SUP@VAMDC (2012 - 2014)

Connection to a wider audience

Objectives:

WP3 supports the connection to a wider audience, i.e. other domains that are connected to stakeholders, education, citizen-scientists, SMEs and small research groups. This work package handles Objectives O3 and O5.

WP Lead:

Description of work:

WP3 will organise in each Task (2 to 4) Working Groups, tutorials, outreach websites with access to blogs, possibility to include annotation in VAMDC resources, possibility to include own material on VAMDC websites.
Three of the working groups of each task and sub-task will be organised at the SUP@VAMDC kick-Off and 2 Annual Meetings in order to have a full exposure to the worldwide connection.
Dissemination material such as leaflets, brochure will be made available.

Tasks:

Task 1: Coordination of WP3 (Lead: OBSPARIS)

A WP3 Board will be formed of all WP3 partners, chaired by the WP3 leader and will have bi-monthly teleconference meetings. It will coordinate all activities in WP3 and provide a monthly report on WP3 activities (to be accessible via the website). During the first 2 months of project, the WP3 board will prepare a selection of target communities for the support actions of WP3 during Year 1 in order to start meetings at the kick-off meeting; the selection will be reviewed in the revised plan for Year 2. The WP3 board will organise the design of the content of the different websites and monitor their usage and perform necessary upgrades on a monthly basis. OBSPARIS will be in charge of maintaining the Websites.
The WP3 board is in charge of defining the WP3 Plan (ID3.2), revised plan (ID3.3) for WP3 in D1.2, and Year 1/Year 2 WP3 reports (ID3.4, ID3.5) to be included in Year 1/Final Reports to EU.

Task 2: Support to user communities and to other molecular domains (Lead: CMSUC)

Sub-Task 2.1 deals with linking to user communities whose interests in A+M data are close to SUP@VAMDC partners and connected (but not only) to large astronomical projects such as Gaia, ALMA, to Initial Training Networks such as LASSIE a Framework VII Initial training network dedicated to study the role of surface processes in molecular formation in the interstellar medium, to ESF actions such as the ESF Action on Astrochemistry (CM0805) and the ESF Eurocore project EuroGENESIS, to COST Actions such as MP1005 (Ion Beam Cancer Therapy - IBCT). The list of target user communities will be updated in the Initial Plan (PM2, to be included in deliverable D3.1) and in the revised Project Plan for Year 2 (Deliverable D1.3) .

The actions will be established by organizing working groups and tutorials aiming at teaching those communities how to use the VAMDC infrastructure and to include/advertise/publish their activities through the VAMDC e-infrastructure. The internal deliverable of this sub-task will be a measure of impact though collecting statistics of usage, number of user tools using the VAMDC infrastructure, activity of these groups on a User Community Website.

Sub-Task 2.2 aims at exploring the possible connection and complementary approaches with close domains such as chemistry and biology. This sub-task 2.2 will be carried out with our external partner from NIST (Chemical and Biology Division) through studies concerning the means to achieve interoperability between the VAMDC e-infrastructure, in particular the VAMDC portal and Websites and the Chemical/Biology resources. The work will be carried out through bi-annual visits to the ERA (kick-off, 2 annual meetings and working meeting) and one visit to NIST. The internal deliverable of this sub-task will be documents describing the design for a future interoperability.

Task 3: Support to Education (Lead: OBSPARIS)

Task 3 deals with linking to the higher Education system as well as school teachers, encouraging student projects to use the VAMDC infrastructure (retrieving data, using computer resources, creating a Education website). Once again this will be established by organizing working groups, tutorials and providing access to VAMDC resources that will offer the possibility of developing school/High Education projects through the VAMDC infrastructure. Having nodes outside EU, this action will provide a unique link between students from various parts of the world. This task will maintain a VAMDC Education Website. Each node, coordinating with the Universities teaching Units and with the school bodies will contribute in their own country to the establishment of a prototype Higher Education network linked to the VAMDC e-infrastructure, and therefore through VAMDC will
provide a worldwide connection. SUP@VAMDC will also connect the VAMDC e-infrastructure to EU Teaching initiatives, in particular the European EU-HOU « Hands on Universe, Europe » project that focus on inquiry based science teaching methods in secondary schools and teacher training (Life Long Learning Program of the European Commission).. Through working with this collaboration the SUP@VAMDC e-infrastructure will provide new case studies for the EU-HOU project while EU-HOU form an ideal case study for engaging the SUP@VAMDC initiative with the education sector.This will in turn impact how research e-infrastructures are perceived and used within the education sector.

Task 4: Support to citizen-scientist projects and SMEs (Lead: UCL)

Task 4 deals with linking to citizen-scientists, encouraging associations or individuals to use the VAMDC infrastructure (retrieving data, allowing annotation some of VAMDC resources), as well as connecting to SMEs, whose applications and needs are linked to Atomic and Molecular Data, in fields closed to SUP@ VAMDC partner's fields. Again this will be established through different actions: organization of working groups, tutorials, providing access to VAMDC resources, offering the possibility to deposit projects in order to get answers and support through the VAMDC e-infrastructure. This task will maintain a VAMDC Outreach and a Technology Transfer Website. Each node will contribute in its own country to the establishment of a prototype Outreach and Transfer Technology network linked to the VAMDC e-infrastructure, therefore reaching an international connection. The internal deliverable of this sub-task will be a measure of impact though collecting statistics of usage, number of projects using the VAMDC infrastructure, activity of these groups on the Outreach and Transfer Technology Website.

Task 5: Support to small producers research groups (UU)

VAMDC Producer Website will advertise the possibility of joining VAMDC. Usual dissemination activities of VAMDC consortium (outside the funding of SUP@VAMDC) will trigger the interest of new research groups. UU will be in charge of answering the requests from those groups and organizing working meetings and tutorials in order to introduce them to VAMDC e-infrastructure. The UU organisation will take advantage of the tutorials planned for regional and external partners, if possible. In addition the meeting planning allows 1 producers workshops per year.

Deliverables: SUPP: Connection to a wider audience

Milestones : WP3