1. DC-NET, Digital Cultural Heritage Network
The Fifth SEEDI Conference – Sarajevo, 20 May 2010
DC-NET, Digital Cultural Heritage Network
Giuliana DE FRANCESCO
Ministero per i beni e le attività culturali
Istituto centrale per il catalogo unico delle biblioteche italiane

2. Content The project, aims and objectives Organisation
Joining the network

3. DC-NET Project

4. The Project
ERA-NET - Coordination action contributing to the European Research Area Network
Research field: e-Infrastructure for the digital cultural heritage
Duration: 24 months
Start: December 2009

5. Main aims
Developing and strengthening the co-ordination of public research programmes in the sector of digital cultural heritage across Europe and beyond
Foster the involvement and use of e-Infrastructures
Integrating the research capacities of the participant countries
Preparing a plan of joint activities to deploy a federated European e-Infrastructure for digital cultural heritage

6. Current situation 1/2
The cultural sector demonstrates interest and capacity to engage with ICT in order to pursue the own mission:
Communicating cultural information and content
Making accessible, promoting and enhancing heritage collections
Making research on cultural heritage
Generating innovative educational products
This results in projects, platforms, services for the digitisation, preservation, access, contextualisation, semantic interconnection, etc., of cultural and scientific resources. 6 6

7. Current situation 2/2 However:
The technology in use is often limited and limiting
There is little or no use of e-Infrastructures
The solution adopted are frequently driven by the market offer rather than by the forefront results of the research activities 7 7

8. DC-NET Objectives 1/2
Dialogue: To create a ongoing forum for the dialogue between the community of the digital cultural heritage and the e-Infrastructures
Coordination: To generate a common awareness of the reciprocal research focuses, identify communalities, valorise existing projects, harmonise national prorammes 8 8

9. DC-NET Objectives 2/2
Involvement: To involve all the relevant stakeholders, bringing together
Cultural Ministries
Research organisations
e-Infrastructures
Cultural institutions
To enlarge the network to all the countries willing to join
Commitment: To create a joint commitment among the participating countries to initiate the implementation of the joint activities plan 9 9

10. Project Partners
Italy: Ministero per i beni e le attività culturali - Istituto Centrale per il Catalogo Unico (coordinator)
Belgium: Politique scientifique fédéral/Federaal Wetenschapsbeleid - STIS
Estonia: Eesti Vabariigi Kultuuriministeerium
France: Ministère de la Culture e la Communication – Mission de la Recherce
Greece: Υπουργείο Πολιτισμού [Hellenic Ministry of Culture]
Hungary: Oktatási Kulturális Minisztérium
Slovenia: Ministrstvo za Kulturo Slovenia
Sweden: Riksarchivet

11. Project Activities 1/2 WP1 Network of common interest:
Establish the network, define procedures and planning of the working groups, identify the initial set of research priorities
WP2 e-Infrastructure awareness:
Explore the e-Infrastructures available in each Member State, the policies, programmes and regulations which govern the access to the e-Infrastructures and the mechanisms and technical standards that need to be complied with
Establish operative liaisons with National Research and Educational Networks (NREN) and GRID providers (Memorandum of Understanding)
WP3 New service priorities:
Review the research priorities of the cultural ministries in terms of the new services which they wish to deliver using the e-Infrastructures 11 11

12. Project Activities 2/2 WP4 Technical Validation
Evaluate technical feasibility, cost and sustainability for the implementation of the digital cultural heritage e-Infrastructure
WP5 Dissemination:
Technical and policy workshops
Presidential conferences in Belgium and Hungary
Publications, website
WP6 Joint Activities Plan:
To draw up a Joint Research Agenda for digital cultural heritage using e-Infrastructures
To commit on the implementation of a Plan of Joint Activities, to be carried out after the EC project funding.
Antonella Fresa, MiBAC
EVA Moscow
30 November 2009 12 12

13. Joint Activities Plan
The core of the Joint Activities Plan will be based on 3 main components:
The development of a range of guidelines and recommendations for the exploitation of the e-Infrastructures in the digital cultural heritage, based on the successful approach of MINERVA
The deployment of a data and services infrastructure. This e-infrastructure is an evolution of MICHAEL
The creation of a Multidisciplinary Virtual Research Community 13 13

14. Organisation

15. Mechanism
The DC-NET aims to combine networking at international and at national level, and to complement a bottom-up with a top-down approach.
International WPs and National Working Groups are the engine of the network and the key asset to ensure the fulfilment of the project tasks
The mutual interaction of the two levels will ensure the engagement of the relevant stakeholders and the achievement of the coordination across the three main fields DC-NET is concerned with, while at the same time gathering a wide range of inputs, issues, requirements, competences, demands, knowledge, etc
The activity of each international WP will run in parallel with the national WGs, which are due to provide them the input.

16. National Working Groups
The National Working Groups are the mesh of the network and the forum where the project activities take shape
National Working Groups are composed of representatives of institutions active in the field of digital technologies applied to CH:
Ministry or other national Agency responsible for the cultural policy, or institution mandated by them;
Local authorities dealing with cultural policies at local level;
Main cultural institutions engaged with digital services;
Research organisations (University Departments; Research Centres);
e-Infrastructures of interest for the cultural sector for their provision of technologies and networking and computing services;
Other outstanding cultural, scientific or technology organisations.

17. National Working Groups
Projects represented to date by DC-NET NWG members:
ATHENA, CHAIN, D4Science, DL.org, DRIVER, EFG, EUMedGrid, EUAsiaGrid, EuropeanaConnect, Europeana V.1.0,, HOPE, OpenAIRE, TELplus, TrebleClef.
MINERVA, MICHAEL, Caspar, Diligent, Delos, Bricks, Digital Preservation Europe, Imagination, Multimatch
National Research programmes and main initiatives such as CulturalItalia, CultureFrance, etc.
Regional programmes

18. National Working Groups
The interaction between National Working Groups and International Work Packages will provide the ongoing forum for coordination of European research in the field of digital technologies applied to cultural heritage
NWGs will offer the basis for the Virtual Research Community

19. National Referees
The National Referees are the junction between the national and the international level of the network
Each participating country appoints a National Referee with the task of carrying on the coordination of the network at national level, reporting to the international network on the outcome of the National Working Group activity
The National Referee establishes the National Working Group, takes care that all relevant stakeholders are represented, makes sure that the NWG provides feedback to the project WPs
The DC-NET WP leaders address to the National Referees for all the information and feedback required to fulfil the WP tasks

20. Joining the network

21. An open network
The Network of Common Interest is intended to be open to the participation of new countries in addition to the partners of DC-NET
DC-NET is currently gathering expressions of interest. Any country can participate (EU-27, Associated, Candidate, FP7 ICPC, and beyond)
A Cooperation Agreement is under preparation. It will cover:
Participation to international technical activities
Access and use of DC-NET produced materials
Participation to dissemination activities
Report on dissemination initiatives
Participation to the Advisory Body

22. Thank you for your kind attention!
Giuliana De Francesco
Any questions?