Michael Fraser Research Technologies Service ICT Strategy: a view from behind and implications for e-research support Michael Fraser Research Technologies Service

A view from behind

Oxford's ICT Strategy Programme 8+ months of 4+ Steering group meetings chaired by PVC, directed by PWJ. So far 54 individuals scattered across 11 Work Tasks meeting c.30 times generating 2,553 files And a 'strawman' Strategic Plan formulate an ICT strategic plan for the collegiate University in accordance with its corporate plan... ensure a co-ordinated and coherent approach to the development, deployment and support of ICT services to underpin ... teaching, learning, research and administration systems.

For the mystical body of the University Individual ICT Requirements University ICT Requirements Collegiate ICT Structure Integration of Enterprise Stuff Five year ICT Plan ICT Structure for CDM Phase 2

User requirements "Major requirements include secure space to store data and shared and authenticated access to that data from users including collaborators from other Universities and industry. Secure access to that data from anywhere, perhaps from abroad whilst visiting collaborators, would be very useful." "Project-based collaborations are being promoted strongly by research councils and the government. Services and tools to enhance collaborative work will become increasingly important.” "A major driver in the real world is the availability of funding to implement a given project or ICT development. A perfect example of this can be seen in the exponential growth of grid-based computing which within academia has been driven almost entirely by government decisions to fund this particular area.” "...Deposition of research datasets (note Wellcome research requirements). The relationship to the RAE: in the current round, the RAE might populate the institutional repository, in the next round, the repository should populate the RAE submission.”

Institutional standards framework Personalised access from anywhere, anytime Interoperability between systems Identity and Access Management Wireless & remote access Digital repository infra-structure Common diary, email, etc Document manage-ment & filestore Standard-ised desktop platform Some level of 24/7 support Data admin policies Investment in robust infrastructure for critical services Institutional standards framework Information Strategy

Institutional standards framework Virtual Research Environment Interoperability between systems Identity and Access Management Wireless & remote access Data and outputs repository Research Discovery Service Collab-oration resources Campus Grid Some level of 24/7 support Data admin policies Investment in robust infrastructure for critical services Institutional standards framework Information Strategy

Where on the hype cycle? This slide had a pointer to the Gartner hype cycle 2005 e.g. place of grid computing, SOA etc See http://www.gartner.com/DisplayDocument?ref=g_search&id=484424

National e-Infrastructure DTI formulating e-infrastructure strategy for research e-infrastructure steering group six work-streams middleware & access management (JISC) Networks, compute and storage (e-science) Preservation and curation (BL) Search and navigation (RIN) Information/data creation (CCLRC) Virtual research communities (JISC) current provision globally, inc. tools and support future ideal scenarios gap analysis and recommended proposals Final report in summer 2006

National e-Infrastructure: VRCs Discussions working definitions of VRO, VRE, VRC (in that order) Industry, military ahead of HE in solving collaboration securely within and across boundaries emerging technologies intelligent working environments mobile technologies and ‘presence management’ access grid for remote equipment use other considerations challenge to blend (workflows, new and legacy etc) not always new – reusing old technologies differently incentives to collaborate required changing roles – emergence of collaboration managers

JISC VRE Programme II Planning for next phase of VRE Programme Reminder: Oxford involved in three projects – BVREH, IB VRE, Sakai VRE Further £2M for high priority areas consultation to establish priority areas Emerging themes What do users want from personalisation e-administration for research holy grail (identity management across sectors, roles, boundaries, borders, and leylandii) Modelling workflow tool choreography Priorities so far user requirements (users and developers talking) identify integration points for tools sustaining and adopting current outcomes

Common 'Sense' Requirements analysis Framework development Identify infrastructure needs identity & access management filestorage computational resources Identify services data repository network collaboration tools (e.g. collaborative content management) research discovery presentation interfaces research administration Effect change awareness-raising at all levels (“imaginative leaps”) training and skills formation

Finally... “While it is possible for individual disciplines within an organisation to adopt an ad-hoc approach to interdisciplinary collaboration, it is likely to prove more fruitful for universities and research bodies to give serious consideration, through an institutional e-research strategic plan, for example, to the identification and deconstruction of disciplinary ‘silos’ that impede research and communication, and to the creation of organisational structures more aligned with the new ways in which research is conducted. In particular, IT departments that service the needs of universities could be steered to provide and integrate new research-enabling activities by working closely with the various research disciplines they serve.” - An e-research strategic framework (Australia, Sept 2005)