1. 28 th November 2005 JISC VRE Consultation Workshop What is happening, what are the likely outcomes, what is the likely impact, what does it all mean? John Kelleher Tavistock Institute, London Programme formative evaluation team

2. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 Background Objectives of the programme Increased understanding to support decision making Exploration of research, learning & administration commonalities Production of tangible products/demonstrators of useable services & tools Begin moving technologies into wider community Change behaviours and cultures

3. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 Background Formative evaluation Learning from innovation Timely ongoing feedback to support steering and development Part of the Action Research cycle (plan – act – evaluate - plan - …)

4. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 Background This formative evaluation Phase I All projects now visited as of last week Now trying to make sense of it all … Interim report and initial feedback to projects and programme shortly (December, JCSR Feb.)

5. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 Background Phase II Project and programme support: individual projects; sets of projects; all projects; programme Particularly concerning user needs, self evaluation, institutional embedding, collaboration, …

6. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 What is happening? Some initial findings Project types – spectrums from: Technically orientated –-------- user orientated Development –---------------------------- research Multiple institutions –-------- single institutions Arts & humanities –------------- natural sciences Single discipline –----------- multiple disciplines Users imagined –-------------- users investigated

7. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 What is happening? Some initial findings Orientations and approaches Tools more than technologies Implicit rather than explicit user models Institutional settings assumed rather than addressed Revolutionaries versus evolutionists True believers (in VREs) v agnostics (believers in e-research)

8. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 What is happening? Some initial findings Memberships Presence of leading edge users in teams Absence of institutional decision makers in projects Sparse organisational and programme design and change expertise

9. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 What are the likely outcomes and impact? It seems to us even at this stage that … There is obviously a lot of very useful stuff going on … And there is some important socio- technical investigation, experimentation and innovation going on … And it is becoming clearer in practice what kinds of additional technical tools are needed …

10. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 What are the likely outcomes and impact? But project issues arising around … User engagement Environmental embedding Intra-programme exchange and learning Exit and exploitation In other words … What technologies and why

11. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 What does it all mean? We dont know but it certainly involves Social, organisational and institutional assumptions The definition of users (users, other machines, support staff, communities, …) The practical identification of technical needs / opportunities Emergent agendas for action

12. Formative Evaluation of JISC VRE Nov. 2005 What does it all mean? And we have to ask what do WE mean by … VRE / eResearch? Users? Embedding? Products? Technology? And what better way to do so than looking at concrete real world scenarios …