User Forum – Slides for Discussion

Jamie.Shiers@cern.ch

Recommendations

Look for merging with other user forum activities and utilizing existing work

Include wider set of ”e-infrastructure acronyms” and try to make the interface less confusing to users

Promote open approach and clear selection criteria– Choices and pilots based on clear criteria, not based on

”since it happens to be there”. Some pilots have a tendency to become permanent.

– Example from datacenter selection criteria: energy efficiency, environmental sustainability, running costs

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Potential for conflicts

What is the relation between this forum and others?– Need to build on existing initiatives, not ”yet an another

policy group”

Where is the point when collaboration potential converts to harmful politics?– For example ”data intensive HPC” is today addressed

also by PRACE

Networked models (”ecosystem”) instead of monoliths allows better inclusion or people

Clear and open criteria for choices– Examples: who will provide each service and how those

decisions are made etc.

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principle problems

• researchers want useful services but not interested in lengthy discussions • researchers will take interesting solutions or build them • infrastructure building & giving service requires altruistic people – do we

have them in Europe? Can we only rely on services for money?• infrastructure and tool building requires time to become mature and

accepted – there is a time without reliable success indicators • different models of user engagement

• user advisory boards – often alibi function • user forums – interesting but difficult to turn into action • conferences – often platforms to present own work• active working groups – very promising but does not scale

running projectno dynamic adaptation

results not usable

running projectjust collection of wishes

lack plan for action

DataOneCLARINEUDAT...

questions to this forum• what is the aim of the forum – supporting, blocking,

commenting, recommending, claqueuring, etc.?• how to make sure we get the people we are looking for?• is it a neutral place or is there a hidden agenda?• whom do we trust – who is in the driving seat (researchers, IT

folks, etc.)? • how do we organize the forum – monolithically? • do we understand that there is no golden way of user

engagement – partly success depends on trusted persons? (famous Henry Thompson and XML)

• same issues being addressed by RDA (and others such as IETF, W3C, etc.)

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GOALS, OUTCOMES & METRICS

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• Prioritising and publishing issues facing the scientific communities in the areas of infrastructures;

• Maintaining a database of contact information;• Providing an estimation of the impact of the e‐

infrastructures on the research communities;• Providing information on the potential for a service in

terms of market size and likely adoption;• Organising representative input from the scientific

communities through workshops and polls;• Participating in strategic discussions with e‐

infrastructure providers and projects;• Participating and providing input on strategic directions

from the scientific community for the e-IRG, European Commission and national funding agencies.

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Some Specific Proposals…

• Maintaining a list of available services

• Publishing a regular (annual?) “Compendium”– IMHO this is different from existing compendia in that input

must come directly from the users

• Organising detailed technical workshops

• Holding an inter-disciplinary “conference”– Differentiated by ratio of talks / discussions as well as cross-

disciplinary nature…

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Ramp-up

• It will need at least one year to ramp-up and this will require extensive discussions at numerous existing meetings

• Many people have already – and independently – expressed the need

• We must “tap” that energy and deliver something the users see as useful

HORIZON 2020 WORK PROGRAMME

INFRASUPP 7 in particular

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• To optimise e-infrastructures investments in Europe it is essential to coordinate European, national and/or regional policies and programmes for e-infrastructures, in order to develop complementarities, and promote cooperation between e-infrastructures and activities implementing other Union policies (such as regional, cohesion, industrial, health, employment, or development policy).

• To promote sound policy development it is essential to ensure stakeholder consultation, monitor take-up and assess the impact of past actions. To promote innovation it is necessary to identify it and spin it out from projects.

• The cooperation of European e-infrastructures with their non-European counterparts also requires facilitation, to ensure their global interoperability and reach.

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1. Dissemination of information on the e-infrastructure programme and of project results, including coordination among projects;

2. Stakeholder initiatives, including a user forum to provide orientations for e-infrastructure service interoperability and integration;

3. Policy coordination with the major national and European policy makers, including the collection of information needed for policy making e.g. through consultation actions and surveys as well as the wider use of e-infrastructures for public services and society;

4. Support to monitoring results and assessing impact of the Horizon 2020 e-infrastructure activities, including through metrics and indicators;

5. Monitor and analyse the take-up of digital science and e-infrastructures by researchers and possible other users, such as citizens and the education sector, per country, region and research domain or community;

6. Support to technology transfer from the e-infrastructures projects to the market;

7. Support to cooperation with developing countries and regions to promote connectivity, global e-infrastructure services, identification of use cases and promising applications of particular interest for developing regions.

• One or several projects? Which points? Partners? Budget?

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• Expected impact: A consistent and dynamic European policy for research infrastructures is developed and is coordinated EU-wide.

• Support actions provide solid ground for future choices and help in decision making and deployment of e-infrastructures. Impact and results analysis is available in real time and can inform policy choices.

• Novel technology and services with market potential are identified and spun off to the market.

• Support measures for international cooperation address specific issues regarding reciprocal use, openness or co-financing of e-infrastructures, as well as ensure Europe's persistent presence and influence in the global e-infrastructure.

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Timeline

• December 11th – first H2020 calls open• March 26 – 28 – RDA – 3• [ April 15th – 1st deadline for submission ]• May 19 – 23: “User Fora”• [ mid-July – mid/end August: “closed” ]• September 2nd: 2nd deadline for submission• September 22 – 24: RDA – 4

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Timeline – 2

• Assuming successful funding under INFRASUPP-7-2014, could plan first “supported” UF mind-2015

• Clarify relation to other “UFs”• Clarify goals, e.g. “XLDB-style” information

exchange?• How can we benefit from existing events in 2014?• How can we reach “end users” or their

“representative representatives”?

Trust in all levels

Trust between RI and e-infra

Trust between different Ris

Trust between different e-infrastructure initiatives

User-driven services, requirement for synergy

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EVERY RI NEEDS TO DEAL WITH e-INFRASTRUCTURE

• Prioritising and publishing issues facing the scientific communities in the areas of infrastructures;

• Maintaining a database of contact information;• Providing an estimation of the impact of the e‐

infrastructures on the research communities;• Providing information on the potential for a service in

terms of market size and likely adoption;• Organising representative input from the scientific

communities through workshops and polls;• Participating in strategic discussions with e‐

infrastructure providers and projects;• Participating and providing input on strategic directions

from the scientific community for the e-IRG, European Commission and national funding agencies. 18