Developing Sustainability Pathways for Social Simulation Tools and Services

我们构建可持续的社会模拟基础设施和服务的战略有三个要素：1)开发一项试点服务，提供给选定的英国市场部门；2)建立社会模拟基础设施和服务的技术要求；以及3)研究可持续社会模拟服务的更广泛的市场潜力和商业模式。对于试点社会模拟服务，我们选择将重点放在英国学术部门，特别是提供研究生培训。这一选择是由以下几个因素决定的：第一，我们为这一领域提供培训的经验(包括2011年6月在牛津DTC举办的社会模拟研讨会)；第二，将早期职业研究人员引入社会模拟可能产生重大影响；第三，我们对其中许多关键群体和利益相关者的熟悉。需要一个培训基础设施(t-基础设施)来支持这些培训活动，重要的是要注意，这不仅涉及提供计算和存储资源，还涉及组织安排，如技术支持和管理，包括设施预订和管理任何资金流。所作的安排需要与生产使用社会模拟基础设施的规定密切一致，以使学生获得易于转化为实践的培训经验。为西北和白玫瑰发展中心提供社会模拟服务的经验将被用来开发一条移民途径，包括商业模式，这将支持将这些服务传播到其他发展中心和其他部门。NEISS和Talisman项目已与许多不同的部门和用户社区建立了联系，这些领域包括：1)研究(例如地理；交通；城市规划；社会政策；卫生科学；经济学；国内和国际)；2)教育(高等教育和中等教育；专业组织)；3)决策和规划(例如住房；交通；工作和养老金；地方委员会；中央政府；四)公共部门(个人、社区组织、特殊利益集团)，以及五)商业部门(如咨询公司、数据提供商、公用事业公司、保险公司、零售商)。培养和扩大我们的范围和用户社区是一项持续的活动。

Our strategy for building a sustainable infrastructure and services for social simulation has three elements: 1) developing of a pilot service for delivery to a selected UK market sector; 2) establishing the technical requirements for social simulation infrastructure and services; and 3) researching the wider market potential and business models for sustainable social simulation services.For the pilot social simulation service we have chosen to focus on the UK academic sector, and on graduate training provision in particular. This choice is informed by a number of factors: first, our experience of delivering training for this sector (including a seminar on social simulation at the Oxford DTC in June 2011); second, the potential for significant impact from introducing early career researchers to social simulation; and third, our familiarity with many of the key groups and stakeholders within it.A training infrastructure (t-infrastructure) is needed to underpin these training activities and it is important to note that this involves not merely the provision of computational and storage resources but also organisational arrangements such as technical support and administration, including the booking of facilities and managing any funding streams. The arrangements made need to be closely aligned with the provisions for production use of a social simulation infrastructure to give students a training experience that will readily translate into practice. The experience of providing social simulation services to the North West and White Rose DTCs will be used to develop a migration pathway, including business models, which will support the diffusion of these services both to other DTCs and to other sectors.The NeISS and Talisman projects have established contacts to a number of distinct sectors and user communities in I) Research (e.g. Geography; Transport; Town Planning; Social Policy; Health Sciences; Economics; nationally and internationally), II) Teaching (Higher and Secondary Education; Professional Organisations), III) Policy decision making and planning (e.g. Housing; Transport; Work & Pensions; Local Councils; Central Government; NGO), IV) the Public Sector (Individuals; Community Organisations; Special Interest Groups), and V) the Business Sector (e.g. Consultants; Data Providers; Utilities; Insurance Companies; Retailers). Cultivating and widening our scope and user community is an ongoing activity.