Archived Projects
BIILS: Benefits of Investment in ICT Landscape Study - This JISC funded project, completed in 2008, explored the way in which the financial and non-financial benefits of investment in ICT are evaluated within Higher and Further Education Institutions in the UK.
CC-Interop - a JISC funded collaborative project, involving the M25 Systems Team, CDLR, MIMAS and RIDING and built on the expertise acquired in recent years in the area of union catalogues, both physical and virtual, aiming to take the JISC vision of the Information Environment ever closer.
CMS Metadata Interoperability - Funded by the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) with support from the National Library of Scotland and the Scottish Museums Council, the primary focus of the CMS Metadata Interoperability project will be to offer a 'safe path' towards standards-based interoperability of descriptive, administrative, technical, structural, and behavioural metadata in Scottish distributed digital libraries.
DIDET - Led by the University of Strathclyde, Stanford University and Olin College to enhance learning opportunities by enabling students to participate in global team-based design engineering projects that give them experience of working within multi-cultural contexts and enable them to develop global design team working skills.
DiSCmap - Digitisation in Special Collections: mapping, assessment, prioritisation was funded under the JISC Digitisation Programme. A unique user-driven prioritisation framework for the digitisation of Special Collections was developed in direct consultation with over 1000 end users and professionals, in partnership with CERLIM, based at Manchester Metropolitan University. Contributing substantially to the development of a quantifiable and adjustable system of metrics for use in the digitisation life cycle, DiSCmap specifically addressed the selection phase. The project advanced understanding of the user-driven dimension of digitisation by identifying the actual - as opposed to the perceived - needs of end users.
EBONI- Funded under the JISC DNER Learning and Teaching Programme, has developed a set of guidelines for designing electronic textbooks which reflect the usability requirements of students and academics throughout the UK.
ERIS: Enhancing Repository Infrastructure in Scotland - The purpose of the ERIS project is to develop – in close partnership with researchers and their institutions' repository managers – a set of user-led and user-centric solutions that will motivate researchers to deposit their work in repositories.
Europeana - CDLR and CIS conducted international user testing of the Europeana website to inform development of the EU’s cultural heritage digital library.
HaIRST - Harvesting Institutional Resources in Scotland Testbed - is one of 14 projects funded by the Joint Information System Committee (JISC) under the Focus on Access to Institutional Resources (FAIR) programme.
HILT - The HILT project researched, developed and piloted solutions to facilitate interoperability between, and cross-searching across, collections and services that adopt different, and multiple, subject schemes.
INSPIRAL - A JISC-funded research project, carried out by the Centre for Digital Library Research (CDLR) and the Centre for Educational Systems (CES), both part of the University of Strathclyde. INSPIRAL's purpose was to identify and critically analyse the issues that surround linking virtual learning environments (VLEs) and digital libraries, focusing on institutional and end-user perspectives. This analysis then identified priority areas for JISC strategic planning and investment.
IRIScotland - The IRIScotland Toolkit exists to help institutions who are developing an institutional repository. The toolkit is aimed at both staff within institutions charged with developing repositories and at researchers wanting to find out more about open access and how they can engage with it. The content focuses on policy, cultural and legal issues rather than on the technical aspects of setting up a repository.
The MANDATE project's primary out was a toolkit aimed at managers, administrative and technical staff considering the management of digital assets in colleges discussing some of the main issues facing the development of a digital asset management system to organise materials supporting learning and teaching and the publication of papers. Funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) as part of its Supporting Digital Preservation and Asset Management in Institutions Programme, itself part of its wider Continuing Access and Digital Preservation Strategy.
Moodle Theme Development - members of Development and Innovation have been collaborating with the Learning Technology Enhancement team to develop new Moodle themes, based on user feedback and best practice.
OCRIS - Funded by the JISC Scholarly Communications Group, OCRIS examined the interoperability of library catalogues, repositories and other administrative systems in operation within UK universities. Data gathered via 3 inter-linked questionnaires and the findings of 2 in-depth case studies within research intensive institutions allowed a number of barriers and issues surrounding interoperability to be identified. The project team produced extensive recommendations designed to assist institutions as they seek to develop policies, formulate workflows within and across departments, and improve the visibility and usefulness of both their intellectual assets and associated data through the interoperability of core, and rapidly developing, information systems.
PiP - Principles in Patterns - The aim of the Principles in Patterns project is to identify the key processes associated with the design, documentation, support and implementation of curricula in higher education and to develop ways of enhancing these processes using digital technologies. This project will build on the previous work of the REAP project.
Review of the environmental & organisational implications of cloud computing in HE & FE- This JISC funded project, completed in 2010 reviewed the current evidence for the environmental costs and benefits of cloud computing, the implications of cloud computing for institutional activities (excluding research) and the changes to institutional governance, policies, procedures and skills required by adoption of cloud computing. The project concluded by making recommendations to the JISC for further areas for development.
SPEIR - A SLIC funded project, that extends and builds on the work of earlier projects such as CAIRNS, SCONE and SEED. 'Speir' - Scots for 'to ask' or 'to enquire' - stands for Scottish Portals for Education, Information and Research.
Stargate - Static Repository Gateway and Toolkit - was funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) and is intended to demonstrate the ease of use of the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH) Static Repository technology, and the potential benefits offered to publishers in making their metadata available in this way.
U-CARE - Universities' Collaborative Approach to Reducing Energy - This collaborative project is being undertaken by the Information Services Directorate and Estates Services, with the main aim of reducing energy usage and carbon emissions generated by ICT and users of ICT in specific environments by programming heating controls based on Occupancy Levels and Machine Usage.
For further information, see the U-CARE Project page.
Vocabulary Mapping Framework - Work was undertaken to create an extensive and authoritative mapping of vocabularies from major content metadata standards, creating a downloadable tool to support interoperability across communities.
Work-with-IT Project - This JISC funded project focused on complex socio-technical systems, explored the impact of technologies on staff, working practices and the student experience across FE and HE.