Capturing Snapshots in Time: Environmental Scanning as an Ongoing Process

Abstract

In 2013, I conducted my first official environmental scan. It was with a team that was developing services and creating the vision for researcher support at the Ohio State University Libraries. The eventual Research Commons Task Force recommendation highlighted services and support to invest in along with areas better served by other campus units. At the time, the group was given a couple of examples of environmental scans that had previously been completed, but there were no detailed instructions to follow or specific approaches that were commonly known by the group. In fact, many members of the group were familiar with environmental scanning only as part of a strategic planning process rather than for developing new services. In our process, the task force focused on assessing scholars’ needs and practices through both informal and formal methods, along with monitoring the larger trends affecting higher education to respond to evolving researcher practices, design innovative services, and enable research partnerships.