SeF1 - Funding Industrial Projects

1. SeF1 - Funding Industrial Projects Dr Mark Parsons NeSC Commercial DirectorEPCC Commercial Manager m.parsons@epcc.ed.ac.uk

2. Industry and the Grid - 1 • the Grid will only be seen as a success if it is adopted outside academic community • by involving industry early we can • ensure the developments are in line with industry’s needs • disseminate the relevance to industry • ensure the technologies that emerge are adopted as industry standards • develop more robust properly engineered solutions • make use of industry expertise & technologies we would not have normally have access to

3. Industry and the Grid - 2 • previous statements very IT industry focused • by involving industry we can also • develop new ways to solve their scientific, technical and business challenges • tackling previously infeasible problems • doing things bigger, better, faster • develop new methods of working • increasing productivity, profitability and competitiveness • creating virtual organisations • etc

4. Funding options • there are several options for funding • directly funded industry projects • but may be hard to convince industry to part with cash • economic situation isn’t great • much Grid technology is still to be developed • DTI/EPSRC funding • open call for e-Science projects • Grid Core Programme • there is no ring-fenced pure research funding • European Union funding • last call for FP 5, FP 6 on the horizon

5. EC funding 1 • European Commission were very fast to fund Grid projects • funded largest – DataGrid (10M€) – in 2000 • to date 11 projects funded • variety of Action Lines in 2 Key Actions • main unit has been Research Networking • final call of Framework 5 is now open • closing date 21st February 2002 • call text contains Grid Action Lines • probably not enough time to prepare proposal

6. EC funding 2 • Framework 6 starts 2003 • EPCC has played major role in EC Grid strategy setting • Grid workshop report:http://www.cordis.lu/ist/rn/grid_ws.htm • for Research Networking and Key Action 2 input to FP6 see: http://www.cordis.lu/ist/fp6/fp6consult.htmlook at bottom of page for PCM3 and PCM13 reports

7. EC funding - 3 • first call expected in late 2002 • workprogramme still being finalised • contains strong references to Grid activities • but • may be delayed • not clear if RN have retained promised budget • big opportunities for projects • funding structure/project size may prove interesting • lack of interest from UK CS community?

8. DTI/EPSRC open call - 1 • full details can be found athttp://www.research-councils.ac.uk/escience • open call has approximately £5million to spend • apparently not much has been spent so far • this should be first port of call for funding • programme focuses on short-term research to address major technical challenges of e-Science • proposals must involve significant industrial contribution • cash or in-kind – further comments later • overall programme expects 50% of total requested • use EPS(eRP) form for application

9. DTI/EPSRC open call – 2 • suggested areas of research include • resource management and brokering • meta-data and data management • remote instrumentation and data analysis • large-scale visualisation and feature recognition • security and privacy • quality of service and dependability • wide set of areas • full details on website • good opportunities for funding

10. DTI/EPSRC GCP – 1 • Grid Core Programme • major part of NeSC activities • £3million over 3 years • designed to fund collaborative, shared cost projects with industry • main aim is to developgeneric, core technology Grid components to enable the UK to demonstrate international leadership in e-Science and Grid technologies

11. DTI/EPSRC GCP – 2 • two types of projects • core technology driven collaborations with IT vendors • application driven collaborations with industrial and commercial early-adopters • results must be reusable and generic • most results will be made freely available to the Grid community as Open Source • access to foreground IPR from some results – eg. close to core business of partners – may be kept within the project

12. DTI/EPSRC GCP – 3 • NeSC also has regional role in Scotland • intends to make small proportion of GCP funds available to all Scottish Universities • NB. most projects should go to the Open Call • projects proposed to NeSC will • be selected based on their technical quality and complementarity with goals of the NeSC • if selected be passed to DTI/EPSRC for review and approval or rejection

13. DTI/EPSRC GCP – 4 • proposals must involve • academic department(s) • industrial partner(s) • procedure is • prepare proposal in predefined format • available from Commercial Director (me) • agree in-kind funding with industrial/commercial partner(s) • send proposal to NeSC for review • proposal will be reviewed by 2 members of NeSC executive + 1 reviewer chosen for specific knowledge • NeSC executive board has final say if proposal should be sent to DTI/EPSRC for review

14. DTI/EPSRC GCP - 5 • if accepted for submission to DTI • short form to be filled in GRID (1) • if accepted by DTI • longer form to fill in GRID (2SA) • contract issued by DTI to partners receiving funding • NeSC contract ammended • main points • crucial to success is getting in-kind in place • decision of NeSC executive is final

15. DTI/EPSRC in-kind – 1 • in-kind contributions required for Open Call and GCP projects • eg. if an academic partner project requires £50,000 from DTI then £50,000 in-kind must be committed by industry • total project value is then £100,000 • in-kind can be • company staff effort – salary + NI & pension + travel + overheads (50-130%) • equipment • software licences • cash

16. DTI/EPSRC in-kind – 2 • audit certificates are not required from industrial/commercial partners • unless they receive money from the DTI funding as part of the project • but … good record keeping is vital • claims will not be accepted without corresponding in-kind justification • must be defensible to auditors

17. Grid marketplace • still early days in terms of Grid technology • for many companies current Grid work is completely irrelevant • companies are only interested in work which directly benefits their business • there are some early adopter companies – mostly the usual suspects • the global IT players are taking the Grid seriously • a large part of the NeSC’s work is to form strategic relationships with these companies • successful Grid projects will be quite close to market … and use good sw eng skills

18. summary • various avenues for funding exist • EU Framework 6 • DTI/EPSRC Open Call  most promising • NeSC GCP funding • all options involve working with industry • there is no straightforward research programme • if you want to discuss project proposals please talk to us!