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http://www.rubric.edu.au
Building the Foundations of an Building the Foundations of an EcologyEcology
Caroline DruryRUBRIC Senior Technical Officer
RUBRIC [email protected]
http://www.rubric.edu.au
Sponsorship & FundingSponsorship & Funding
The RUBRIC project is sponsored by the
Australian Commonwealth Department of Education,
Science and Training as part of the Commonwealth Government's Backing Australia's Ability –
An Innovation Action Plan for the Future.
http://www.rubric.edu.au
RUBRICRUBRIC
Regional Universities Building Research Infrastructure Collaboratively
Developing research infrastructure and capability across regional and smaller universities to maximise access to digital research resources
http://www.rubric.edu.au
The RUBRIC “ecology”The RUBRIC “ecology”
Late 2005 – project began with 8 partners
Partners distributed across Australia and New Zealand
Project ends Dec 2007
http://www.rubric.edu.au
The RUBRIC “ecology” The RUBRIC “ecology”
A two year learning process… 8 partners including lead institution Different backgrounds Different skill sets Different needs Different contributions to the project
How do all these different members become part of a single “ecology”?
http://www.rubric.edu.au
The RUBRIC “ecology” - commonalitiesThe RUBRIC “ecology” - commonalities
All partners had in common: Needed to establish IR infrastructure Needed to complete within the timeframe Limited resources from within own
institutions All are either small or regional universities
http://www.rubric.edu.au
The RUBRIC “ecology” - beginningsThe RUBRIC “ecology” - beginnings
Establishment of central core team known as “RUBRIC Central” (RC)
Recognition of need for huge commitment to communication and establishment of TRUST
Recognition of need for tools to help cover the distance between us
Recognition of hard road ahead!
http://www.rubric.edu.au
RUBRIC CentralRUBRIC Central
Consisted of the following components: Technical Team Metadata Specialist Administrative and Business Staff
Core purpose: To support 8 partner project managers in establishing sustainable institutional repository infrastructure at each institution
http://www.rubric.edu.au
OverviewOverview
PPM8
PPM7
PPM6
PPM5
PPM4
PPM3
PPM2
PPM1
RUBRICCentral
T/CONF
PHONE
FACE TOFACE
CHAT
TRAC
Del.icio.us
BLOGSS/POINT
WIKIEMAIL
http://www.rubric.edu.au
ToolsTools
Wiki (closed and authenticated) Trac tickets Email Weekly teleconferences Chat Phone contact Face-to-face meetings
http://www.rubric.edu.au
How is this like an ecology?How is this like an ecology?
Group contains many members All members reliant upon each other for
provision of some type of service Without any given element, ecology
would not have developed in the same way
Trust of members that they would contribute to mutual benefit of ecology
http://www.rubric.edu.au
Repository EcologyRepository Ecology
7 Components that make up an ecology (Stoddard, 1995) Sunlight and Shade Average temperatures Average precipitation Wind Latitude and altitude Nature of soil Fire
For example, a forest ecology…
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Sunlight and ShadeSunlight and Shade
Can trees grow without sunlight? RUBRIC partners as sole representative
from within their institution Varying levels of receptiveness from within
institution Varying levels of passive / active support from
within institutionsShade=stunted growth Sunlight=healthy growth
http://www.rubric.edu.au
Average TemperaturesAverage Temperatures
Cold to hot Mood from within institution Mood from immediate supervisors of
partner project managers (PPMs) Mood from PPMs’ colleagues, and PPMs
themselves
Cold = Disinterest; Hot = Enthusiasm
http://www.rubric.edu.au
Average precipitation and distributionAverage precipitation and distribution
Watering the plants – how much encouragement comes from within the institution?
What sort of institutional support exists? Funding – is there any?
Arid=little fundsRainy=sufficient funds
http://www.rubric.edu.au
WindWind
Obstructions to final goals Do these obstructions hinder the
progress, or do they merely shape the progress?
Calm=easy to walk
Windy=difficult to walk
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Latitude and altitudeLatitude and altitude
Partners were geographically remote from one another (closest partners were still over an hour away)
How can an ecology survive if it’s so distributed? Use of tools to link members of ecology
Poor communication links=isolation
Good communication links=collaboration
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Nature of soilNature of soil
What was the driving force behind participation in the project?
Will the IR become a part of the institution or will it remain an outlier?
Is there institutional policy to embed this system into the institution?
Poor soil=weak rootsGood soil=strong roots
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FireFire
Major (drastic) changes within the institution (restructuring, staff cuts, budget cuts)
Major changes and pressures outside the institution (in Australia – RQF)
Threat to environment of trust
Fire=Threat of destruction
http://www.rubric.edu.au
The “ecology” metaphor - UsesThe “ecology” metaphor - Uses
Useful for: describing the participants and members of
a repository ecology defining progression through repository
establishment process, particularly at systems level but also at higher, people level
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The “ecology” metaphor - LimitationsThe “ecology” metaphor - Limitations
Not able to: Capture degree to which people’s own
personalities and experiences affect development of IR
An ecology assumes a level of cooperation and trust. This is not necessarily the case with people and projects and must be built
Useful for lower-level systemic description, but without the higher-level, people-based description, ecology is at risk
Self-sustainability…?
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SustainabilitySustainability
A difficult task as there are many agendas
Cyclical How to sustain cycles? How to begin cycles? RUBRIC now at the end of a cycle…
http://www.rubric.edu.au
Sustainability - end of cycleSustainability - end of cycle
Ecology metaphor – can the end of the cycle feed into the start of the next cycle
What happens to knowledge, relationships, technical products?
Tangible output of process RUBRIC Project – RUBRIC Toolkit
Useful for further generations of repository ecologies
Only sustainable until the next cycle starts