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Developing CITIN's web service |
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/ April 2009 |
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Visitors to the CITIN Web site will have noticed a new look to the pages and some exciting additions to the content. Participants in the recent series of Partnering for Innovation events will have experienced its dedicated social networking site. These are the first forays in an ongoing project to build a web service that is at the heart of CITIN's vision for accelerating innovation in the Creative Industries. CITIN's approach to developing our web service is driven by three key requirements; that it should be intelligently personalised, that it should provide an open platform for our members to develop content, projects and relationships and that it should be an exemplar of innovation, rapidly incorporating and using latest technologies and designs. Functionally, the site will develop as a valuable resource of information on upcoming innovation events around the country, news and views, access to creative industry intelligence and reports, information on funding and support opportunities and a tool to connect and engage with existing and future innovation partners. One of the first exciting developments has been the launch of a partnering and knowledge sharing area. Recently appointed Web manager Kelechi Amadi and CITIN director John Cass outlined their plans. Kelechi is keen for CITIN's services to be very usable: "People shouldn't have to think very hard", he says. "We are dealing with intelligent people who are Web savvy, and haven't got time to waste." He's also passionate about innovating with the Web: "The Web is evolving rapidly, largely due the current culture of collaboration in web development. Websites today are under constant development and provide rich interactive user experiences by sharing technologies with other sites using APIs and mashups. We aim to collaborate with some of the Web's coolest platforms as our route to delivering the user experience that CITIN members want in a timely and cost effective manner." John said: “Our ambition is for CITIN to become the first port of call for those seeking to find people, partners and knowledge around innovation in the Creative Industries. We are particularly excited about developing and applying the latest web technologies to support members, the Partnering for Innovation social networking site was our first experiment in this and we're learning fast. This goes to the heart of our activities, connecting people with each other and the information they need, facilitating the creation of communities of interest and enabling people who attend CITIN events to build on the contacts they have made at the event and develop discussions that have taken place. It will also enable people who cannot attend events to become part of these discussions. “CITIN understands that value is created across the network, and we intend to create an editable, collaborative space from which content can be combined with that produced elsewhere, and can be integrated with platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn,” John added. Meanwhile, Kelechi is keen to ask newsletter readers What would your ideal CITIN site do for you? |
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Successful Partnering For Innovation events |
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/ April 2009 |
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More than 250 people attended CITIN’s Partnering for Innovation events held across the UK to help businesses access the Technology Strategy Board’s £5m collaborative research and development fund. And 500 people have registered to take part in the social networking site CITIN has developed to support the event. Delegates described the events as very valuable and a number reported making potential business contacts as well as gaining insights into the process of applying to the TSB. For people unable to attend the event CITIN has made the presentations available on-line and created a site to enable networking. Rachel Harker of Cambridge Consultants said the event was well facilitated: "One of the best events I've attended from this perspective". She made a contact in the content area for Cambridge's work in Internet radio. Ian Piper of Tellura Information Services said he valued being able to "see who else is doing work in similar areas to my company" and heard 'reasonably encouraging noises' about his business idea. Agile Lab consultant Mark Stringer reported that he "wrote a 4iP proposal with another participant as a result of an off-chance conversation that we had about 'beta readers'". While Ben Tura, research investigator at IXC UK, valued being able to speak to representatives of CITIN and the Digital Communications KTN, and considered it "was good to have a range of funding options presented on the day, acknowledging that one route does not fit all projects". The events combined informal networking exercises designed to help attendees meet one another, understand the make-up of the participants, learn about their specific projects, and match skills and needs; a Fund briefing and Q&A session with the Technology Strategy Board; show and tells and funding case studies; collaborative open space and group sessions to develop ideas; and more formal talks. The London event included a thought-provoking talk by Jon Watts of MTM London on consumer and industry trends, and the new economic and business models that are shaping the media landscape – citing sources from Robert Reich's Supercapitalism to Chris Anderson's The Long Tail. The feedback from participants was very positive, with more than three-quarters describing the information as good or excellent, and 60 per cent rating the partnering opportunities as very good. Jeremy Davenport, deputy director of CITIN said: “We were delighted with the success of all of the events. We were particularly pleased to be able to work with organisations in Scotland and Wales as well as the English regions who ensured each event reflected local issues, partners and themes.” People who could not attend the events can still access presentations and connect with others around research and projects via the Partnering For Innovation area of the CITIN website. Presentations from the event can be viewed, frequently asked questions reviewed, and new members are always welcome on the social networking element of the site. Events took place in London, Bristol, Birmingham, Newport and Glasgow and were delivered in partnership with the Digital Communications KTN, the South East Media Network, 3C Research, Screen West Midlands, FACT and Scottish Enterprise. |
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Making ourselves at home with research |
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/ March 2009 |
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In the opening keynote RIBA Immediate Past President Jack Pringle argued that research is key to understanding how houses can be better built for social benefit, but noted that research is poorly funded. In the second keynote, Alejandro Aravena of the Chilean-based Elemental 'Do Tank' talked about a project to rehouse 100 families within a poor favela which, nevertheless, offered a network of opportunities. She emphasised the need to create conditions in which housing becomes a social investment rather than an expense. For this project, 36 square metre houses were designed, with the families involved throughout the process. The designs allowed for further 'self build' development that would add value to the housing units. Addressing the issue of space, Andrew Drury of HATC reported survey data showing that most residents' dissatisfaction related to lack of space for recycling bins, insufficient kitchen space for supervised children's play, lack of storage space, restricted choice for furniture layouts, and inadequate space for furniture and decorative objects. Stephen Proctor presented a case study of a Proctor and Matthews Architects project in Rochdale that began with extensive consultation and engagement with the local community designed to help them understand the kind of housing they wanted. Based on this, the houses they designed featured a modern back-to-back typology, with 'two fronts' creating two houses in one, and used offsite modular construction while allowing a high level of internal design and maximising space. In the session on types of space, the University of Sheffield's Jeremy Till noted that housing defined by 'cash-flow analysis' tends to be inflexible and unsustainable. Instead, he asked whether architects can let go and create 'slack space' which residents can make their own – for instance a hallway come study come playroom – rather than spaces with preordained uses. Discussing policy, Dominic Church of CABE argued that we can't afford to build homes that are low standard as there are wider costs to be borne, including reduced social cohesion. Citing Berlin as an example of good space typologies, he rued the English habit of marketing of home based on number of rooms rather than floor space. In the session on homes, housing, neighbourhoods and communities Yolande Barnes of Savills Research reported on a survey revealing that neighbourhoods were of greatest importance to people while, surprisingly, community was second to last. Reflecting on the value of surrounding space, she noted that some of the highest valued UK properties are located in the most densely populated areas. From this she conclude that density (or intensity) with permeability and mixed use creates high value. The Symposium talks are documented on RIBA's RIBApedia site, and the papers can be found on the Space at Home event page. |
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New SBRI competition |
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This is being run by the Design Council on behalf of the Home Office and is looking at how technology can be applied to the area of mobile phone security. The Mobile Phone Security Challenge is offering a total of £400,000 to designers and technology experts to come up with new ways of securing handsets, the data they contain, and their future use as electronic ‘wallets’ when m-commerce technology is introduced in the UK. More information and details of the competition are on the Design Council Website. For the latest information on funding calls please log on to our website. |
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R3Research 3 is the GaME09 and AI & Games network event supported by TIGA and CITIN. We’ll be hosting networking drinks with a showcase of Design London’s latest 3D simulator for academics and the Games industry on the 2nd of June from 6pm. If you’d like to attend please email mariano@citin.org Made in BrunelMade in Brunel showcases creative thinking and is a platform for graduating students to exhibit their ideas. CITIN will be hosting a networking lunch on the 10th of June around Knowledge Transfer Partnerships with case studies and a panel discussion to encourage academics and businesses working together. Business Design Centre, 211 Upper Street N1 0QH London b.TWEENb.TWEEN forums are must-attend events for those who matter in the media industry: a playground for creatives, innovators and visionaries with a commercial edge, a purpose built test-bed for innovation and new applications of digital media. CITIN will be programming a session to introdue Knowledge Transfer Partnerships to a wider audience with case studies and a panel discussion on the 12th of June. FAC,T 88 Wood Street, Liverpool L1 4DQ Develop ConferenceCITIN and Tiga will be holding a breakfast meeting on the 15th of July at the Develop Conference in Brighton, focusing on the issue of promoting and managing innovation in the games industry. Dr Jonathan Sapsed, AIM Innovation Fellow and Principal Research Fellow, CENTRIM - Centre for Research in Innovation Management, University of Brighton will be our principal speaker. Hilton Brighton, Metropole, Kings Road, East Sussex, Brighton, BN1 2FU. Building Information Modelling, what is it really?In partnership with the Knowledge Transfer Networks for the Creative Industries (CITIN) and the Modern Built Environment (MBEKTN and CITIN), buildingSMART and the Construction Project Information Committee (CPIC) The conference will help delegates understand what BIM is, explain how others have benefitted from using BIM, whether in little or big ways, and encourage them to explore the possibility of using BIM. It will take place the 26th of June in the Jarvis Hall. RIBA, 66 Portland Place, London, W1B 1AD |
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If this newsletter was forwarded to you and you would like to be informed about CITIN news and future activities, please take up a free membership by registering at the CITIN Web site. If you no longer want to receive this newsletter, or if you have any comments on the newsletter, or news that may be of interest, please email the CITIN team. |
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The Creative Industries Technology and Innovation Network (CITIN) 020 3355 3062 |
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The Creative Industries Technology and Innovation Network mission is to accelerate innovation in the Creative Industries in the UK. CITIN is home to innovators from all sectors of the Creative Industries from advertising to fashion and design, from architecture to new media, TV, games and beyond. Funded by the Technology Strategy Board and led by University of the Arts London, the CITIN consortium includes the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Imperial College London, and Tiga, the trade association for games developers. |
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There have been a number of exciting developments at CITIN over the past few months all of which are covered in this newsletter. Development of our web site continues and we staged a series of highly successful events on Partnering for Innovation. We are also developing two major projects one looking at how people will experience Digital Content in the future and the second around Knowledge Transfer, and in particular Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, in the Creative Industries. 
In the areas of Knowledge Transfer, it is clear that the Creative Industries have not been as effective as they might at tapping into KTPs, which offer access to expertise and funding to help businesses to develop. CITIN will be looking at how this situation can be improved, better identifying and flagging the challenges and opportunities that exist and helping businesses take advantage of support.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) and the Knowledge Catalyst scheme offer a great opportunity for creative businesses and organisations to improve their competitiveness by tapping into the expertise and skills from across UK academic institutions.
How might people experience content in five to seven years time? Given the changes that have taken place in the last five years the importance for the creative industries of having answers to this question is clear. To facilitate, CITIN is building on the community and debate it has catalysed around the current Technology Strategy Board Accessing and Commercialising Content in a Digitally Networked World call. It is planning to explore and 'roadmap' this area using scenario planning tools, to establish key trends, identify points of consensus and divergence, and establish which technologies are likely to underpin these experiences.
Kelechi's background is in brand and communication design for public sector, not-for-profit, and community organisations. His design activity naturally gravitated to the Web, and he became involved in the development of Web tools, particularly for content management. In his previous role at the Health Protection Agency he managed the organisation's intranet, involving content migration, training, and usability, and helping staff across the country manage and edit material. Kelechi's experience across Web interface design, development, content management and facilitating effective use of these tools will be of great value in developing CITIN's plans. 
From flexible homes to smart homes, eco homes to micro homes, ideas for improving the UK's housing stock are many, as are the challenges we face in this area. But how much do we really know about the nature of the housing stock, how people use their homes, what they think about them, how much space they really need, and the impact of housing on quality of life? These were some of the questions asked the third RIBA Research Symposium 
