Two messages in this morning from colleagues at Southampton's research office (neither are academics - most of whome are on holiday or trying to write their books ;(
I will have a go at drafting a short idea for what we could aim for, and putting together our circulation with the circulation list for the university discussion I'm recently returned to the UK after 11 years overseas so the number of contacts and knowledge of institutions is weak. On the other hand, a bid with a strong EU presence - even though the CFP is specifically about the UK could be a strength for us. We do NOT know that the presence of Hargreaves is vital. (Unfortunately I do have a connection with Cardiff but it will not be helpful - long story: my predecessor at Melbourne) More later sean Thanks Nikki and sorry wasn¹t about to make the meeting. Dear All I would have thought this needs to be lead by a senior academic from a Business / Law discipline with track record in this area. Clearly there should be close links to those in arts, IT etc. Unless we can rapidly find a natural and credible lead from within Southampton I would have thought our best option is to partner.Please note I did spot in the call document that an organisation can only be in one Bid (see pt 5 on eligibility). Further we also do need to be able to articulate (albeit briefly for the EOI) how this centre would be sustainable into the future ŠŠ I am not sure whether our own Law team and in particular Steve Saxby have/has expressed an interest &/or identified who would be the stiffest competition/best partner but I would hope they would be able to advise.
From a non-academic perspective (but legal with some interest in this field) I wonder whether Queen Mary¹s University of London Œs Centre for Commercial Law Studies might be quite a big hitter as they do quite a bit in IT and Media lawŠ. ? They certainly fielded a few people to the workshop. http://www.ccls.qmul.ac.uk/Research/it/index.html
Christopher Millard provides them with a close link to Oxford¹s Internet Institute as he is part-time at both. Subject to our wanting to lead would it be worth seeing if they were putting in for a bid at all and potentially offer to link with them? Indeed we could ask them anyway in order to gauge if they are competition. Also Bournemouth University Centre for IP & Policy Management - http://www.cippm.org.uk/research.htmlcould well be thinking of going for it in which ditto in relation to partnering/competing with them? Link to Hargreaves report in case you don¹t already have it (you probably do as it has been mentioned previously) http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview-finalreport.pdf but also there are a number of supporting documents which are informative http://www.ipo.gov.uk/ipreview/ipreview-documents.htm Some other suggestions in case they are of help: 1) Would you agree any bid might benefit from some of the following as partners/ representatives in steering capacity in addition to the various industry sectors identified in the call? -British Library -Selection of Law Firms leading in this field -Collecting societiesy / copyright licensing agencies 2) Another refreshing inclusion could be around the education piece (strong theme in Hargreaves) potentially building a strand about curriculum development during schooling years rather than leaving for businesses to tackle it and later stage learning? 3) The expectation should certainly be to have UK IPO on any steering panel which I believe is implicit from the call. The University also has links to the CBI Intellectual Property Committee which includes a number of the major players in some of the industry sectors involved. If we were to lead it may be possible to link through to them for a steering group representative. I can assist in providing that link if there is a decision to lead. Overall we must be mindful of the selection criteria for the 1st stage: · fit to the call specification € demonstrable expertise in delivering excellent and relevant research € strength of vision and leadership € the added value of the Centre¹s overall aims, approach and activities (i.e. the Centre should be more than the sum of its parts) € the strength of any proposed partnerships between partner institutions and the infrastructural support offered by all partners, especially the host institution € the quality and potential of existing and proposed partnerships with stakeholders and other, non-academic organisations and the nature of the relationship € the extent to which proposed activities respond to current priorities and potential future challenges € potential to deliver impact € plans for a sustainable legacy € value for money (including the potential to obtain additional income). I am not sure if there is a follow up meeting but if one is planned will engage should you want. Kind Regards Diana Diana Galpin Senior Legal Adviser Research & Innovation Services Direct Tel: 023 8059 8673 Mobile: 07979852362 Fax: 023 8059 8671 www.southampton.ac.uk/business +++++++++++++++++++++ Dear Diana Do we assume that any bid led by Professor Ian Hargreaves, Chair of Digital Economy at the Cardiff School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies/ Cardiff Business School is a very strong contender given that the Government has just accepted all ten recommendations made in his independent review on intellectual property? If so, does the group have any good connections it can exploit, or a history of collaborating with Cardiff in this area? Or is it too late to pursue that avenue? Kind regards Niki Niki Price Bid Manager Research & Innovation Services