Dr Simon Kerridge
RMAS Steering Group
Funding Context
• Financial pressures on HEIs
• Efficiency Agenda
• Vfm in Research
• Shared Services
RMAS Feasibility Study 2009
Cashable Benefits
• Staff efficiencies: 10-20%
Non-cashable Benefits
• Free research active staff
• Enable growth
• Better management Info
• Data exchange efficiencies
RMAS Benefits Analysis 2012
Productivity gains
• £75k per RMAS module
Qualitative Benefits
• Enable growth
• Improved data quality
• Flexible platform for future
developments
Universities Modernisation Fund
HEFCE approach:
• Could have left to the market
• Focusing public funds to:
• share risk
• accelerate timescales and
• tailor to HEIs’ needs
• helping address the cultural
issues
Universities Modernisation Fund
•
•
•
•
•
£½m benchmarking
£1m shared services
£6m procurement
£2½m Admin applications
£10m data centres and
research applications
UMF Delivery
RMAS:
• RMAS product suite
• Data integration and standards
• Pilot HEI efficiencies
• Cloud based delivery model
UMF Programme:
• £14.9m efficiencies – Year 1
HEFCE vision
What is RMAS?
• RMAS is NOT a single, off-the-shelf system
But it is:
• A procurement framework containing the
‘best-of-breed’ research systems on the
market,
• plus a set of free integration tools and
methodologies,
• being built around a data standard for
research information, CERIF
How does that help you?
How does RMAS help you?
How does that help you?
Then, when adding or upgrading…
What has the RMAS Project Done?
• created a procurement framework containing products
that meet your needs – select & buy!
• developed a set of free tools and ‘how-to guides’ so you
can integrate your systems and data – no need to reinvent the wheel!
• Enhanced CERIF to include more data sets, created CERIF
conversion tools & convinced suppliers to develop their
systems to communicate via CERIF.
RMAS Procurement
RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012
Why Create the RMAS Procurement
Framework
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
RMAS Feasibility Studies 2008/9
Clear demand
Similar customer requirements
Improve the procurement process for the sector
Create a collaborative environment
Issues of coverage and integration
Lack of clarity on standards
Benefits of the Framework
• The average OJEU timetable of 6-9 months can be
reduced to 4 weeks or less
• There are no full tenders to assess - suppliers can be
appointed through mini-competitions
• Pre-agreed Terms and Conditions provide solid
contractual safeguards and reduced professional legal
costs, while allowing amendments to suit particular
projects
What it Means in £££££
Further Benefits of the Framework
• You can access the Framework for free
• Long-term relationships between clients and suppliers
through a framework encourage improvements in
service
• Having several suppliers allows flexibility to cater for a
range of requirements, and maintains competition
• Frameworks help to maintain security of supply
• Capture of knowledge and best practice
Who Can Use the Framework
• Educational Establishments in England and Wales
including Schools, Universities and Colleges
• Scottish Further and Higher Education Bodies
• Further and Higher Education in Northern Ireland
• Central Government Departments, Executive Agencies
and NDPBs
• Welsh Public Bodies National Assembly for Wales, Welsh
Assembly Government and Welsh Local Authorities
How to Use the Framework
RMAS Framework Lots
RMAS Framework Suppliers
Deployment Options
• On campus
• Cloud based
• Integration options
• Supplier web services where they exist
• Create your own adapter
• Use the Nexus ESB
Management of the Framework
• Moving toward CERIF compliance
• Integration using recognised standards and
processes
• Improvements for customers
RMAS Integration
RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012
http://source.rkt.clients.switchsystems.co.uk/intro.php
RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012
The Role of CERIF
in RMAS
RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012
What is CERIF?
•
•
•
•
Common European Research Information Format
An EC-Recommendation to Member States
Development since late 1980s
The responsibility of euroCRIS since 2002
CERIF
The CERIF Evolution
CERIF 1.5 (XML)
CERIF 1.5
CERIF 1.3
Infrastructure
Link
Base
Similar Ideas
UN/UNESCO
OECD
CODATA
CERIF 2006 / 2008
Model
Base
Link
2ndLevel Semantics
Measurement
Language
GEO
Semantics
Language
2ndLevel
Funding
Equipment
Facility
ExpertiseAndSkills
ResultPublication
EU
Working Group
on Research
Databases
Workshop
CERIF 2000 Model
Prize
ResultPatent
ResultProduct
ElectronicAddresse
Project
Funding Programme
Person
Roles
EXPERTISE
Skills
Project
OrgUnit
CERIF 91
PERSON
- EC Recommendation to
Member States
1991
OrganisationUnit
Person
Citation
Service
Metrics
Indicator
Equipment
Measurement
Country
Patent
Product
Event
Language
Classification
(Semantics )
Currency
Event
EQUIPMENT
PROJECT
- Networking of DBs
- Exchange of Records
PostalAddress
Organisation
PROJECT
RESULTS
Acronym: ERGO
Participant:
Keith Jeffery, Anne Asser
son, many more
Organisations:
Rutherford Appleton, University of Bergen, …
CV
Publication
CV
1987
Service
Qualification
CLASSIFICATION
- Data Model
- Multilinguality
- Controlled Vocabulary
- Roles / Types
- User-driven
- EC Recommendation to
Member States
2000
- Data Model
- Infrastructure
- Facility, Equipment, Service
- Measurement & Indicator
- Entities and Link Tables
- Geographic Bounding Box
- Data Model
- CERIF 1.3 Vocabulary
- Model Normalization
- UUIDs
- Robust/Consistent Structure - Terms
- Extensible Structure
+ Linked
- Schemes
- Semantic Layer
Data
- XML Exchange Specification
- Elaboration on Publication
+ CERIF
- CERIF Core Semantics (2008 1.2)
Ontology
2006
2008
2012
F
O
R
M
A
L
S
E
M
A
N
T
I
C
S
Common European Research Information
Format
•
•
•
•
A formal Model of the Research Domain
Research Entities
Relationships
(Contexts)
• Enables
Contextual
Vocabularies
(i.e. Semantics)
CERIF
Common European Research Information
Format
Research Context: Finance, Funding, Output, HR, Project-MM, Infrast...
CERIF
Common European Research Information
Format
Research Contexts: Finance, Funding, Output, HR, Project-MM, Infrast ..
CERIF
A particular use-case (context)
OrgUnit M
member
Part of
employee
Person A
OrgUnit O
member
OrgUnit N
Project leader
Project P
Part of
author
owns IPR
Publication X
CERIF
The RMAS use-cases (areas)
•
•
•
•
•
Human Resources
Projects
OrgUnit A
Outputs
Finance
employer
Students
Funding X
agreement
performance
Measure Y
member
Project P
owns
IPR
result
Person P
author
budget
income /
expenditure
peerreviewed
Output X
CERIF
CERIF for N use-cases
• Formal Syntax
• Declared Semantics
Funding
D
C
OrgUnit
B
Measure
A
X
Z
G
Person
i.e. open to any
vocabulary
... A, B, C, D, E, ... X, Y, Z
Project
Y
E
F
Output
CERIF
Benefits of employing CERIF
Learning
Funding
Finance
Output
HR
Project
Infrastructure
Standardisation allows for re-use;
saves time, thus costs
CERIF
Benefits of employing CERIF
•
•
•
•
a tangible formal model
for re-use, communication, comparison
to support interoperability, exchange
to support area identification, process modeling,
vocabulary development
• it scales; is open for any vocabularies
Standardisation allows for re-use;
saves time, thus costs
CERIF
Benefits of employing CERIF with RMAS
In areas: HR, Project, Output, Finance, Students
(by analysis of existing systems)
(comparable to supplier products)
•
•
•
•
entity identification and disambiguation
entity relationship identification
vocabulary identification
(quality) vocabulary definition
CERIF
Results from euroCRIS/RMAS
collaboration
CERIF-driven RMAS Vocabularies
Also imported in part vocabularies from
CASRAI, CIA project, CERIF itself, HESA
• Persons: Title, Qualification, Contact Type, Event Involvement,
Employment Type, Professional Relationship, Output Contribution,
Degree Level of Study, Person Project Role
• Projects: Activity Type; Subtype, Organisation Project Role, Activity
Funding Type, Activity Status, Activity Finance Category, Activity
Finance Category Amount
• Outputs: Output Type, Publication Status, Peer-Review, Output
Quality Level, Output Output Relationship, Open Science Cost
• Finance: Funder Type, Funding Source Type
• Students: -> Person-Person Role, -> Output Type
• Overall: Verification Status
CERIF
Results from euroCRIS / RMAS
collaboration
CERIF-driven RMAS Vocabularies
•
•
•
•
Will be formalized in latest CERIF XML
A starting point for suppliers
Have been published on www.euroCRIS.org
Will be supported by RMAS SAC*
•SAC = Supplier Agnostic Connector
CERIF
RMAS Pathfinders
• University of Kent
• Simon Kerridge
• University of Sunderland
• Kevin Ginty
• University of Exeter
• Steve Trowell
Or contact JISC Advance - Simon Foster
University of Kent
• Research Led
• ~£12M, ~600 proposals
University of Kent
Je-S, eGAP,
EPSS..
REF DCS
ROS
External Data
sources
(UKRISS)
Funding
Sourcing
Academic
Expertise
Reporting
Costing &
Financial
Proposal
Management
Outputs &
Outcomes
Post Award
HR
SIS/PGR
Financial
Planning
Finance
University of Kent
Je-S, eGAP,
EPSS..
REF DCS
Research
Professional
Funding
Sourcing
pFACT
Costing &
Financial
EPrints
ROS
External Data
sources
(UKRISS)
Academic
Expertise
Reporting
Proposal
Management
Microsoft
Reporting
Services
Outputs &
Outcomes
Post Award
HR
SIS/PGR
Financial
Planning
Finance
PSE
In-house
Cognos
Agresso
University of Kent
Je-S, eGAP,
EPSS..
REF DCS
ROS
External Data
sources
(UKRISS)
Funding
Sourcing
Academic
Expertise
Reporting
Costing &
Financial
Outputs &
Outcomes
Proposal
Management
Communication Bus
HR
SIS/PGR
Financial
Planning
Post Award
Finance
University of Kent
Challenge: Connect everyone to everyone
• Different suppliers
• Different technologies
• Different data schemas
RMAS
CERIF
Proposal-created
Proposal-updated
Proposal-removed
Proposal-submitted
Proposal-approved
Proposal-rejected
Start small
Release often
Build a community
University of Sunderland
• Research Active
• ~£2M, ~100 proposals
CRM
Workflow
Electronic
Document
Management
Academic
Expertise
Funding
Sourcing
Tool
Central Enterprise Service Bus
Proposal
Management
Costing &
Financial
Management
Proposal
Management
Post Award
Management
Local ESB
Costing &
Financial
Management
Outputs &
Outcomes
RMAS – Sunderland evolution
Preaward
Costing
& Pricing
ESB
RMAS – Sunderland evolution
pFACT
(Converis)*
ESB
ColdFusion
* Alternatively CRM (UNIS)
Top Level Components
UNIS
pFACT
CF
Converis
Sunderland – systems integration
•
•
•
•
Chris21 (HR)
Oracle Projects (Finance)
SITS (Student records)
EPrints (Institutional repository) [SURE]
Sunderland – Comms Bus
Further Information
• RMAS Recipe Book
• RMAS Roadmap
• www.rmas.ac.uk
• Exeter Overview
• Research intensive ~800 Academics; ~3000 projects
• Ambitious growth in research income
• ~ £50m in 2011-12, doubled every 4 years
Exeter Research Systems
Pre-Award
RMAS
Funding
Opportunities
Funding
Opportunities
Proposal
Management
Proposal
Management
Post Award
Management
Finance
(APTOS)
PGR
(SITS)
Post Award
Management
Publication
Management
Publication
Storage
Publication
Storage
Research Data
Storage
Research Data
Storage
Outputs
Monitoring
Outputs
Monitoring
Research Output
Core
Corporate
System
Projects &
CRM
Projects &
CRM
Publication
Management
Research Output
Developed
During RMAS
Post-Award
Existing
System
HR
(Trent)
Post-Award
HR
(Trent)
Key
Planned for
Future
Project Costing
Project Costing
Following
RMAS
Pre-Award
Prior to
Finance
(APTOS)
PGR
(SITS)
RMAS Developments
•
•
•
•
In-house Systems Development: iPAC and ROMe
• Rapid system development e.g. iPAC 16 weeks from conception to deployment
• ROMe demonstrates mapping from non-CERIF source into CERIF within
integration
• Total benefits around £150k per annum in operational productivity gains
Systems Integration
• SQL – methods based on freely available tools, industrial standards
• Supplier Agnostic Connector – open source tool, freely available from RMAS
website, designed to facilitate connecting existing systems
Data Standards
• With other Pathfinders, mapped data fields used in research systems to CERIF
• With EuroCRIS, developed new vocabularies for HR, Finance, Project, Student
and Publications entities
Framework for Analysis of Benefits - led to a benefits-driven approach
iPAC – Project Overview
iPAC – Spend Against Budget Profiles
iPAC – Data Quality Grid
ROMe – Outputs & Outcomes
Lessons Learned
• Improvements in Data Quality in Source Systems
• RMAS integration techniques reliably combine data from disparate sources
enabling verification by those who know the data best
• Avoidance of ‘hidden costs’ of poor data quality [duplication, discrepancy
analysis]
• RMAS integration facilitates conversion of data into information, adding value
through graphical displays and customer-centric user interfaces
• Positive experience of users and increased confidence in data quality makes
user engagement easier to secure aiding future developments
• Agreed data standards [CERIF] are essential for external
communications
• Expertise in use of CERIF internally, connecting to non-CERIF
source systems
Summary
• RMAS has been integral to delivery of major advances in our
research systems infrastructure during last 12 months
• Gaps remain – plan to use RMAS procurement framework in
coming weeks to procure a pre-award solution
• Development of expertise in system integration and rapid
system specification, design and implementation
• Benefits-driven approach rippling through entire research
system development programme
• Dissemination of learning into other projects e.g. UKRISS and
DESCRIBE
RMAS Supplier
Agnostic Connector
What is the RMAS Supplier Agnostic
Connector ?
• A tool to integrate data from research management and administration
systems
• It uses an Extract Transform & Load (ETL) Pattern
• Compatible with CERIF
• Built on a mature open source platform
• Custom built for RMAS
• Includes working examples
–
–
–
–
HR to supplier specific CSV
Publications to CERIF XML
Publications to CERIF XML for project costings
Key mapping using an ESB with CERIF XML
How Do I Use It ?
RMAS
Website
1. Access the
connector at
www.rmas.ac.uk
2. Download and
install the working
demonstrators
3. Use the
documentation to
move from demo to
real data sources and
targets
What is Extract, Transform and Load
• An ETL is a three stage system for moving data
Targets
Sources
Extract
Transform
Load
HR
HR
Publications
Publications
Finance
Finance
Projects
Projects
CERIF
XML
CERIF Compatibility
• Extract Stages
– Reads data sources and converts to CERIF
compatible data model
• Transform Stages
– Works with a collection of data fields defined
within the CERIF vocabulary
• Load Stages
– Includes a CDM to CERIF XML export stage
Summary
• A tool kit to enable data integration
• Working examples to speed development
• Freely available, open source, community
based
• CERIF compatible
• Available from www.rmas.ac.uk
The future of RMAS
RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012
RMAS Coordinator Role (Simon Foster)
•Single point of contact
•Provide support and signposting for RMAS
adopters
•Maintain & develop relationships with key
stakeholders
•Manage transition to Nexus
simon.foster@jiscadvance.ac.uk
Sustainability phase work areas
•Support for RMAS Adopters
•Continuation of RMAS/CERIF development
•Moving suppliers toward CERIF/RMAS
compliance
•Working with suppliers in areas that benefit
the sector
Sustainability phase work areas
•Support for RMAS Adopters
-RMAS Repository
-Web Resource
-Technical Support from RMAS Pathfinders
-RMAS Community
-Support in utilising CERIF
RMAS Repository
RMAS Tools
RMAS Web Resource
www.rmas.ac.uk
Managing Relationships & Strands
UK Universities
RMAS
Coordinator
CERIF Support
National Coordinator
/
RMAS Framework
Suppliers
Transition to Nexus
• New Commercial Service from JISC Advance
• Open Source Enterprise Service Bus Technology
• Ongoing Management of RMAS
RMAS & JISC Advance Nexus
What is Nexus
• Nexus is a new commercial service by not-for-profit
service organisation JISC Advance
• Nexus enables seamless data transfer within institutions
and to remote services and external agencies.
• Connected approach uses Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)
technology to provide secure information exchange
between software applications.
• Nexus delivers the crucial connections between
academic administration systems, teaching and learning
environments, remote services and external agencies.
The role of Nexus in the sector
•Joining up services
•Cost effective integration options for the sector
JISC Advance Nexus’s role in RMAS
• Management of the framework
• Provision of liaison support for early adopters
• Interpretation of the contract
• Dissemination of information
Where RMAS fits in with Nexus
•Enterprise Service Bus technology
• Deployed centrally or as a Local ESB
•Cloud-based systems routed through the Nexus
ESB
•Remote and Shared services
Where RMAS fits in with Nexus
Where RMAS fits in with Nexus
The Nexus Vision
Where will Nexus take RMAS
•Towards and evolving standard
•Integration of new & existing systems
•Working collaboratively with suppliers
SLC
HEFCE
HESA
L A’s
UCAS
HEDD
TfL
DARE
UK BA
SR
VLE
Nexus
NHS
RMAS
Modules
Data Standards
& Adapters
Data Standard
Bodies
Suppliers
Services and
University
Products
University
ESB Community
Universities
University
University
University
University ESB or Adapter
RMAS
HR
VLE
ID
SR
University
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
Benefits
• ESBs have been used to
– Make processes better faster cheaper
– Improve the student experience
– Automate information provision
– Free up administrator time
– Reduce/eliminate provisioning delays
– Improve cash flows
– Reduce the cost of IT
– Improve data quality
What does it cost?
• Not-for-profit
• Annual subscription of
– £5k for the first endpoint pair
– £1K for subsequent endpoint pairs
• Plus very competitive implementation costs
– However if an institution asks them to solve a
problem for which there is substantial demand,
Nexus may choose to waive to cost of
implementation for the first customer.
Want to know more?
• Join the linked in group – JISC Advance Nexus
• Email
– sharlene.jobson@jiscadvance.ac.uk
– clare.mckenzie@jiscadvance.ac.uk
• Phone
– 0203 006 6054
Are there any questions?
Simon Kerridge
or contact Simon Foster
simon.foster@jiscadvance.ac.uk