1. Jim Farmer instructional media + magic, inc.
Sustainability of Virtual Research Environment Software Knowledge Exchange Workshop Aston University, Birmingham UK November 2011
Jim Farmer
instructional media + magic, inc.

2. Pragmatic definition
Sustainability of virtual research environments—software, IC infrastructure, and processes—is when the community of users, including “free loaders” if open source, are willing to provide funding and/or support to maintain and advance the VRE.

3. The sustainability challenge
Geoffrey A. Moore , 1991

4. Some are sustainable Product Organization Business Model Linux
Linux Foundation
Firm contributions
Eclipse
Eclipse Foundation
(300+) Commercial contributions
SugarCRM
SugarCRM Inc.
Income from service
Kuali Financials and Student
Kuali Foundation
Contributions of capital and effort + firms
uPortal
JA-SIG
Supporting firms + contributions of effort
Moodle
Moodle Foundation
Income - ercentage of partner revenue
Sakai CLE
Sakai Foundation
Membership fees + contributed effort (and capital)

5. Context: Research to products and services

6. Context of VREs Basic Research Applied Research Metric Publications
Patents
Distribution of results
Open innovation
Restricted distribution
Decision-maker
Researcher
Manager
Community
Global
Project only
Knowledge exchange
Global research community

7. VREs helping researchers
Communications, collaboration, and distribution of knowledge
Discipline-specific tools (e.g.myExperiment)
Automating data acquisition (e.g. University of Reading anthropology
Improved access to knowledge from knowledge media (commercially called search interface, search middleware, search engines)
Automating administration
From JISC eRess, JA-SIG UK, ESUP,
KM Conference 2011

8. Virtual Research Environment
From KE Copenhagen
Virtual Research Environment
Project specific
Discipline community
Collaboration, communication, security and infrastructure
Relevant discipline interfaces, data standards
Tools, preferably interoperable; data standards
Extended portal or portlet-compliant application (e.g. Sakai)

9. Observations from eRess
Programmers will use standards
If they know they exist
If they believe they are relevant
If finding them does not take more than 3 to 8 hours. (192 relevant standards documents growing 4 per week)
Standards yield interoperability
Commonality in programming environment and style encourages interoperability (e.g. Eclipse)

10. Policy issues and opportunities
Current results v investment in the future
Budget for research v knowledge acquisition, distribution and facilitating use
Sustainability v Project focus
Business model and plan including targets
Communication plan
Standards or recommendations by policy
For software development
For data formats and metadata
Dissemination of current VRE and other relevant work

11. Jim Farmer JXF [at] immagic . com JXF [at] georgetown . edu
The End
Jim Farmer
JXF [at] immagic . com
JXF [at] georgetown . edu

12. The flow of research knowledge
Basic Research
Industrial Research
Products and Services
University A
Business V
Business X
University B
Business Y
University C
Business Z
Time

13. Policy analysis and its use
Universities
“Think tanks”
Advocacy
Non-profit
New knowledge
Influence decisions
Advocate positions

14. Technology adoption curve

15. Additional reading Examples of open source business models:
“Open-source software: in search of a business model,” Intellectual Property Magazine, Informa, October 2011 (subscription required or available, by agreement, at
Sustainability:
Planning for sustainability, OSS Watch, University of Oxford

16. Additional reading Open source/community source
Open Source 2010: Reflections on 2007, Brad Wheeler, EDUCAUSE Review, January/February 2007, ERM01712.