Bridging the Global Digital Divide Network Grant TRACK RECORD

Bridging the Global Digital Divide: Network GrantMatt Jones & Andrew DeardonTRACK RECORDDr Matt JonesMatt Jones is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, University of Wales Swansea. He has recently returned from New Zealand to help set up the Future Interaction Technology Lab, a research group focused on transforming society through the innovation of computer science theory, principles, techniques and technologies. In NZ he was a member of the New Zealand Digital Library project, addressing interaction design issues especially with respect to mobile and emerging platforms. His work has seen him involved in socially-orientated applications including ones relating to understanding of Maori culture; the use of mobile technology in South Africa; and, digital library access by severely disabled users. Jones was the Social Issues of the SigCHI bulletin between 1999 and 2001 and co-edited a special issue of the ACM Transactions on Human Computer Interaction on Social Issues. He is a member of the British Computer Society Ethics Committee; the IFIP SIG 9.2.1 (Ethics and Information Systems) and WG 9.2 (Computers and Social Accountability). Jones has actively involved in community-building event for the past five years: for example, he has been the Chair of the Asia Pacific HCI Conference (2004); organized the ACM Next Generation Tour in NZ to promote computer science research to undergraduates (2002); was on the management team for the New Zealand MediaLab South Pacific consortium of industry and academic partners; and, is on the International Steering Committee for the Mobile HCI Conference series.Dr. Andy DeardenDr Dearden has been investigating methods interactive systems design for 15 years. For his DPhil he investigated the application of the formal modelling to case-based reasoning systems (Dearden & Harrison, 1997a). Following that work he has investigated the use of formal models to reason about the errors in safety critical systems as a research associate employed on EPSRC grant number GR/J078686 (see, e.g. Dearden & Harrison, 1997b).His current work focuses on techniques to support user participation in design, with a particular emphasis on the needs of civil society actors. To this end he has:•explored ways in which formal modelling can be combined and related to more situated techniques in user interface design (see, e.g. Fields, Merriam & Dearden, 1997; Dearden & Wright, 1997; Dearden,Harrison & Wright, 2000);•explored the possibility of using design patterns in HCI to support user participation in design (see e.g.Dearden et al., 2002; Dearden & Finlay, 2006);•acted as principal investigator on the EPSRC project GR/R87918 paperCHASTE which developed tools to enable remote users, using basic browser technology, to participate with designers in the early stages of interactive systems design (see e.g. Naghsh et al. 2005; Roast et al. 2004; Dearden, 2006);•edited a special issue of Interacting with Computers on 'Design for Civil Society';•was principal investigate and events co-ordinator for the AHRB / EPSRC Design for the 21st Century Research Cluster "Technology and Social Action" () grant numberEP/C514114/1, bringing together artists, designers and technologists to explore the information andcommunications technology in community and civil society settings.He is communications chair of the British HCI Group, and was short papers chair and proceedings editor for volume II at HCI 2004. Dr Dearden has previously worked in a commercial software development company with responsibility for all aspects of user-interface design across the company's product range.ActionAid[To add]BACKGROUNDOver three intensive days in December 2005 and a subsequent further two in early January 2006, twenty-five people drawn from disciplines ranging in diversity from social sciences, engineering, information technology and economics came together to consider how to address the global digital divide. This five-day workshop was one of the EPSRC Sandpits for 2005-2006 and the participants were selected through a competitive, open process. A director, facilitators, mentors and stake-holders from India and Africa were also present to help guide the idea forming and project selection.Project proposals were peer-reviewed continuously throughout the process, with many being rejected, others combined and at the end of the Sandpit, four were selected for funding from the £1M EPSRC Ideas Factory budget allocated. Briefly, the projects are:•FairTracing: Empowering producers and consumers by providing enriched information about the roots of goods and services This project will carry out a feasibility study into the use of IT to enhance the relationships between FairTrade producers and consumers. [Project PI to add 1 or 2 sentences and a core ref]•StoryBank The project will see the development of a globally accessible repository giving glimpses into the lives of local people in digitally impoverished communities. The content will be gathered by those living in the communities themselves and used both locally (via radio or television) and by developers and designers who wish to get a better understanding of the context they are designing within. [Project PI to add 1 or 2 sentences and a core ref]•Participatory and Agile Development for Integrated Co-operative Services Here the focus is on developing a design methodology to enable inclusive participation of ICT applications. [Project PI to add1 or2 sentences and a core ref]•Education and Environmental Monitoring… [Project PI to add 1 or 2 sentences and a core ref]In addition to allocating funding to these proposals, the review and selection ‘panel’ (the people at the Sandpit) strongly expressed the desire to see a relatively small amount of funding allocated to support activities which would sustain and extend the shared values and relationships formed during the Sandpit Process as well as providing a platform to ensure a broad and on-going impact on the UK research community, future funders, policy makers and the general public. The Network proposed here aims to meet these pan-project objectives discussed at the Sandpit.INITIAL MEMBERSHIPTable X shows the initial membership of the network along with their prime project affiliation and expertise. All of the four projects have plans to recruit additional team members including PhD students, Research Assistants and consultants. We would expect these people to play an active role in the activities proposed below.A steering committee for the network will be established, consisting of the Sandpit Director (Alan Blackwell, Cambridge University) and the mentors involved in the project selection process. This group will provide oversight: they will be invited to attend the Network plenary meetings and we will provide an annual summary report to them reviewing the past activities, planned future ones and highlighting key successes and critical issues arising from the four projects.[Insert Table 1]OBJECTIVES1.To provide on-going, ‘peer-review’ of the four projects and related activities by those people involved inthe initial Sandpit Process. Mechanisms for presenting plans, challenges and successes will be provided along with ways for others to support, encourage and critique.2.To share ‘best-practice’ in multi-disciplinary research focused on Global Digital Divide issues. Thenetwork will encourage the dissemination of useful methods, techniques and technologies within the group and to the wider stakeholders in the UK and globally.3.To involve the stakeholder community in the efforts of the projects and the broader challenges of theglobal digital divide.4.To promote an awareness of the value of multi-disciplinary research amongst the engineering andscientific communities.5.To sustain the project work, its impact and the initial vision of the Sandpit after the EPSRC funding hasended.ACTIVITIESOrganisation of Plenary MeetingsWe will organise three, 2-day residential meetings for network members (see the Work plan for approximate timing)The agenda for that meeting will be established in consultation with the four project team leaders and other stakeholders, including invited speakers from related research, industry or policy groups. While there will be time for the more conventional, technical presentations and discussions we aim to continue the engaging, challenging environment see in the initial Sandpit.Maintaining “real-time peer-review”•During the Sandpit, a Wiki and electronic forum were established (see: ). The Network manager will oversee the support and development of these resources to encourage collaboration between the groups as well as exposing the work to wider views.• A electronic quarterly newsletter will be created. This will report on ongoing progress of each project and events and issues more widely relating to the digital divide. Network participants will be mailed this and it will be openly available to any interested parties via an email sign-up.•Yearly summary reports on the efforts of each project and the outcomes of the networking activities will be written and submitted to the steering group.Planning for SustainabilityThree targeted one-day workshops will be orgaised, approximately one per year over the duration of the Network. These will bring representatives of the projects together with external stakeholders such as NGOs, research funders, Government policy makers, industrial organizations, the media and educationalists. Each workshop willaddress one theme: for example, appropriate ICT development practices in Global South; involvement of students in development projects; funding models for innovation; and, a Southern Sandpit.Dissemination ActivitiesIn addition to the already mentioned meetings, reports and electronic resources, we will also work towards a wide awareness of the projects’ outcomes and the global digital divide challenge in three ways:•Work with the BBC World Service’s GoDigital radio programme to provide updates on the projects’ progress. The programme reported on the Sandpit activities in January 2006. We will also work with newspapers and magazines to gain coverage.•Facilitation of a group display of project outcomes at the Royal Society Summer Exhibition (2009).•Submission of at least one conference paper and at least one journal paper on the pan-project issues in terms of ICT design methods, technological challenges and social impact.Formative EvaluationThe performance of the network will be periodically measured to assess the success with respect to the objectives. At the start of the network, the investigators and appointed manager will meet to define success measures and targets. Examples might include: levels of activity seen in the electronic resources; sign-ups for the newsletter; cross-group collaboration; additional funding generated; and levels of media coverage.JUSTIFICATION OF RESOURCESThe management of the Network will be contracted to AidWorld. This organisation proposed the original Sandpit topic and is already itself a hub in an existing network of NGOs, volunteers and policy shapers. It is ideally placed to help foster the multi-disciplinary research community addressed in this proposal. Around 43% of the budget is allocated to the post of Network manager. This person will not only carry out all the administrative, logistic, technical and editorial activities but will play a strategic role in facilitating relationships with external stake-holders, seeking additional resources and promoting the work of the group. This activity will involve travel within the UK and hence we are asking for support to enable twenty visits, to project teams and other stakeholders, by the person involved.The other major cost of the project is the plenary meetings. These will involve between 30 and 35 people drawn from the projects, steering group and wider stakeholders and include a one-night stay at modest accommodation.A contribution to travel expenses will be provided and accommodation and subsistence costs will be met. Two of the Network members are from outside the UK and the budget includes a contribution to the air-fare costs. AidWorld will host the electronic resources for the network and we are not seeking any additional equipment costs for this. Our consumables budget will be used for the resources needed to backup the Wiki and Forum discussions and in any communications/ disseminations that are not best done electronically.REFERENCES[Add Matt/Alan Refs and any from projects]A. M. Dearden & M. D. Harrison, 1997a. Abstract Models for HCI. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 46 (1), 153 - 178.A. M. Dearden & M. D. Harrison, 1997b. Impact and the Design of the Human-Machine Interface. IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, 12(2), pp. 19 - 25.A. M. Dearden & P. C. Wright, 1997 Experiences using situated and non-situated techniques for studying work in context. In S. Howard, J. Hammond & G Lindgaard (eds.), Human-Computer Interaction. Interact ’97, pp. 429 - 436. Chapman & Hall, London.B. Fields & N. A. Merriam & A. M. Dearden, 1997. DMVIS: Design, Modelling and Validation of Interactive Systems. In, M. D. Harrison & J-C Torres (eds.), Proceedings of the 4th Eurographics Workshop on Design, Specification and Verification of Interactive Systems. Springer, Berlin.A. M. Dearden, M. D. Harrison & P.C. Wright, 2000. Allocation of Function: Context, Scenarios and the Economics of Effort. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 52(2), pp. 289 – 318.Andy Dearden, Janet Finlay, Elizabeth Allgar & Barbara McManus. 2002. Using Pattern Languages in Participatory Design. In T. Binder, J. Gregory & I Wagner (Eds.) Proceedings of PDC 2002. CPSR: Palo Alto, CA.Roast, C., Dearden, A., Khazaei, B., 2004. Enhancing contextual analysis to support the design of development tools. In Fincher, S., Markopoulos, P., Moore, D. & Ruddle, R (Eds.), People & Computers XVIII - Design for Life, Proceedings of HCI 2004. Springer, pp 297 - 313Naghsh A. M., Dearden A., Ozcan M. B. "Investigating Annotation in Electronic Paper-Prototypes." In, Harrison, M.D. (ed) Proceedings of DSVIS, 2005. Springer.Dearden A. & Finlay, J., 2006. Pattern Languages in HCI: a critical review. In Human-Computer Interaction, 21(1).Dearden, A., 2006. Design as a conversation with Digital Materials, Design Studies, 27(3) May 2006.WORK PLAN。