Funding ICTD Research
Kentaro Toyama
Microsoft Research India
Workshop on ICTD (pre-ICTD2006)
SIMS, UC Berkeley
October 27, 2005
Outline
Personal Perspective and Introduction
Increasing Funding
Examples of Collaboration between
Universities and MSR
Outline
Personal Perspective and Introduction
Increasing Funding
Examples of Collaboration between
Universities and MSR
The E-mail
Dear Kentaro,
We met at the Computing Applications for DeepSea Fishermen Conference in Goa, back in 1998.
I read about the MSR India lab in the news –
Congratulations!
I’m writing to tell you about a new project of
ours. As you know, fishermen have a need to
know the weather and market prices in real time.
We are planning a pilot to deploy a WiMax-based
system with waterproof PCs in fishing boats in
Kerala.
We need a small amount of funding to get
started, around US$250K, for boats, PCs, WiMax
tower, and grad-student support. Since there
are 10 million such boats worldwide, there is
huge potential for Microsoft to drive computers
into the mid-sized fishing industry, not to
mention the economic benefits to the fishermen
themselves.
Researcher
Kentaro
Is this something that Microsoft would be
interested in? Please let me know what you
think and let us know how we can proceed.
Thanks,
Pesca Torre
ICT4F, Dept of Computer Science
University of Machlee
Their View?
Researcher
Gatekeeper
Microsoft
My View
Mad Scientist
Kentaro
MSR India
Microsoft
Funding Function
$ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l
Factors
m:
s:
r:
b:
o:
l:
merit of the project/researchers
strength of relationship
perceived return on investment
budget of sub-organization
organizational openness to research
luck factor
l
Funding Factors
Supreme Being
Researcher
m
s
Member of
sub-org
Sub-org
Organization
r
b
o
Outline
Personal Perspective and Introduction
Increasing Funding
Examples of Collaboration between
Universities and MSR
Increasing Funding
$ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l
m:
merit of the project/researchers
 Demonstrate research experience
 Maintain detailed website of project
Increasing Funding
$ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l
s:




strength of relationship
Stay in touch
Involve person/organization in relevant activities
Have respect for the person/organization
Express gratitude (if funded)
Increasing Funding
$ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l
r:
perceived return on investment
 Ask about the goals of the organization
 Propose actions that help meet those goals
Possible Goals
 Impact
 Quantity (e.g., number of people affected)
 Quality (e.g., better educated children)
 Sustainability
 Knowledge and science
 Revenue / economic growth
 Direct
 Indirect, growth in industry
 Indirect, growth in economy
 Market penetration
 Intellectual property
 Image and reputation
 Mass media
 Visibility among peers
Possible Goals
 Impact
 Quantity (e.g., number of people affected)
 Quality (e.g., better educated children)
 Sustainability
 Knowledge and science
 Revenue / economic growth
 Direct
 Indirect, growth in industry
 Indirect, growth in economy
 Market penetration
 Intellectual property
 Image and reputation
 Mass media
 Visibility among peers
High value,
relatively easy
to deliver!
Increasing Funding
$ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l
b:
budget of sub-organization
 Help organization meet its goals (future)
 Express gratitude loudly and publicly (if funded)
Increasing Funding
$ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l
o:
organizational openness to research
 Know the culture of each organization
 Choose the right organization
Increasing Funding
$ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l
l:
luck factor
 Pray
 Wear a nice outfit 
Funding Function
$ = f (m , r , s , b , o ) l
$=
S
f (m , r , s , b , o ) l
Try them all!
Ms. X
Sub-org 1c
Org 1
...
Researcher
Mr. Y
Sub-org 2f
Karishma
Windows EM
Santosh
India SMSG
Kentaro
Akhtar
Tom
MSR India
Community Affairs
MSR ERP
Org 2
Microsoft
Outline
Personal Perspective and Introduction
Increasing Funding
Examples of Collaboration between
Universities and MSR
Microsoft Research
Collaborations with Universities
Research collaboration
Internships
Community projects
Workshops and conferences
– Sponsorship
– Organization
External research funding
– Discretionary funding
– PhD fellowships
– RFPs
Research Collaboration
Example
Project: sensor network for landslide
detection (MSR India and IITBombay)
– Close personal ties between
principal investigator and MSR
India
– IIT-Bombay identified and initiated
project.
– MSR (sr. researcher + intern)
joined project and led systems
research component.
Outcomes:
– Synergistic research relationship
– Poster paper at SenSys
conference
– IIT-Bombay received research
funding through MSR ERP.
– Some mention in press
Work by Anmol Sheth (U Colorado), et al.
Internships
Example
Project: study of Akshaya kiosks in a
political / economic context
– UC Berkeley PhD student Renee
Kuriyan spent two months with
MSR India, mostly in field in Kerala
– MSR provided standard internship
package: round-trip airfare, room
and board, stipend
Outcomes:
– Synergistic research relationship
– Student furthered PhD work
– Microsoft gained deeper
knowledge of Akshaya and rural
kiosk projects
– Potential paper publication
An Akshaya telecentre in Kerala
Community Projects
Example
Project: summer computer camp
for girls in a Bangalore slum
– MSR provided equipment,
curriculum, light training
– St. Joseph’s College students
taught classes
Outcomes:
– Students met volunteer service
requirement
– MSR gained first-hand
experience of computer
education in urban slum
– NGO/slum community received
inexpensive computer training
Holi festival with children in Bangalore
Workshops and Conferences
Example
Project: ICTD 2006
– SIMS, Siemens Research,
MSR as main financial
sponsors
– CMU, SIMS, Siemens
Research, MSR St. Joseph’s
College students taught
classes
Expected outcomes:
– ICT4D researchers have a new
publishing outlet for their work
and a venue for more
interaction
– Community of ICT4D
researchers brought together
http://sims.berkeley.edu/ictd2006
External Research Funding
Example
Project: Digital Inclusion RFP
– MSR External Research &
Programs releases request for
proposals of research in “digital
inclusion”.
– Total $1.2M in funding, focus
on technological innovation
– Worldwide scope
Expected outcomes:
– Universities gain some funding
for research in ICT4D
– Microsoft gains greater visibility
for Microsoft as a supporter of
ICT and development
http://research.microsoft.com
Introduce yourself to Tom Healy!
View funding as a collaborative
relationship, and focus on
opportunities for synergy.
Thank you!