Various resources must be activated for the implementation of a project. Resource requirement analysis helps students assess the necessary resources, both material and immaterial, for instance specific skills and expertise, or user rights. Once students have analysed the required resources, they should distinguish between those that can be provided by themselves, the university, the cooperation partners and the network, and those which may have to be procured externally.
As a first step, students should identify the resources they can offer (individually or within the group) in addition to the resources provided by the cooperation partners. This should be recorded in the form of a resource inventory that facilitates target-actual analysis. If additional resources are available which have not yet been included, students should check to what extent these resources could be used to improve the project. If fewer resources are available, students can either adjust the project or find out whether they can be provided by the network.
Network analysis indicates the individuals within the available networks that may contribute relevant resources. A helpful technique in this context is egocentric network analysis which is used to examine social structures. Ideally, students will apply this analysis to each member of their student work group.
Egocentric network analysis observes social environments from a people perspective. In general, people are broken down into the categories of family, friends, colleagues and institutions. Concentric circles indicate how close these people are to the individual in question. Students can use size and colour markings to indicate the relevance of specific relationships to the project. In the case of particularly relevant people, students should ascertain the resources they would actually contribute.
Further information
The above results are processed in a similar manner as the results gained from internal resource analysis: If there are more resources than planned, the service should be adapted; if there are fewer resources, students should seek to procure them.
Students may need further resources which cannot be provided or accessed either by themselves or by their networks. In this case, students should investigate whether such resources are available externally and under which conditions, or at what cost, they can be utilised.
