Andrew Prescott, Theme Leader Fellow

AHRC Digital Transformations Strategic Theme: The Story So

Far

Role of Theme Fellow• Not programme director: providing scholarly input to enhance

transformative quality of work funded under theme• Building links between projects and encouraging synergy between

them• Ensuring wider academic and public awareness of work undertaken

in theme• Building links with other themes and theme fellows• Organising seminars, workshops and other events which will help

achieve aspirations of theme• Developing online presence of theme• http://www.ahrc.ac.uk/News-and-Events/Watch-and-Listen/

Pages/AHRC-Digital-Transformations-Podcast.aspx

Not a Programme or a Project but a Partnership

• A number of partners in developing theme• Theme Advisory Group• Theme Fellow• AHRC team• Previous and existing grant holders• One of the outcomes of the theme should be an active

and well-integrated community whose continuing work will reflect the vision of the theme

Hacking the Teapot with

MzTek at the Moot, Nov. 2012

(Photo: Johnny Grieg)

Digital Transformations Moot

•Hands on and practical approach, but with strong theoretical and practical engagement•Potential for greater dialogue and cross-over between practice-based research and more traditional humanities research•Continued development of dialogue between academic researchers, GLAM, industry, SMEs

Digital Transformations Theme: Characteristics

• Pluralistic: no one approach or solution; encouraging experimentation• But nevertheless seeking to ensure links and cross-fertilisation across

projects• The programme is research-driven: produces research which is

inspiring and transformative – not primarily concerned with infrastructure, standards, integrated tools, etc.

• Projects creating strong links between the arts and humanities, and also seeking out new cross-disciplinary alliances and forms of collaboration

• Wow factor: but how do we link that to high-quality research?• Links with other themes and programmes (Translating Cultures;

Science in Culture; Care for the Future; Digital Economy; Connected Communities)

Digital Transformations Theme Funding Calls to Date

• Highlights for research networks and fellowships from 2011-13• Exploratory Grants, 2012, across whole range of theme• Large grant awards for ‘beacon’ projects, 2013: Digital

Panopticon; Fragmented Heritage; Transforming Musicology• Big Data Capital Funding Programme, Co-Creation Awards (with

Connected Communities programme), 2013• Big Data Awards, 2014• Amplification Awards, 2014• Small grants shortly to be announced• Future of the Academic Book (with The British Library), 2014

www.digitalpanopticon.org

• the impact of the different types of penal punishments on the lives of 66,000 people sentenced at The Old Bailey between 1780 and 1875

• transferable methods for understanding and exploiting complex bodies of genealogical, biometric, and administrative data (eg linking, visualisation)

• addressing major issues with contemporary policy significance

www.fragmentedheritage.com

• using crowdsourcing techniques to enable surveys of large-scale archaeological sites of significance in early history of human evolution

• development of technique for automated refitting of images of archaeological fragments

• experimenting with new technologies eg high resolution aerial imagery

http://www.transforming-musicology.org

• how emerging technologies for working with music as sound and score can transform musicology

• portfolio of projects ranging from lute music to Wagner• exploring how musical communities on the Web

engage with their music by employing Music Information Retrieval tools in developing a social platform for furthering musical discussion online.

Building the Story• How do we find overarching narratives for

projects whose subject matter range from neolithic flint tools to modern weather data? Inevitably, part of the answer is looking at methods, but there are also more substantive issues beginning to emerge.

• What follows are a few extremely tentative suggestions.

The Rhetoric of Transformation and Innovation• ‘Digital transformations’ more integrated into AHRC strategy

than previous programmes

• But term refers to (and misinterprets) the ‘disruptive’ models of Christensen

• The process of innovation is frequently a continuum of incremental development (Steve Jobs as ‘tinkerer’): particularly true in arts and humanities

• What is the relationship of projects to the digital / knowledge economy?

• Successive attempts to promote AHRC involvement with digital programmes have relied on rhetoric of innovation: do we need to develop fresh arguments (eg Dig Panopticon’s policy questions)

Scaling and Interrogating Data• Different projects use macro and micro approaches to data, from a

single weather datum to data for entire populations• Critical approaches to data, contextualising its function, use and

deceptions• Issues around use of ‘black boxes’ in scaling up scholarly use of data

through linking, visualising, etc.: how does scholarly interrogation occur?

• ‘Open data is the new oil’ (Rt Hon Francis Maude, 2012): our projects explore the implications of that remark, emphasising the deceptions of data and dangers of datafication, while demonstrating how scholars can make creative and critical use of data

•

Digital Materialities• Notwithstanding anxieties about quantification in arts and

humanities, use of visualisation makes research increasingly an interactive and aesthetic experience, and design is key component

• At beginning of theme, data seemed increasingly evanescent and quicksilver-like. But the digital continuum is a constantly surprising one, and methods of exploring the materiality of data have become increasingly prominent as the theme has developed

• Examples: creation of ‘data objects’; Tangible Memories; printing of archaeological artefacts; conductive inks

• Implications for future humanities research?

Re-Collecting• 1990s cry was ‘Access not Collections’ and access has

been another hardy perennial of digital rhetoric

• Theme sought to move beyond digitisation. Consequently, strong emphasis on building collections, shifting their boundaries and remediating them

• Creating new collections: recording historic and cultural material, collecting data created by individuals

• Placing collections in new media and contexts (internet of things)

• Reflecting on the nature of existing collections and archives

Communities and Audiences• Fragmentation of landscape between libraries, archives,

museums; IT professionals; DH centres; academic researchers. Projects do show improvement in dialogue between these groups

• But how does this continue to move forward, and how do we keep links alive as interest in area grows?

• Strong engagement with external communities: family historians, crowdsourcing, community groups in co-creation projects

• Not simply about expanding reach and impact of research. Co-creation projects are particularly notable in ways they generate new forms of scholarly communication and output. It may be this engagement which is the truly transformative element

After the Theme• Coming towards end of funding; focus on developing

the story• Need to build dialogue between practice-based

research in arts and more conventional humanities research

• But are we moving beyond the digital?• Materiality• Will we focus more on bioscience and

nanotechnology within a few years?• Industry 4.0