their full context.

The SKM is a community-developed, Creative Commons–licensed, visually intuitive relational database presented through conceptual maps. It is designed to give leaders, faculty, and staff a shared, living picture of how their institution actually works.

To see SKM in action, watch my video, “A high-level overview of Sentient, including its purpose, how it works, and its most important capabilities,” available on the HELLO Community site.

In this overview, I walk through:

• The institutional pain points Sentient was designed to address, the goals of the initiative, and the benefits an adopting institution can expect.
• How modeling a complex organization leads to deeper understanding for all stakeholders and supports more effective management.
• What the Sentient Knowledge Map is and how it functions as a relational, conceptual model of your institution.
• The relationships between the Sentient Initiative, the Sentient Knowledge Map, and the HELLO Community.
• Sentient’s longer-term vision for supporting collaboration, learning, and decision-making across higher education.

If you’re involved in higher-ed leadership, strategy, assessment, or institutional research, I’d love for you to take a look at the video and add your comments below. If you would like assistance implementing any of the ideas addressed, please compete a consultation request form – the first hour is free for any institution.