UK e-Science ETF Network

ETF目前是一个活跃的网络，其资金与构成核心电子科学计划第二阶段的各个电子科学中心联系在一起。由于这将在2009年3月结束，根据以往的经验，一旦当前ETF成员的资金停止，这些成员将停止参与，因此我们将开始失去在e-Science计划期间建立起来的固有知识。当这些员工转向一个单独的项目时尤其如此，在此期间，由于合作者数量有限，几乎没有机会进行外部沟通。这一提议将允许通过不将现有资金绑定到一组特定的中心来进行扩展，从而使传播的能力能够向电子科学社区的所有成员提供一个高度技术性的网络。这也将允许资助的工作通过到目前为止与e-Science项目很少或没有接触的团体来完成，例如大学信息服务或机构HPC提供商。我们最初打算让每个电子科学中心至少有一名参与者，但这将灵活安排，以便只有那些积极撰写产出以向小组展示的人将获得资助。这是可能的，因为成员对网络的日常参与需要很低（每月访问网格会议），但通过这些报告传播工作的优势非常大。通过这种方式，我们将把这个小组作为电子科学知识的储存库，同时有效地建立在ETF已经能够产生的大量工作的基础上。除了每月的Access Grid会议外，我们还将进行季度的面对面会议，主要是向网络展示内部完成的工作，并允许成员之间进行严格的讨论。通过在位于英国中心的学术场所举行这些会议，我们打算最大限度地提高资金的价值，无论是在实际成本方面，还是在时间方面，对于大多数研究人员来说，这是他们最宝贵的商品之一。通过ETF主席最初继续参与英国国家电网服务的管理结构，我们还打算将我们将继续构建的技术知识传播回生产网格社区。该提案的另一个关键方面是我们与其他相关研究社区的合作，如校园网格、高性能计算、数字存储库和可视化小组。通过他们，我们将能够为ETF网络带来更多的经验，而我们通常可能无法定期访问ETF网络。以这种方式将涵盖的另一个领域是新兴的Web2.0社区，它们为e-Science社区提供了大量的服务，特别是它们能够构建易于使用的小型工具。总的来说，ETF网络打算做的工作计划将允许大量的电子科学计划知识不被寄存到档案中，而是在必要时供所有人使用。

The ETF is currently an active network whose funding is tied to the individual e-Science centres that made up the second phase of the core e-Science programme. As this will end in March 2009 it is highly likely, based on previous experience, that once funding has stopped for members of the current ETF that those members will cease to participate and as such we will start to loose the inherent knowledge that has built up during the length of the e-Science program. This is particularly true as these members of staff move to working on a single project during which there is little chance for external communication due to limited numbers of collaborators. This proposal will allow expansion through not tying the available funding to a particular set of centres, making the ability to disseminate to a highly technical network available to all members of the e-Science community. This will also allow for funded work to be done through groups that have until now had little or no contact with the e-Science program, for example university information services or institutional HPC providers. We are initially intending to have at least one participant from each e-Science centre though this will be flexibly arranged such that only those actively writing up outputs for presentation to the group will be funded. This is possible since the everyday engagement needed to the network by members is low (monthly Access Grid meetings) but the amount of advantage through dissemination of work from those reporting is very high. This way we will keep the group together as a repository of e-Science knowledge whilst effectively building on the already large amount of work that the ETF has been able to produce. As well as the monthly Access Grid meetings we will engage in quarterly face-to-face meetings, which for the most part will be to showcase the work done internally to the network and allow rigorous discussion to happen between members. By holding these meetings in an academic venue centrally located in the UK we are intending to maximize value for money, both in terms of real costs but also time which, for most researchers, is one of their most precious commodities. Through the initial continued engagement of the chair of the ETF into the management structure of the UK National Grid Service we are also intending that the technical knowledge that we will continue to build will be disseminated back to the production grid communities. One of the other key aspects of this proposal is our engagement with other relevant communities within the research are such as the campus Grids, HPC, digital repositories and visualization groups. Through them we will be able to bring further experience to the ETF network to which we may not normally have regular access. Another area that will be covered in this way is the emerging Web2.0 communities which have a very large amount to offer the e-Science community particularly in their ability to construct small easy to use tools. Overall the programme of work that the ETF network is intending to do will allow significant amounts of knowledge of e-Science programmes are no consigned to the archives but available for all to use as and when necessary.