- Practical suggestions to remain compliant with the Digital Economy Act
09 Jul 2010It is vital that organisations across the public sector ensure they implement robust measures to avoid risks of infringing the provisions in the Digital Economy Act and as a result possible future...
- What is a Virtual Research Environment?: Experience from the JISC VRE programme
12 Apr 2010Researchers from almost all disciplines now work extensively online, often in collaboration with colleagues from different institutions and disciplines. Most, no matter what their discipline, will...
- Enabling e-portfolio portability (Leap2A)
30 Mar 2010Leap2A is an open specification for transferring learner-owned information between different systems. e-Portfolio tools and systems are now widely used by learners to present evidence of learning,...
- Digital information seekers: How academic libraries can support the use of digital resources
30 Mar 2010This briefing paper highlights the findings of a JISC-funded report on the behaviours of ‘digital information seekers’, namely students, researchers, academics or anyone else using digital resources...
- Research information management: Towards a common standard for exchanging research information
30 Mar 2010Universities rely on accurate and reliable research information to support strategic planning, manage the research process and improve reporting to external bodies such as funders. This briefing...
- Open educational resources: An update on activities
26 Mar 2010Since April 2009, the Higher Education Academy and JISC have been collaborating on the Open Educational Resources (OER) pilot programme, helping universities to share educational materials freely...
- What is Flexible Service Delivery? (version 2)
11 Mar 2010Flexible service delivery is about universities and colleges joining up their disparate corporate information and academic systems, and considering new modes of service provision, such as shared...
- Flexible service delivery and supplier engagement
08 Mar 2010The investigation into shared services is also of interest politically as colleges and universities look to meet government targets. It is likely that the level of interest in the shared services...
- Enterprise architecture: Introduction (version 2)
08 Mar 2010History has shown that it is not the biggest, strongest or cleverest that succeed but rather those that can adapt to changing circumstances. Enterprise Architecture is about enabling organisations to...
- Publishing research papers: Which policy will deliver best value for your university?
25 Feb 2010This paper outlines the key findings of a recent JISC-funded study - ‘Modelling scholarly communication options: costs and benefits for universities’ - which models the economic costs and benefits...
- What is Flexible Service Delivery? (version 1)
15 Feb 2010Flexible service delivery is about universities and colleges joining up their disparate corporate information and academic systems, and considering new modes of service provision, such as shared...
- Strategic engagement with business and the community
11 Feb 2010Collaboration with external organisations is not a new concept for research and teaching in UK higher and further education institutions, however there is increasing pressure on institutions to...
- Meeting the Research Data Challenge
26 Nov 2009Managing and curating the ever-increasing volumes of research data is a complex issue and devising policies and solutions is no simple matter. Through its newly launched Managing Research Data...
- e-Procurement to reduce costs and carbon footprint
11 Nov 2009Imperial College decided to save money, improve operational efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint by replacing paper-based procurement processes with electronic ones. By the end of the first...
- Assessing the Business Case for Standards: An introduction for strategy planning and resourcing committees
02 Nov 2009Making a business case for interoperability and standards is a challenging task for those involved in the strategic planning of IT systems in educational institutions. This briefing with its...
- Impact of the economic downturn on University Library and IT services briefing paper
05 Oct 2009New research conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of JISC, SCONUL and UCISA shows that, although university library and Information Technology (IT) services may not yet be fully feeling the ‘pinch’ of...
- Energy efficiency for high-powered research computing: Case study in Green ICT
21 Sep 2009Using energy-efficient high performance computing (HPC) for research and other institutional activities through a program called Condor can help reduce energy bills if used effectively. Dr Hugh...
- Efficient water cooling systems for computer facilities: Case study in Green ICT
21 Sep 2009The University of Edinburgh’s Advanced Computing Facility is cool for most of the year. The Scottish climate allows them to ‘free cool’ the water for air conditioning, drastically cutting energy use...
- Thin-client saves energy costs: Case study in Green ICT
21 Sep 2009The new Queen Margaret University (QMU) campus was designed from the ground up to be very sustainable. It now uses a biomass heating plant, and natural ventilation wherever possible, limiting air...
- Learning Literacies in a Digital Age
07 Sep 2009This paper draws on a JISC report, Thriving in the 21st century: Learning Literacies for the Digital Age, which explores examples of learning literacies provision in UK further and higher education.
- Open Access
22 Apr 2009The web has provided the means for researchers to make their research results available to anyone, anywhere, at any time. This is known as Open Access. This briefing paper illuminates the central...
- Preservation of Web Resources
24 Mar 2009Many of JISC’s programmes and initiatives support repositories and the retention, reuse and sharing of digital assets. Higher and further education institution websites might also count as...
- Creative Commons Licences
09 Mar 2009Creative Commons licences (also referred to as CC licences) permit the copying, reuse, distribution, and in some cases, modification of the original owner’s creative work without having to obtain...
- Timetabling and Resource Scheduling
09 Mar 2009This paper provides a summary of the key findings of a study commissioned by JISC into timetabling and resource scheduling in higher education (HE) and further education (FE).
The study, undertaken...
- Green ICT: Managing sustainable ICT in education and research
14 Jan 2009This briefing paper is based on Sustainable ICT in Further and Higher Education by Peter James and Lisa Hopkinson, the final report of the SusteIT project.
- Outsourcing Email and Data Storage briefing papers
12 Dec 2008These briefing papers cover what it means to outsource email and data storage and the issues that institutions should consider if they wish to travel down this road. Choose from the extended version,...
- Users, new technologies and emerging practices: Users and Innovation programme update
03 Dec 2008The Users and Innovation programme has been integral to JISC’s activity in Web 2.0-centred innovation.
Focussing on how the user interacts with continuously and rapidly changing emergent...
- Shared Services in UK Further and Higher Education
13 Nov 2008This briefing paper is based on the findings of the first three of Duke & Jordan’s reports from the JISC Study of Shared Services in UK Further and Higher Education published in April 2008.
- Third Party Providers of Federated Access Management Solutions: Guide for Institutions
09 Oct 2008The briefing aims to provide more information about some third party providers of access management solutions that support institutions when they either become a full member of the UK federation,...
- National Grid Service
15 Sep 2008The National Grid Service (NGS), funded by JISC and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), was created in October 2003 and entered full production in September 2004. It is...
- e-Assessment: An Overview of JISC Activities
15 Sep 2008JISC recognised the importance of e-assessment for the UK education and research community as long ago as the late 1990s as part of the groundbreaking work on Managed Learning Environments and on...
- National Centre for Text Mining: Introduction to Tools for Researchers
15 Sep 2008With an overwhelming amount of knowledge recorded in texts, it has become imperative to use automated techniques that can identify, extract, manage, integrate and exploit this knowledge for research...
- Text Mining
15 Sep 2008The burgeoning of published text means that even the most avid reader cannot hope to keep up with all the reading in a field, let alone adjacent fields. Nuggets of insight or new knowledge are at...
- Virtual Research Environments: VRE Programme Phases 2 & 3
15 Sep 2008This booklet outlines the present (second) phase of the JISC Virtual Research Environment programme and plans for the third phase.
- Enterprise architectures: Introduction (version 1)
15 Sep 2008Enterprise Architecture (EA) is about enabling organisations to adapt to change by defining, in a generic way, how their business processes work in tandem with their Information and Communications...
- Great expectations of ICT: findings from second phase of research briefing paper
12 Jun 2008New research conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of JISC demonstrates that the Information and Communications Technology (
- Library Management Systems: Investing Wisely in a Period of Disruptive Change
14 Apr 2008JISC and SCONUL recently commissioned a study to survey the Library Management Systems (LMS) landscape in the UK with particular reference to higher education. This briefing paper is an abbreviated...
- Tangible Benefits of e-Learning: Does investment yield interest?
11 Apr 2008The JISC e-Learning Programme set out to explore the diversity of current e-learning practice across the sector and to find out what evidence there is relating to return on investment. A project led...
- Managing and Sharing Research Resources: How repositories can help
07 Apr 2008UK universities live in a competitive and challenging environment. They must compete with each other for funding based on the outcomes of the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) and the Research...
- Managing and Sharing e-Learning Resources: How repositories can help
07 Apr 2008The extensive and growing use of online resources and materials in learning and teaching presents new opportunities and benefits to institutions. Technology has made the sharing and re-use of...
- Web 2.0 and Intellectual Property Rights
02 Apr 2008Within a Web 2.0 environment, in which anyone is potentially a creator and publisher of content, there are a number of IP issues which might arise. When working in a Web 2.0 environment, it is...
- JISC Digitisation Conference 2007 briefing
31 Mar 2008A briefing of the main points and issues arising from the JISC Digitisation Conference
Cardiff, 20-21 July 2007.
- The e-Framework
17 Mar 2008This paper is for decision makers in research and education institutions who seek to develop flexible and adaptive technology infrastructure that will allow efficient and cost-effective information...
- Use of Technology to Support Admissions to Higher Education
17 Mar 2008Technology and its role in supporting the work of admissions professionals in higher education institutions (HEIs) has been explored in three recent studies. The studies found that good practice...
- Student Experiences of Technology and e-Learning: an overview of JISC activities
15 Mar 2008Prospective university students have difficulty understanding fully what university life will offer, including what Information and Communications Technology (ICT) provision to expect. However, new...
- Technology-Rich Physical Space Design: An overview of JISC Activities
06 Mar 2008Since 2006, JISC has been helping institutions develop physical spaces that anticipate the pervasive use of technology in learning and teaching, enable innovative, learner-centred pedagogies and...
- Third Party Providers of Federated Access Management Solutions: Guide for institutions
29 Feb 2008This briefing is aimed at UK higher (HE) and further (FE) education institutions that wish to adopt federated access management and join the UK Access Management Federation, either by using paid-for...
- Research in the Social Sciences: An Overview of JISC Activities
19 Feb 2008The source and nature of data available for social science research is changing. Administrative records (eg. education, social care), the worldwide web (eg. blogs and wikis) and records of...
- Research in the Biomedical Sciences: An Overview of JISC Activities
19 Feb 2008February 2008: The life sciences are experiencing a period of unprecedented change. The sequencing of the human and other genomes brings many new opportunities including personalised medicine, the...
- Federated Access Management briefing papers
01 Feb 2008In September 2006, JISC launched its UK Access Management Federation for UK HE and FE education institutions. Educational institutions throughout the UK will be invited to join the UK federation and...