Using ICT in higher education: From pilot to implementation, who is involved?

The state of the art of the implementation of ICT applications in higher education is very diverse. Even though there are several examples of a successful transition from the pilot phase to the implementation phase, it appears that in practice it is quite difficult to take the appropriate actions to come to actual implementation or even to integration or institutionalisation. The implementation process usually starts with a pilot and via a project leader the pilot is scaled up and implemented in a broader context. The process of going from pilot to implementation is a complex one. Often this process is seen as a change process, relating to both organisational change and educational innovation. Many factors and actors have an influence on this process. An overview is given of possible kinds of factors that can be of influence on the change process, for instance environmental pressures, technology developments and new pedagogical approaches. But one of the main factors that has an influence on the process seems to be the different actors that are involved. The educational innovation does not only depend on the person that decides about the innovation itself, after this decision is made the real implementation process starts and many actors are involved. These actors are listed and categorized. From this a descriptive model is developed in which the actors, their roles and activities are listed and related to the steps in the implementation process. By using this as a checklist the process of implementation can be supported and stimulated in a more-systematic way.