3 October 2007
The focus of the meeting was the network strategy and in particular, the
network upgrade project. Funding for the network upgrade project would
come from the Infrastructure Fund. Procurement including use of the PASA
agreement, the timescale of the project, stakeholder analysis and unmet
demand and post-implementation support for the network were discussed.
20 December 2007
A Tender Control document for the Network Upgrade Project had been
drawn up in close consultation with colleagues from the Procurement Office
and amendments were discussed. Interviews for a Project Manager had been
held. A user requirement capture was being undertaken. Environmental
concerns and sustainability were also discussed. Funding for the project will
need to be signed off by both SPaRC and Council. The Head of Networks
attended for this item.
A Library Task and Finish Group had been established to consider the
MoveCorp recommendations and the Collections Development Policy
involving the use of a traffic lights system. There had been a long debate
around the site libraries at the meeting on 18 December. After a further
meeting in January 2008 the Group would report and its recommendations
would be considered at VCEG.
Communications within Academic Services were discussed: an awarenessraising, team-building event on 17 March; the changes to the website; an AllStaff meeting on 23 January at which Professor Kay would speak about the
Education Strategy and how Academic Services can support the strategy; and
fyi – the weekly electronic newsletter. The use of audiocast as a medium of
communication and receiving feedback from staff was discussed. Senior
Management Fora, at which members of the Senior Management Team meet
with colleagues drawn from across the service, with the objective of “taking
the temperature” through the medium of a listening forum, had been
successful.
The Infrastructure Project papers on the Forum, Library and Information
Systems to be considered at SPaRC were reviewed.
30 January 2008
Pressure on space, due to financial constraints, in the buildings housing the
library and IT on the Tremough campus were noted.
The Network Upgrade Project was discussed. The first versions of the Project
Initiation Document and Investment Appraisal for the Network Upgrade
Project had been considered at a meeting of the Infrastructure Strategy
Group. Useful feedback had been obtained and the documents were being
revised for submission to the meeting to be held on 27 February.
The paper on the Infrastructure Strategy which had been considered
previously at SPaRC was discussed. It was noted that an investment
appraisal would be needed before the paper went to Council. The impact of
the introduction of new systems on the workload of individuals was identified
as a cause for concern.
Developments in relation to the Forum Project, including the DLivering
Success Workshop, were noted A Scoping Conference will be held on 28
February. A meeting to discuss the IT required in the building would be held
shortly
4 July 2008
Interviews had been held for a new Assistant Director, Information &
Computing Systems and the post had been offered to the preferred candidate.
A ‘DLivering Success’ workshop had been arranged for 23 July and Sally
Wilcox would be facilitating the event. A Network Upgrade Project Partnership
Board would then be convened comprising all the partners involved which
would meet quarterly to review progress and assist in driving the Project
forward.
The review of Dual Assurance undertaken by Jon Baldwin, Registrar at the
University of Warwick, was discussed. It was generally a positive report but
there could be improvement around communication.
18 September 2008
A Homeworking Task & Finish Group was being set up to consider how
homeworking might be implemented at the University. Sally Wilcox would
prepare a case study based on BT’s experiences of homeworking and lead
that session at the meeting.
Network Upgrade Project– the possibility of holding a launch event early on
2009 was discussed. It was agreed that the areas to be concentrated on at
the launch would be the benefits to the user eg how will unified
communications help in daily work, what does 1gbyte to the desktop really
mean? All partners would be invited to take part.
The Forum Project – sub-groups have been set up to concentrate on specific
areas of the Forum. There will be an IT sub-group and the important issue to
emphasise will be innovation. Possible membership of the group was
discussed and it was agreed that terms of reference and roles and
responsibilities would be agreed at the first meeting.
Action Plan for 2008/09 – the following actions were agreed for SPaRC:
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The IT sub group for the Forum to be convened and terms of reference
agreed
The Network Upgrade Project will be launched at an event to be
arranged in January 2009 and implementation will follow
The Network Upgrade Partnership Board will continue to meet and
move the project forward
The ‘cradle to grave’ Research Management System will be developed
– this is a shared service initiative
21 November 2008
Network Upgrade Project - there was a discussion around technical
resources.
A DVD which had been prepared for the SOCiTM conference in conjunction
with Data Integration, Nortel and Juniper had been very well received
The Forum Project - the IT Sub-Group for the Forum would need to be
focussed on vision for the future. The Sub-Group would need to be aware of
innovation and what would be available over the next few years. It was
suggested the IT Sub-Group could visit Microsoft’s offices in Reading to see
the latest technology. Another possible visit could be to Google’s main UK
office.
‘Cradle to Grave’ Research Management System - it had been confirmed
that funding had been received from HEFCE (Higher Education Funding
Council for England) to consider the feasibility of a tool to complete the
lifecycle of research projects. The work was in the early stages but was
progressing well.
Homeworking Task & Finish Group – the first meeting had been scheduled
for 14 January 2009 and Sally Wilcox would be giving a presentation on the
implementation of homeworking. The implications for the University would be
highlighted.