Joint Information Systems Committee

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Joint Information Systems Committee

• JISC Strategies Support of e-Science
• for Research

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The JISC Mission is

• to provide world class leadership in the
  innovative use of Information and Communication
  Technologies to support education and research.

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JISC COMMITTEE STRUCTURE
JISC Steering Committee (assessors)
JISC
Audit Committee
Nominations Committee
Remuneration Committee
JISC Sub-Committee Chairs
JISC Committee for Learning Teaching (JCLT)
JISC Committee for Awareness, Liaison Training
(JCALT)
JISC Committee for the Support of Research (JCSR)
JISC Committee for Networking (JCN)
Committee with RC representation
JISC Committee for Information Environment (JCIE)
JISC Committee for Content Services (JCCS)
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Budget
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Strategic Aims

• To develop solutions to help the UK education and
  research communities use ICT innovatively to keep
  their activities world class.
• To provide support to institutions to enable them
  to use ICT innovatively, economically,
  efficiently and legally.
• To help the sector provide positive, personalised
  user experiences.
• To develop mutually advantageous relationships
  within the UK and abroad to lead ICT innovation.
• To advise and inform the strategies of
  government, funding councils and research
  councils and help implement them.

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Priorities 2004-06

• Maintain and develop a world class network and
  infrastructure for institutions
• Provide sustainable procurement and delivery
  services for online content
• Develop a common information and communications
  environment
• Create MLEs from VLEs MIS
• Provide coherent, economical advice and guidance
  services to staff within institutions

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Priorities Cont

• Improve information and feedback mechanism
• With Becta and the Academy help embed ICT
• Develop e-Research infrastructure
• Help institutions manage ICT investment
• Provide technology observatory
• Support widening participation
• Improve effectivness of JISC
• Partnership role

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Current Status of Information Management

• Applications
• Content
• Meta Data
• Delivery tools
• Finding /
• Access tools
• Authentication

• E-science

• Digital libraries

• E-learning

• Internet

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How Far Can a Common Environment Go?

• Applications
• Content
• Meta Data
• Delivery tools
• Finding /
• Access tools

• Digital libraries

• E-science

• E-learning

• Authentication etc

• Internet

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JISC has historically supported research by

• the continued provision of, and wide access to, a
  world leading network to support research
• funding an on-line information environment
  providing secure and convenient access to a
  comprehensive collection of scholarly material
• promoting innovation in the use of IT
• providing a focus for international collaboration
  in the exploitation of ICT

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JCSR activities

• JCSR is funding projects relating to
  authentication, authorisation and accounting
• JCSR with EPSRC is funding projects relating to
  semantic grids and autonomic computing
• JCSR with ESRC is funding projects to train
  social scientists in the use of new e-research
  approaches

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JCSR activities (Continued)

• JCSR with CCRLC is funding National Grid Service
  four computing clusters to allow researchers to
  work in a safe Grid environment
• JCSR with e-Science Core Programme and JCCS is
  funding a Digital Curation Centre to provide
  advice and support on the preservation and
  re-use of digital material
• JCSR with AHRB is funding to train arts and
  humanities researchers in the use of innovative
  ICT approaches

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JCSR activities (continued)

• JCSR with BBSRC and EPSRC is funding a UK Text
  Mining Centre to enable researchers to excavate
  richer seams of electronic material
• JCSR is funding three projects to demonstrate
  e-science in schools to capture the imagination
  of young students

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JCSR membership

• JCSR membership is drawn from the Research
  Councils and AHRB (one member nominated by each
  Council)
• Learned societies
• Observers from relevant organsations (eg British
  Library, UKOLN)

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UK Light

• HEFCE is investing 6.5 million in a UK
  initiative, known as UKLight, in the area of
  optical networking
• UKLight will enable the UK to participate in the
  next era of international network collaboration,
  based on a global integrated testbed.
• JCSR provides policy direction for UKLight, with
  operational support from UKERNA.

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Virtual Research Environment

• HEFCE has allocated funding to JISC of 3.2
  million to develop a Virtual Research Environment
  (VRE)
• 15 projects approved
• implementing portals tools for portals
• range of frameworks
• CHEF/SAKAI, OGCE, Boddington

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In The Future

• JCSR looking at
• Visualisation
• Middleware
• Security
• Collaborative working
• Work plan for the next year being developed now.

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JCSR Membership

• Chair
• Professor Tony Hey, Director of e-Science Core
  Programme, EPSRC
• Members
• Ms Alison AlldenDirector of IS, University of
  Bristol
• Dr David Boyde-Science Core Programme
• Professor Peter ClarkeNational e-Science Centre,
  Edinburgh
• Professor Robert Crouchley, University of
  Lancaster
• Dr Neil Geddes, CCLRC e-Science Centre
• Mr Brian GilmoreDirector, University of Edinburgh
• Dr John Gordon, Deputy Director, e-Science
  Centre, CCLRC
• Professor Roy Kalawsky, Loughborough University
• Dr Ross KingDepartment of Computer Science,
  University of Wales Aberystwyth
• Dr Bryan LawrenceNERC Information Systems
• Dr Ian NusseyIBM United Kingdom Ltd
• Professor Alan RectorDirector, Medical
  Informatics Group, University of Manchester
• Professor David RobeyDirector of ICT in Arts
  Humanities Programme, AHRB and Head of the School
  of Modern Languages, University of Reading
• Professor David de RoureDepartment of Electronics
  Computer Science, University of Southampton
• Observers
• Professor Chris CooperRepresenting UKERNA