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Overview of JISC Observatory
JISC Observatory:
Horizon Scanning for
Higher & Further Education
Thom Bunting
ISC at UKOLN
University of Bath
Bath, UK
IWMW 2012
Parallel session #A1
18 June 2012
UKOLN is supported by:
This work is licensed under
A centre of expertise in digital information management Creative Commons Attribution
(CC-BY) 2.0 licence

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Overview of JISC Observatory Role of JISC Observatory
bjectives
• Providing considered and prioritised information,
analysis, and recommendations regarding emerging
technical innovations and their usage in HE / FE
activities and developments
• Ensuring that JISC and sector institutions can plan
interventions in enough time to sustain world-class
education and research
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Overview of JISC Observatory JISC Observatory methods
etecting what's coming along, in enough time to
make a difference
taff from Innovation Support
Centres (UKOLN / Cetis) and
JISC scan the horizon
n-going sharing of links to
reports of innovation
eriodic review and
synthesis
Image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosightfaces/5253682049/
A centre of expertise in digital information management
3 electing topics for briefings

4.
Overview of JISC Observatory JISC Observatory methods
hecking with people who know, at the coalface
utreach to range of
communities with broad
practical experience:
ev8D (developers)
uroCris (research
information management)
Image source: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/cph.3b42963
A centre of expertise in digital information managementetis conference
4 (education technology)

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JIS Observatory process
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Overview of JISC Observatory JISC Observatory work
tage one: broad observation
taff from Innovation Support Centres (UKOLN / Cetis) and
JISC send in brief messages to shared email list (the
‘Observatron’)
o date ‘Observatronistas’ have posted 224 messages
including 1,211 recommended links to posts on technical
innovation
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7.
Overview of JISC Observatory JISC Observatory work
tage two: reviewing and selecting key topics
osting, commenting, and voting on ideas for in-depth
reports (via Ideascale etc)
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8.
Overview of JISC Observatory JISC Observatory work
tage three: forthcoming guidance reports
echWatch: Preparing for Data-Driven Infrastructure
Currently in second draft (soon open for comments)
To be published July 2012
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9.
Overview of JISC Observatory JISC Observatory work
tage three: forthcoming guidance reports
echWatch: Preparing for Effective Adoption and
Use of eBooks in Education
Currently in early draft
To be published August 2012
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10.
Overview of JISC Observatory Innovation and us
UK Government’s Innovation and Research Strategy for
Growth strategy paper (BIS, December 2001):
innovation is crucial for growth of world-class
education and research
Image source: http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wwipos/item/93517736/
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Overview of JISC Observatory Innovation and you
How can you and your HE / FE organisation help
detect potentially disruptive innovation, in time?
Image source: http://www.aip.org/asa_laypapers2011/Yau.html (courtesy Eric Carlson)
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Overview of JISC Observatory You and JISC Observatory
We hope that TechWatch reports can help you
and your institution prepare for innovation.
And we hope that community consultations at
events such as IWMW 2012 can help you:
Participate in lightning interviews
5 minutes of your time here at conference (or via Skype)
Provide feedback on TechWatch drafts
your comments are welcome on forthcoming reports
Let us know how you would like to be involved
over the next year
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Overview of JISC Observatory Your ideas
JISC Observatory welcomes your input!
observatory.jisc.ac.uk
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Overview of JISC Observatory Contact details
Thom Bunting
Observatory Project Manager
t.bunting@ukoln.ac.uk
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