ABSTRACT
When the UDEP partnership leaders received word that their proposal had been funded, they hurriedly convened a planning session at a hub airport. More than 10 leaders from four cities flew in and met in an airport conference room. After consulting the funding agency's guidelines, they began hammering out details about the partnership goals and producing benchmarks, timelines, and a strategies. The group held several more meetings and exchanged hundreds of e-mails and phone calls before finally submitting a detailed strategic plan to the funding organization. This plan detailed the various goals of the partnership and how different organizations were to work collaboratively to improve math and science instruction in large, urban K-12 districts. The group chose a collaborative partnership structure, in which decisions would be made by a senior leadership group comprising representatives from K-12 and IHE partner organizations.
