Preliminary Keynote for NSF Workshop, March 16th, 2011

1. Preliminary Keynote for NSF Workshop, March 16th, 2011

2. Background • Funding in Canada • Tri-council + Arts Council • The NCE program: How does it work? • The “five pillars” of NCE evaluation: • Research • HQP • Networking & partnerships • Knowledge & Technology - Exchange & Exploitation • Management of the Network

3. GRAND Graphisme, animation et nouveaux médias Graphics, Animation and New Media *really “Games, Animation, and New Media” ( but jeux doesn’t start with “g”!) Funding of $4.65M per year for five years was announced on December 1, 2009 GRAND began operations on January 1, 2010

4. Innovation + Social Impact We combine high-level understanding of enabling technologies With research on creation, design, and usability of multimedia experiences Arts, humanities, science, technology, and design are all needed for significant, adoptable innovation Digital media is much more than entertainment New policies are needed to engage and protect citizens and businesses in all sectors - health, education, law, environment, and government

5. It Isn’t Just Technology • We don’t want to build “the best systems that no one wants to use,” we want to build systems that meet society’s needs • “All technology, all the time” isn’t the answer • Telidon was Canadian technology that failed not because of technology problems • … it failed because of social, legal, economic, and cultural/artistic problems

6. SSHRC + NSERC GRAND researchers include experts in media studies, content producers, HCI specialists, computer scientists, engineers, animators, game designers, and experts in new media business and policy Directors for SS/H and STEM research disciplines and for Art/Design Practice Media convergence is rapidly accelerating and affecting all aspects of life This requires deep understanding of social, experiential, and design contexts and constraints

7. Governance Structure

8. Participants 63 network investigators 86 collaborating researchers 100+ postdocs and students 23 universities 40+ industry, government, and NGO partners 7+/- staff

9. Agile Matrix Organization • Structured to provide powerful, multidisciplinary collaboration • Networking is “built in” to the structure to encourage our • researchers • graduate students, and • partners and other receptor groups to work together from the outset

10. 5x30x50 Project Matrix 5 themes provide critical focus 30+ projects cross themes for synergy 50+ network investigators add diversity 40+ collaborating domain experts Themes provide top-down vision Projects provide bottom-up innovation

11. How do we manage this? • Network investigators are the key building block • Projects are fluid collaborations • Project champions represent partners in the receptor community • Collaborating researchers are identified for specific expertise • Funding is allocated to network investigators based on their contributions and partnerships

12. Accountability • Annual progress reports from NIs, projects, & themes • Project champions • External reviewers • Bi-annual external project reviews • Quarterly “new opportunities” for projects • Annual International Scientific Advisory Committee full review • Annual report to NCE Program by Board

13. Special Internal Projects • Two special projects focus inward & keep us on our toes: • MEOW Media Enabled Organizational Workflow • NAVEL Network Assessment and Validation for Effective Leadership

14. HQP Training Over 150 students including: 12 postdocs 55 PhD, 75 master’s, 10 undergrad interns 5 research technicians Multidisciplinary mix Graduate Student Advisory Committee

15. Opportunities MITACS ACCELERATE internships Workshops and Design Keystones Access to 18 CFI-funded labs Exchange visits Collaboration across institutions GRAND Challenge Competition

16. Networking & Partnerships Accelerating the exploitation of new knowledge and technology, GRAND will encourage, enable and support the rapid exchange of ideas between academic researchers and receptor communities. Networking and Partnerships are the tools for this rapid exchange. They account for 20% of the NCE criteria 16

17. R&D Linkage with Network Partners 9 federal/provincial agencies 2 specialize in commercialization 22 private sector partners performing R&D in Canada 15 Canadian 7 multinational Companies in relevant receptor sectors Games Design, simulation, visualization Simulation for training Wireless services Filmmaking and postproduction Interactive digital media Computer platforms for digital media and innovative display environments

18. Public Sector Network Partners R&D Links with Federal and Provincial Agencies: BC Hydro Power Smart Canadian Film Centre Communications Research Centre (Industry Canada) Defence Research Development Canada National Film Board Ontario Privacy Commissioner Science World Innovation, Commercialization, Exploitation Partners: BC Innovation Council Canadian Digital Media Network (Centre of Excellence for Commercialization and Research)

19. Private Sector Network Partners Autodesk Bardel Entertainment BioWare CAE CM Labs Vortex Coole Immersive Deluxe Postproduction Electronic Arts Gsmprjct Immersion Intel Metranome Pixar Precision Conference Solutions Ramius RapidMind (now Intel Waterloo) Rogers SAP Saskatchewan in motion Science World Side Effects Software Toronto Rehabilitation Institute Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH

20. Academic N&P: the “easy” part The structure: GRAND’s 32+ projects: multi-researcher, multi-university External Project Champions in each project GRAND’s Network Investigators: multiple projects each How do we know when we are “winning”? Better topics. Shared perspectives. Co-authored work and papers. 20

21. Receptor N&P: the “hard” part Lightly built into the GRAND structure except for Project Champions Occurs project-by-project and GRAND-wide. GRAND Peaks How do we know we are winning? • Partners voting with their feet. 21

22. Knowledge & Technology Exchange & Exploitation • Typically every project has a Champion: • - network partner company, or • - representative of a user sector • Dissemination of results: • through peer-reviewed public-domain literature • through exhibitions and performances • Workshops, AGM, Keystones • IP Policies of individual universities are respected.

23. Main Impact is Knowledge Exchange Partner companies that are broadly interested in GRAND topics, with potential interest in several projects Companies and User Groups involved with a team of researchers Estimate and “capture” their support - financial contributions to the research - in-kind services and experts’ time

24. Events to Accelerate KE ACM SIGGRAPH chapters Vancouver, Montreal, Toronto and more as part of monthly local chapter meetings AGM collocated with: 2010 AI/GI/CRV conference (Ottawa) 2011 ACM CHI conference (Vancouver) Keystone Series involve partners, art and design practitioners, and business to get cross-disciplinary, fast-track outcomes First four Keystones will focus on: Design, Simulation, Play and Mobility.

25. Our challenges • What is research? • Discovery - Creation - Practice • Multidisciplinary research requires collaboration • Each discipline has its own customs, canon, standards, and language • It takes effort to appreciate each other’s strengths • Enforced structure vs. organic structure • What is excellent - and who determines this?

26. Thank-you! For more information: http://www.grand-nce.ca/