1. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Collaboratory Environments in Developing Countries Gary M. Olson Paul M. Fitts Professor of Human-Computer Interaction Ann Zimmerman Research Fellow School of Information University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan USA Pretoria, South Africa, Sept. 5, 2005

2. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Colleagues Involved … n Judy Olson n Nathan Bos n Matt Bietz n Erik Hofer n Dan Cooney n Airong Luo n Jude Yew n Greg Peters n Jeremy Birnholtz n Tom Finholt n Stephanie Teasley n Dan Atkins

3. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Outline n Introduction –Definition of collaboratory n A case from southern Africa –IARC n Science of Collaboratories Project –Success defined –Success factors n Conclusions

4. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Definition of a Collaboratory n A collaboratory is an organizational entity that spans distance, supports rich and recurring human interaction oriented to a common research area, and provides access to data sources, artifacts and tools required to accomplish research tasks.

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6. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Challenge: Collaboratories in Africa n Less developed technical infrastructure n More mixed experience with relevant applications n But very high motivation

7. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Projects in Southern Africa n Basic research on the nature of HIV-C n Clinical trials –Mother-infant transmission –Antiretroviral (ARV) Therapies –Vaccine candidates n Education –Members of the public –Health care workers

8. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN South Africa 1. Project Participants Partners AIDS Research Center, Harvard University Nuffield Dept. of Clinical Medicine, U of Oxford Nelson Mandela College of Medicine, U of Natal, Durban

9. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Botswana 2. Project Participants School of Public Health, Harvard University Ministry of Health, Republic of Botswana

10. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN What is being supported? n Lab meetings n Clinical meetings n Remote colloquium speakers n Our own project coordination with collaborators in the region

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12. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Increasing Use of Tools

13. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN http://www.scienceofcollaboratories.org National Science Foundation grant

14. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Breadth & Depth Strategy n Collaboratories at a Glance –Collect a large set of collaboratories We have identified more than 200 examples –Collect a basic set of information n In-depth studies –A few projects documented in detail –Interviews, observations, site visits –About 18 so far

15. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Theory of Remote Collaboration (TORC) n Corpus –Collaboratories at a Glance –In-depth studies of some collaboratories n Bottom-up –What have we seen that makes collaboratories successful n Top-down –What does the literature say about success in distributed organizations

16. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN What is Success? n Use of the collaboratory tools n Software technology n Direct effects on the science n Science careers n Effects on learning, science education n Inspiration for other collaboratories n Learning about collaboratories in general n Effects on funding, public perception

17. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Factors That Affect Success n The Nature of the Work n Common Ground n Collaboration Readiness n Management, Planning and Decision Making n Technology Readiness

18. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Implications for Developing Countries n Mix of challenges –High on collaboration readiness –Mixed to low on technical readiness n Tools are improving –Web conferencing –Voice over IP n Collaboratory impact could be greatest in developing world –Research collaborations –Education

19. SCHOOL OF INFORMATION. UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Further Information n gmo@umich.edu, asz@umich.edu n www.crew.umich.edu for papers n www.scienceofcollaboratories.org