FLEXspace Update: What's in Store for AY '23-'24?
Grush: Tell us how some of your partnerships have influenced and are supporting you through the development of FLEXspace 3.0.
Stephens: I'll start by recognizing two of the institutions closest to FLEXspace over time. SUNY and the California State University's MERLOT have both built out significant open education resources to help bring the cost of education down. As such, they are both central to the culture and development of FLEXspace — with 3.0 and earlier.
The development of FLEXspace 3.0 was precipitated when Drupal 7, the hosting software, reached its end of life. We turned to trusted insiders to find out what the consequences of this would be. Regrettably, it meant a lot of rebuild investment on a platform that still functions reasonably well. We learned that this was not a matter of patches; it was more akin to a ground-up rebuild. But we realized that afterward we 'd be in good shape for many years to come, so, we accepted this reality and reached out to our old friends to seek further input on the best way forward.
The team at MERLOT and several others pointed us to KWALL, an agency for web design. We were impressed with that team's experience in higher education, as well as with the way they were able to grasp immediately both the complexity of the build (every FLEXspace member is a mini-administrator since any member may add content and control who sees their content), and the role FLEXspace is playing in helping to showcase and ideate new spaces around the world. We did all the due diligence and were pleased when we had the opportunity to work with the KWALL team.
KWALL's development team emphasized the importance of talking with all the different groups using FLEXspace. We had been on a tight budget and were reluctant to spend development time on focus groups. But in the end, the cost was minimal and the value received was incalculable. In fact, people shared information with the KWALL team that we suspect would not have been shared directly with us. The focus group reports allowed for some celebratory moments, as well as some much-needed critical feedback that helped inform the priorities for the growing user base.
Focus group reports allowed for some celebratory moments, as well as some much-needed critical feedback that helped inform the priorities for the growing user base.
Meanwhile, we were in the middle of a mini-crisis of "Oh-oh, how are we going to manage this expense, particularly post-COVID as many of our partners are just getting back on their financial feet and supply chains are still unpredictable? How can we expand our partner base?" We received an e-mail from our friend Samantha Becker, who has long history with FLEXspace through several initiatives. She asked how her new business, SAB Creative & Consulting could help. I could have leapt through phone and given her a big hug! Samantha and her team redefined color schemes, standardized messaging, and created a "pitch deck" that quickly gets to the value proposition of partnership with FLEXspace.org.
Samantha also sat in on several design meetings with the KWALL team to lend her creative and strategic insights, making sure we were staying on brand and aligned with our mission. Many of the new portal features will enable quicker links to partners like these who offer new ideas and outcomes in the marketplace.
Grush: Please tell us how community relationships with leading organizations like EDUCAUSE and SCUP, as well as so many others factor into and support the directions FLEXspace takes.
Frazee: We are grateful to a long list of organizations who have helped shape the portal functionality, amplify the FLEXspace message, and endorse FLEXspace use.