Our Approach

JISC has been working with Mimas, Sero Consulting and other key partners such as Research Libraries UK (RLUK), Eduserv and the Collections Trust to implement a management framework for realising the Resource Discovery Taskforce (RDTF) Vision. Collectively, we see this implementation phase (the Discovery programme) as a change programme, driving a shift in ethos to embracing the benefits of ‘openness’, motivating institutions to engage and release metadata, encouraging developers to work with that data to develop new and innovative services, and analysing the lessons learned – particularly the benefits gained around improved research, teaching, and efficiencies in data management.

Underpinning the Discovery approach is a belief that the RDTF Vision can only be truly realised if a 'mixed economy' of technological solutions and approaches are implemented. Our focus is on aggregations and exploiting the strengths in current infrastructures – making data 'work harder'.

The Discovery programme is therefore not about finding a single monolithic solution to aggregating and providing search facilities for our data, but instead our emphasis is on fostering and supporting an ecology of reuse, as well as cultivating the conditions for innovation to happen and services to be improved or developed.

We are adhering to the principle of 'data in, data out' and paying attention to creating an infrastructure that enables a broad range of activity, especially innovation. We want to ensure that the work around licensing and open data advocacy contributes to an outcome where more metadata is made openly available through a variety of mechanisms.

The Discovery team have undertaken this work as a collective effort with a range of key stakeholder partners from across the library, museum and archival sectors. In the first phase we worked with our partners and experts on our Technical Advisory Group to understand the requirements of the different domains and establish technical principles.

We have also worked on establishing clarity of understanding around licensing and open data, working with Paul Miller, Owen Stephens and David Kay from Sero Consulting.

Throughout, communications with stakeholders and engaging the community across the sectors have been key priorities.

Find out more about the outputs of the Discovery programme.