Response from the DRI Programme to the independent Jisc report ‘Mapping federation journeys for optimising the UK digital research infrastructure‘.
The UK’s recent Independent Review of the Future of Compute, alongside ongoing efforts by the Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) Programme, research councils and other stakeholders, underscores the critical need for a federated approach to manage the challenges and requirements of the UK’s diverse research and innovation communities.
The UK’s DRI ecosystem is a rich tapestry, encompassing a wide range of funders, users and providers. Each of these stakeholders brings unique capabilities and faces distinct needs.
This heterogeneity necessitates a shift towards enhanced collaboration among these actors. By working together, they can develop joint strategies to optimise the utilisation of current and future resources, creating a more efficient and inclusive DRI landscape.
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has actively championed the creation of a coherent national DRI with seamless connectivity through the Digital Research Infrastructure Programme. The DRI Committee (DRIC), which provides input to the programme across the remits of the research councils, acts as a collaborative platform for DRI Programme initiatives that pave the way for effective federation of research resources.
Recognising the potential of a federated approach, UKRI commissioned Jisc to delve deeper into its design and potential. The phrase ‘federation journeys’ represents the fact that federation of digital infrastructures, as well as the people, skills and resources associated with them, is a continuous process that requires constant collaboration and maintenance to work. It also reflects the journey of the users of relevant infrastructures. The core elements of federation are dialogue and sharing lessons learned, to achieve efficient and innovative outcomes.
Jisc’s report presents a roadmap for optimising DRI asset utilisation across disciplines and users. By leveraging these recommendations, as well as working with key partners, stakeholders and members of the research and innovation communities, UKRI can shape future actions that foster collaboration, promote joint strategies, and ultimately empower researchers and innovators across the UK to achieve breakthrough discoveries.
Scoping, commissioning and funding
The DRI Programme values streamlined efficiency. By fostering collaboration across research councils and actively eliminating redundancy in funding and development activities, UKRI prevents wasted resources and ensures every pound invested goes towards maximising the value of the DRI ecosystem. To promote this, DRI Programme grant conditions now include statements of expectations that require collaboration and cooperation among infrastructures.
The ever-shifting landscape of digital research and innovation demands a funding strategy that is both agile and proactive. In recognition of this challenge, UKRI is revamping its approach to DRI funding. This involves a multi-pronged strategy that starts with meticulous scoping. UKRI works closely with the research community to identify critical infrastructure needs and pinpoint areas where investment can yield the most significant impact.
Seeking to ensure collaboration in scoping, a NetworkPlus award has been deployed by the DRI portfolio as part of its National Computation Research Services workstream with the aim of identifying approaches for federation in the computational services. Furthermore, to increase flexibility in DRI development, programme funding can be used flexibly for both capital and staff costs.
Finally, UKRI champions a user-centric approach. By implementing a cross-council and community approach, UKRI prioritises ease of access for a diverse range of researchers. This ensures that the benefits of DRI investments are not confined to a select few, but rather reach the widest possible research community, ultimately empowering a critical mass of researchers to achieve ground-breaking discoveries. This is showcased by a new data infrastructure for arts and humanities (iDAH) that has received initial funding from the DRI Programme.
Software, hardware and platforms
UKRI is spearheading a significant investment in software, hardware and platforms to supercharge the UK’s digital innovation landscape. The DRI Programme seeks to consider the whole digital research ecosystem through a holistic approach that aims to eliminate research silos and bottlenecks in the usage of present and future infrastructures.
Central to these efforts is the principle of federation and interoperability. By fostering collaboration across the research community, UKRI aims to ensure that the resulting systems are not isolated silos, but rather seamlessly interconnected and accessible. This collaborative approach, which includes diverse members of the UK research community, plays a crucial role in developing robust and user-centric hardware and software solutions.
Looking ahead, projects like the Artificial Intelligence Research Resource (AIRR) are poised to further revolutionise the research landscape. By prioritising user needs and fostering a federated approach, UKRI is laying the groundwork for a future where researchers have access to the most advanced software, hardware and platforms needed to tackle important challenges.
Beyond Large Scale Compute (LSC) facilities, UKRI is actively investing in the development of cutting-edge software and the teams of experts that write it. UKRI seeks to promote the development and maintenance of state-of-the-art software for a wide range of disciplines, from specialised tools for bioinformatics research to robust data management platforms. We are ensuring that the UK is ready for the next generation of large-scale computing platforms by investing in the next phase of the successful ExCALIBUR programme.
The DRI Programme is also seeking to undertake in the coming years further effort to increase understanding of common software and hardware components that are currently in use or in development through its collaboration with key partners, such as the Sustainable Software Institute (SSI) and the Computational Science Centre for Research Communities (CoSeC), as well as trialling new ways of funding software development and maintenance.
By fostering collaboration with leading software developers and researchers, UKRI ensures that these software solutions are not only powerful, but also user-friendly and interoperable with existing infrastructure. This focus on user-centricity ensures that researchers can leverage the full potential of these software tools and accelerate their research endeavours.
People, culture and skills
The success of any digital infrastructure hinges on the expertise and capabilities of the people who develop, maintain and utilise it. This is particularly true in the fast-paced world of digital research and innovation, where constant advancements necessitate a highly skilled workforce.
In recognition of this critical need UKRI and its constituting councils, have placed a strong emphasis on skills and training within the DRI Programme. This is also supported by a deepening of the relationship with the devolved administration, in an effort to better respond to regional differences and requirements.
A skilled workforce, coupled with a robust training and upskilling infrastructure that can respond to changes in skill requirements, is needed for a federated and multidisciplinary system to work. However, DRIC’s engagement across UKRI’s research councils and other stakeholders has highlighted significant challenges across our digital research technical professional (RTP) communities regarding gaps in skills to enable and utilise these digital research infrastructures, as well as a lack of visible career pathways, entry routes, and recognition for the role of digital RTPs.
The DRI Programme has recently launched a funding opportunity to support a small number of Digital RTP Skills NetworkPlus grant awards, led by project leads (termed digital RTP champions), which will equitably bring together disciplines, sectors, and domains together. The NetworkPlus awards will explore key challenges and interventions related to skills and careers that are faced by digital RTP communities across the UK research and innovation landscape.
The focus extends beyond technical skills. UKRI recognises the importance of fostering a culture of collaboration and innovation within the research community. By nurturing a shared understanding of the DRI ecosystem and its potential benefits, the DRI Programme wants to empower researchers to work together more effectively and drive discoveries.
This multi-pronged approach, encompassing technical proficiency and a collaborative mindset, ensures that the UK’s research workforce is well-equipped to harness the power of digital research infrastructure and propel the nation’s research to new heights.
Trusted and secure research
In the fiercely competitive world of scientific inquiry, trust and security are the bedrock upon which credible research is built. As the UK’s preeminent champion for research and innovation, UKRI appreciates the critical role these elements play in upholding public confidence and ensuring the integrity of scientific and technological outcomes.
To safeguard this vital foundation, UKRI promotes the implementation of robust security frameworks and data integrity measures across the entire research spectrum. This necessitates a nuanced understanding of the specific vulnerabilities and potential risks inherent to each research discipline. Furthermore, fostering seamless coordination and responsible information-sharing among Trusted Research Environments (TREs) is paramount.
UKRI has emerged as a leading force in this task. Over the past few years, the organisation has led the development of a collaborative strategy designed to amplify the impact of TREs. This multi-faceted approach encompasses promoting the value proposition and accomplishments of TREs by empowering TREs and fostering a collaborative research environment, through mechanisms like the Distributed Analysis Research Environment (DARE UK).
The goal is constructing a robust and secure ecosystem that fosters public trust and fuels innovation, propelling the UK’s research landscape towards a future of unparalleled excellence. Through funding similar programmes, UKRI and the DRI Programme seek to provide support to the research communities and promote the creation and development of TREs.
Data and output management and workflows
In the age of digital transformation and data-driven industries like artificial intelligence, securing high-quality data has become a critical imperative, not just for scientific progress but also for a nation’s economic development. The ever-increasing demand for data, to fuel and train new technologies and serve as the cornerstone of scientific discovery, has strained the capacity of researchers and innovators to acquire, manage, store and process data responsibly and sustainably.
Building a robust Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) relies on ensuring appropriate interoperability between data infrastructures, promoting standardised data management practices, and fostering collaboration among all stakeholders.
Recognising this, UKRI has prioritised providing researchers with the necessary support to develop solutions for working with increasingly complex datasets in an efficient manner. This support includes establishing platforms for sharing best practices and information, along with a strong emphasis on the FAIR (findability, accessibility, interoperability and reusability) data principles.
With this in mind, the DRI Programme has sought to support several initiatives regarding data infrastructures, such as BioFAIR and the Physical Sciences Digital Infrastructure, among others. The programme is also working to implement a data infrastructure working group to aid in developing new data storage strategies.
By empowering researchers with the tools and knowledge to effectively manage data, UKRI is laying the groundwork for a future where data is not a bottleneck, but rather a powerful springboard for scientific breakthroughs and economic prosperity. This focus on responsible data stewardship ensures not only the integrity and reproducibility of research findings, but also positions the UK as a leader in the data-driven era.
Sustainability, service and capacity
The long-term viability of the UK’s research infrastructure hinges on a commitment to sustainability across all facets, current systems and those yet to be developed. Recognising this, UKRI actively fosters a collaborative environment, leveraging the expertise of its extensive network of partners in both the private and public sectors.
Through this collaborative approach, UKRI seeks to develop innovative solutions for ensuring the sustainable operation of DRI, while simultaneously keeping pace with the ever-increasing demands of the research community. The stated goal of the DRI Programme in this area is to “think and plan on a long-term horizon to evolve the UKRI’s digital research infrastructure in the context of other government investments and strategies in this space”.
UKRI values its strong relationships with other government bodies, including the devolved administrations. This collaborative spirit ensures that solutions and best practices can be effectively implemented across all levels of the research ecosystem. By actively soliciting input from a diverse range of stakeholders (collaborators, researchers and community members), UKRI fosters a truly inclusive approach.
This breadth of perspective is crucial for developing robust and sustainable solutions that cater to the varied needs of the UK’s research landscape. Ultimately, UKRI’s commitment to sustainability, service and inclusivity ensures a thriving research infrastructure that empowers researchers across the nation.
Emerging disciplines and technologies
In the dynamic world of research and innovation, where the frontiers of knowledge are constantly being pushed, agility and adaptability are the cornerstones of success. UKRI recognises this and places innovation and discovery at the very heart of its DRI strategy development.
To ensure these strategies remain robust and effectively address the evolving needs and capabilities of the research community, UKRI fosters a culture of open communication and collaboration between diverse stakeholders and pioneering innovators.
This continuous dialogue, facilitated by dedicated platforms and championed by DRIC, functions as a vital feedback loop. It ensures that advancements are swiftly integrated and DRI maintains its cutting-edge status, constantly adapting to meet the demands of tomorrow’s research landscape. Both DRIC and the Advisory Group on Digital have served to steer DRI projects towards supporting and ensuring responsible innovation.
However, UKRI’s vision extends beyond mere technological prowess. The organisation champions responsible innovation practices and places ethical considerations at the forefront of its work. Recognising the growing importance of fairness and inclusivity, particularly in the age of artificial intelligence and the data economy, UKRI prioritises these issues as core principles.
Through a robust consultative process that engages internal and external experts, key partners and allies, UKRI meticulously crafts policies to ensure that the technologies developed and supported through its DRI initiatives adhere to the highest ethical standards. This is showcased by the recent UKRI programme focused on promoting ethical technology applications, such as funding diverse research efforts on AI ethics and funding.
By prioritising both cutting-edge innovation and responsible practices UKRI strives to create a DRI ecosystem that not only fosters scientific discovery, but also upholds the highest ethical principles, ensuring a future where the advance of science is synonymous with societal benefit.