The role of institutional research in postsecondary education in view of the trend toward consortia, regionalism, and other manifestations of "communiversity" or interinstitutional action is evaluated. Attention is also directed to new modes for policy planning and decision-making. Four activities were conducted in order to better understand new roles: a literature review, a statewide cooperative study of academic program coexistence and comparative characteristics in over 200 institutions, a regional interstate project supported by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), and a telephone survey of college officials responsible for institutional research. A large scale comparative study of academic programs at over 200 postsecondary institutions was conducted in a large eastern state, and the outcome included descriptions of the 5,000 degree programs offered by an institution or by aggregate arrangements to the wider public. Other outcomes have been users' manuals designed to permit interinstitutional comparisons, particularly as a basis for regional postsecondary planning. The FIPSE project focused on the feasibility of comprehensive postsecondary cooperative action in natural geographic and socioeconomic planning regions divided by state boundaries. Activities were designed to assess regionwide needs for postsecondary educational programs and services, available resources, and barriers that impede use of the resources. Telephone interviews with college officials revealed that few institutional research efforts were directed toward interinstitutional action or actual involvement of an external policy center. (SW)