Highlights from the JISC Innovation Forum

Other than the opportunity to meet the other projects funded by the e-Administration programme, the Innovation Forum two weeks ago was a chance for me to learn more about the JISC and the kinds of people and projects working with it.

Interesting links:

Interesting topics:
  • The challenges, or perhaps near-impossibility (?) of having a system of open data whilst still having a sustainable business model
  • Tricky copyright issues and domains and contracts - such as when blog posts are assembled into a book, with a publishing contract stating content cannot be placed online
  • The "golden age" - a decade of generous funding for the JISC and other HE technology projects - coming to an abrupt end with today's economic challenges (this from HEFCE)
  • Open source is not the answer to sustainability of projects past their funding period. Remember: open source is "free" as in "free puppy" - you need to clean up after it, it's a lifetime cost of vet bills and food, and lots of owners abandon theirs. A "community" is not always the answer either - they need to be motivated and have the ability to help out on the tasks that need doing.
  • Remember innovation is a socio-technical system - the people aspects are if anything the most important

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