Dr Simon Kerridge

RMAS Steering Group

• Financial pressures on HEIs

• Efficiency Agenda

• Vfm in Research

• Shared Services

Funding Context

RMAS Feasibility Study 2009Cashable Benefits• Staff efficiencies: 10-20%

Non-cashable Benefits• Free research active staff• Enable growth• Better management Info• Data exchange efficiencies

RMAS Benefits Analysis 2012

Productivity gains• £75k per RMAS module

Qualitative Benefits• Enable growth• Improved data quality• Flexible platform for future

developments

Universities Modernisation FundHEFCE approach:• Could have left to the market• Focusing public funds to:• share risk• accelerate timescales and• tailor to HEIs’ needs • helping address the cultural issues

• £½m benchmarking• £1m shared services• £6m procurement• £2½m Admin applications• £10m data centres and

research applications

Universities Modernisation Fund

UMF DeliveryRMAS:• RMAS product suite • Data integration and standards• Pilot HEI efficiencies• Cloud based delivery model

UMF Programme:• £14.9m efficiencies – Year 1

HEFCE vision

• RMAS is NOT a single, off-the-shelf systemWhat is RMAS?

But it is:• A procurement framework containing the

‘best-of-breed’ research systems on the market,• plus a set of free integration tools and

methodologies,• being built around a data standard for

research information, CERIF

How does that help you?

How does RMAS help you?

How does that help you?

Then, when adding or upgrading…

What has the RMAS Project Done?• created a procurement framework containing products

that meet your needs – select & buy!•developed a set of free tools and ‘how-to guides’ so you

can integrate your systems and data – no need to re-invent the wheel!• Enhanced CERIF to include more data sets, created CERIF

conversion tools & convinced suppliers to develop their systems to communicate via CERIF.

RMAS Procurement

RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012

• RMAS Feasibility Studies 2008/9• Clear demand• Similar customer requirements• Improve the procurement process for the sector• Create a collaborative environment• Issues of coverage and integration• Lack of clarity on standards

Why Create the RMAS Procurement Framework

• The average OJEU timetable of 6-9 months can be reduced to 4 weeks or less

• There are no full tenders to assess - suppliers can be appointed through mini-competitions

• Pre-agreed Terms and Conditions provide solid contractual safeguards and reduced professional legal costs, while allowing amendments to suit particular projects

Benefits of the Framework

What it Means in £££££

• You can access the Framework for free• Long-term relationships between clients and suppliers

through a framework encourage improvements in service

• Having several suppliers allows flexibility to cater for a range of requirements, and maintains competition

• Frameworks help to maintain security of supply• Capture of knowledge and best practice

Further Benefits of the Framework

• Educational Establishments in England and Wales including Schools, Universities and Colleges

• Scottish Further and Higher Education Bodies • Further and Higher Education in Northern Ireland • Central Government Departments, Executive Agencies

and NDPBs• Welsh Public Bodies National Assembly for Wales, Welsh

Assembly Government and Welsh Local Authorities

Who Can Use the Framework

How to Use the Framework

RMAS Framework Lots

RMAS Framework Suppliers

• On campus• Cloud based• Integration options• Supplier web services where they exist• Create your own adapter• Use the Nexus ESB

Deployment Options

• Moving toward CERIF compliance

• Integration using recognised standards and

processes

• Improvements for customers

Management of the Framework

RMAS Integration

RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012

http://source.rkt.clients.switchsystems.co.uk/intro.php

RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012

The Role of CERIF in RMAS

RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012

What is CERIF?

• Common European Research Information Format• An EC-Recommendation to Member States • Development since late 1980s• The responsibility of euroCRIS since 2002

CERIF

EU Working Group on Research DatabasesWorkshop

1987 1991

CERIF 91

PROJECT

Similar IdeasUN/UNESCOOECDCODATA

Acronym: ERGOParticipant: Keith Jeffery, Anne Asser son, many moreOrganisations: Rutherford Appleton, Uni- versity of Bergen, …

2000

CLASSIFICATION

RESULTS EQUIPMENT

PROJECT

OrgUnit PERSON

EXPERTISERoles

CERIF 2000 Model

- Networking of DBs- Exchange of Records

- EC Recommendation to Member States

- Data Model - Multilinguality- Controlled Vocabulary- Roles / Types- User-driven

- EC Recommendation to Member States

ProjectProject OrganisationOrganisation

Service

Funding Programme

Patent

Skills

CV

Product

Event

PersonPerson

Classification(Semantics)

Classification(Semantics)

PublicationEquipment

2ndLevel Base

LanguageSemantics Link

CERIF 2006 / 2008 Model

- Data Model- Model Normalization - Robust/Consistent Structure - Extensible Structure - Semantic Layer - XML Exchange Specification

- Elaboration on Publication- CERIF Core Semantics (2008 1.2)

2006 2008 2012

Measurement GEO

Citation

CV

Prize

Qualification

ExpertiseAndSkills

EquipmentFacility

Funding

Service

ElectronicAddresse

PostalAddress

Country

CurrencyLanguage

Event

Metrics

ResultProduct

ResultPublication

ResultPatent ResultProduct

ResultPublicationResultPublication

ResultPatent

Person OrganisationUnit

Project

PersonPerson OrganisationUnitOrganisationUnit

ProjectProject

Indicator Measurement

2ndLevel Base

CERIF 1.3

Semantics LanguageLink

Infrastructure

- Data Model- Infrastructure

- Facility, Equipment, Service- Measurement & Indicator - Entities and Link Tables- Geographic Bounding Box

- CERIF 1.3 Vocabulary - UUIDs - Terms - Schemes

CERIF 1.5 (XML)CERIF 1.5

FOR MA L

SEMANT ICS

+ Linked Data

+ CERIF Ontology

The CERIF Evolution

• A formal Model of the Research Domain• Research Entities• Relationships• (Contexts)

• Enables ContextualVocabularies(i.e. Semantics)

Common European Research Information Format

CERIF

Common European Research Information Format

Research Context: Finance, Funding, Output, HR, Project-MM, Infrast... CERIF

Common European Research Information Format

Research Contexts: Finance, Funding, Output, HR, Project-MM, Infrast .. CERIF

A particular use-case (context)

Person A

Publication X

OrgUnit O

OrgUnit M

OrgUnit N

Project P

member

member

employee

Part of

Part of

owns IPRauthor

Project leader

CERIF

• Human Resources • Projects• Outputs• Finance• Students

OrgUnit A

Output X

Measure Y

Funding X

Project P

Person P

agreement

member

performance

budget

income / expenditure

owns IPR

author

employer

The RMAS use-cases (areas)

peer-reviewedresult

CERIF

CERIF for N use-cases

OrgUnit

Output

Measure

Funding

Project

Person

C

AB

D

EZ

Y

X

FG

• Formal Syntax• Declared Semantics i.e. open to any vocabulary ... A, B, C, D, E, ... X, Y, Z

CERIF

Benefits of employing CERIF

CERIF

Standardisation allows for re-use; saves time, thus costs

Finance

Project

HR

Output

Infrastructure

Learning Funding

• a tangible formal model• for re-use, communication, comparison• to support interoperability, exchange• to support area identification, process modeling,

vocabulary development• it scales; is open for any vocabularies

Benefits of employing CERIF

CERIF

Standardisation allows for re-use; saves time, thus costs

In areas: HR, Project, Output, Finance, Students

(by analysis of existing systems)(comparable to supplier products)

• entity identification and disambiguation• entity relationship identification• vocabulary identification• (quality) vocabulary definition

Benefits of employing CERIF with RMAS

CERIF

CERIF-driven RMAS Vocabularies

• Persons: Title, Qualification, Contact Type, Event Involvement, Employment Type, Professional Relationship, Output Contribution, Degree Level of Study, Person Project Role

• Projects: Activity Type; Subtype, Organisation Project Role, Activity Funding Type, Activity Status, Activity Finance Category, Activity Finance Category Amount

• Outputs: Output Type, Publication Status, Peer-Review, Output Quality Level, Output Output Relationship, Open Science Cost

• Finance: Funder Type, Funding Source Type• Students: -> Person-Person Role, -> Output Type• Overall: Verification Status

Results from euroCRIS/RMAS collaboration

CERIF

Also imported in part vocabularies from CASRAI, CIA project, CERIF itself, HESA

CERIF-driven RMAS Vocabularies

• Will be formalized in latest CERIF XML• A starting point for suppliers• Have been published on www.euroCRIS.org • Will be supported by RMAS SAC*

Results from euroCRIS / RMAS collaboration

CERIF• SAC = Supplier Agnostic Connector

RMAS Pathfinders• University of Kent• Simon Kerridge

• University of Sunderland• Kevin Ginty

• University of Exeter• Steve Trowell

Or contact JISC Advance - Simon Foster

University of Kent

• Research Led• ~£12M, ~600 proposals

University of Kent

Funding Sourcing

Costing & Financial

Outputs & Outcomes

Academic Expertise

Proposal Management

Post Award

HR SIS/PGR Financial Planning Finance

REF DCS Je-S, eGAP, EPSS.. ROS

External Data sources

(UKRISS)

Reporting

University of Kent

Research Professional

pFACT

EPrints

PSE Cognos Agresso

Funding Sourcing

Costing & Financial

Outputs & Outcomes

Academic Expertise

Proposal Management

Post Award

HR SIS/PGR Financial Planning Finance

REF DCS Je-S, eGAP, EPSS.. ROS

External Data sources

(UKRISS)

Reporting

In-house

Microsoft Reporting Services

University of Kent

Funding Sourcing

Costing & Financial

Outputs & Outcomes

Academic Expertise

Proposal Management

Post Award

HR SIS/PGR Financial Planning Finance

REF DCS Je-S, eGAP, EPSS.. ROS

External Data sources

(UKRISS)

Communication Bus

Reporting

University of Kent

Challenge: Connect everyone to everyone• Different suppliers• Different technologies• Different data schemas

RMAS CERIF

Proposal-createdProposal-updatedProposal-removedProposal-submittedProposal-approvedProposal-rejected

Start smallRelease oftenBuild a community

University of Sunderland

• Research Active• ~£2M, ~100 proposals

Central Enterprise Service Bus

CRM Workflow Electronic Document

Management

Academic Expertise

Funding Sourcing

Tool

Proposal Management

Costing & Financial

Management

Post Award Management

Outputs & Outcomes

Costing & Financial

Management

Proposal Management Local ESB

RMAS – Sunderland evolution

Pre-award

Costing & Pricing

ESB

RMAS – Sunderland evolution

(Converis)* pFACT

ESBColdFusion

* Alternatively CRM (UNIS)

Top Level Components

UNIS pFACT

CF

Converis

Sunderland – systems integration

• Chris21 (HR)• Oracle Projects (Finance)• SITS (Student records) • EPrints (Institutional repository) [SURE]

Sunderland – Comms Bus

Further Information• RMAS Recipe Book• RMAS Roadmap• www.rmas.ac.uk

• Exeter Overview• Research intensive ~800 Academics; ~3000 projects• Ambitious growth in research income

• ~ £50m in 2011-12, doubled every 4 years

Exeter Research Systems

Existing System

Publication Management

Publication Storage

Research Data Storage

Outputs Monitoring

Funding Opportunities

Proposal Management

Project Costing

Projects & CRM

Post Award Management

Pre-

Awar

dPo

st-A

war

dRe

sear

ch O

utpu

t

HR (Trent)

Finance (APTOS)

PGR (SITS)

Planned for Future

Developed During RMAS

Core Corporate

System

Key

Prior to RMAS

Following RMAS

Publication Management

Publication Storage

Research Data Storage

Outputs Monitoring

Funding Opportunities

Proposal Management

Project Costing

Projects & CRM

Post Award Management

Pre-

Awar

dPo

st-A

war

dRe

sear

ch O

utpu

t

HR (Trent)

Finance (APTOS)

PGR (SITS)

• In-house Systems Development: iPAC and ROMe• Rapid system development e.g. iPAC 16 weeks from conception to deployment• ROMe demonstrates mapping from non-CERIF source into CERIF within

integration • Total benefits around £150k per annum in operational productivity gains

• Systems Integration • SQL – methods based on freely available tools, industrial standards• Supplier Agnostic Connector – open source tool, freely available from RMAS

website, designed to facilitate connecting existing systems• Data Standards

• With other Pathfinders, mapped data fields used in research systems to CERIF• With EuroCRIS, developed new vocabularies for HR, Finance, Project, Student

and Publications entities• Framework for Analysis of Benefits - led to a benefits-driven approach

RMAS Developments

iPAC – Project Overview

iPAC – Spend Against Budget Profiles

iPAC – Data Quality Grid

ROMe – Outputs & Outcomes

• Improvements in Data Quality in Source Systems• RMAS integration techniques reliably combine data from disparate sources

enabling verification by those who know the data best• Avoidance of ‘hidden costs’ of poor data quality [duplication, discrepancy

analysis]• RMAS integration facilitates conversion of data into information, adding value

through graphical displays and customer-centric user interfaces• Positive experience of users and increased confidence in data quality makes

user engagement easier to secure aiding future developments

• Agreed data standards [CERIF] are essential for external communications

• Expertise in use of CERIF internally, connecting to non-CERIF source systems

Lessons Learned

• RMAS has been integral to delivery of major advances in our research systems infrastructure during last 12 months

• Gaps remain – plan to use RMAS procurement framework in coming weeks to procure a pre-award solution

• Development of expertise in system integration and rapid system specification, design and implementation

• Benefits-driven approach rippling through entire research system development programme

• Dissemination of learning into other projects e.g. UKRISS and DESCRIBE

Summary

RMAS Supplier Agnostic Connector

What is the RMAS Supplier Agnostic Connector ?

• A tool to integrate data from research management and administration systems• It uses an Extract Transform & Load (ETL) Pattern• Compatible with CERIF• Built on a mature open source platform• Custom built for RMAS• Includes working examples

– HR to supplier specific CSV– Publications to CERIF XML– Publications to CERIF XML for project costings– Key mapping using an ESB with CERIF XML

How Do I Use It ?

1. Access the connector at

www.rmas.ac.uk

2. Download and install the working

demonstrators

3. Use the documentation to

move from demo to real data sources and

targets

RMASWebsite

What is Extract, Transform and Load• An ETL is a three stage system for moving data

Extract Transform

LoadSources Targets

HR

Finance

Publications

Projects

HR

Finance

Publications

Projects

CERIFXML

CERIF Compatibility• Extract Stages– Reads data sources and converts to CERIF

compatible data model• Transform Stages– Works with a collection of data fields defined

within the CERIF vocabulary• Load Stages– Includes a CDM to CERIF XML export stage

Summary

• A tool kit to enable data integration• Working examples to speed development• Freely available, open source, community

based • CERIF compatible• Available from www.rmas.ac.uk

The future of RMAS

RMAS Launch Event, July 10th, 2012

•Single point of contact•Provide support and signposting for RMAS adopters•Maintain & develop relationships with key stakeholders•Manage transition to Nexus simon.foster@jiscadvance.ac.uk

RMAS Coordinator Role (Simon Foster)

•Support for RMAS Adopters•Continuation of RMAS/CERIF development•Moving suppliers toward CERIF/RMAS compliance•Working with suppliers in areas that benefit the sector

Sustainability phase work areas

•Support for RMAS Adopters-RMAS Repository-Web Resource-Technical Support from RMAS Pathfinders-RMAS Community-Support in utilising CERIF

Sustainability phase work areas

RMAS Repository

RMAS Tools

RMAS Web Resource

www.rmas.ac.uk

RMAS FrameworkSuppliers

UK Universities

RMAS Coordinator

CERIF Support National Coordinator

/

Managing Relationships & Strands

• New Commercial Service from JISC Advance

• Open Source Enterprise Service Bus Technology

• Ongoing Management of RMAS

Transition to Nexus

RMAS & JISC Advance Nexus

•Nexus is a new commercial service by not-for-profit service organisation JISC Advance •Nexus enables seamless data transfer within institutions

and to remote services and external agencies. • Connected approach uses Enterprise Service Bus (ESB)

technology to provide secure information exchange between software applications.•Nexus delivers the crucial connections between

academic administration systems, teaching and learning environments, remote services and external agencies.

What is Nexus

• Joining up services

•Cost effective integration options for the sector

The role of Nexus in the sector

• Management of the framework

• Provision of liaison support for early adopters

• Interpretation of the contract

• Dissemination of information

JISC Advance Nexus’s role in RMAS

•Enterprise Service Bus technology

•Deployed centrally or as a Local ESB

•Cloud-based systems routed through the Nexus

ESB

•Remote and Shared services

Where RMAS fits in with Nexus

Where RMAS fits in with Nexus

Where RMAS fits in with NexusThe Nexus Vision

•Towards and evolving standard

• Integration of new & existing systems

•Working collaboratively with suppliers

Where will Nexus take RMAS

VLE

SR

HESA

UK BA

HEFCE UCAS

L A’s

SLC

NHS

TfL

RMAS

DARE

University ESB or Adapter

HR VLE SRID

UniversityUniversity

UniversityUniversities

Nexus

HEDD

Data StandardBodies

ESB Community UniversityUniversityUniversity

SuppliersServices and

Products

Data Standards& Adapters

RMASModules

✔

✔✔

✔

✔✔

✔ ✔ ✔

✔

✔

✔✔

✔

✔

Benefits• ESBs have been used to– Make processes better faster cheaper– Improve the student experience– Automate information provision – Free up administrator time– Reduce/eliminate provisioning delays– Improve cash flows– Reduce the cost of IT– Improve data quality

What does it cost?• Not-for-profit• Annual subscription of– £5k for the first endpoint pair– £1K for subsequent endpoint pairs

• Plus very competitive implementation costs– However if an institution asks them to solve a

problem for which there is substantial demand, Nexus may choose to waive to cost of implementation for the first customer.

Want to know more?

• Join the linked in group – JISC Advance Nexus• Email– sharlene.jobson@jiscadvance.ac.uk– clare.mckenzie@jiscadvance.ac.uk

• Phone– 0203 006 6054

Are there any questions?

Simon Kerridge

or contact Simon Fostersimon.foster@jiscadvance.ac.uk