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HCRC and users

HCRC and users. John Lee Deputy Director, HCRC. HCRC research. Communication, from a cognitive angle Psycholinguistics Dialogue Cognition/learning Language technology Some fairly detailed science, with applications most obviously in technology. HCRC users (as traditionally conceived).

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HCRC and users

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  1. HCRC and users John Lee Deputy Director, HCRC

  2. HCRC research • Communication, from a cognitive angle • Psycholinguistics • Dialogue • Cognition/learning • Language technology • Some fairly detailed science, with applications most obviously in technology

  3. HCRC users (as traditionally conceived) • Wider research community • Technology-related industry • Specifically in language/speech • Wider areas of industry • For e.g. document management • Public bodies (sometimes) • E.g. Dept. of Health • Educators (sometimes)

  4. Chris Harty’s observations on HCRC Annual Reports • Mention of users heavily couched in “RoP” and ESRC-oriented rhetoric • Often tied to issues of research funding • users as partners (e.g. in EU projects) • Repeated claim that “basic research” is central, even when applications unclear • “This reveals a potential problem of reconciling the innovative and novel nature of much academic research and the day-to-day concerns and expectations of the non-academic world” • Problem of “overhead” in user interaction • Ephemeral existence of URCC …

  5. Why? • HCRC discussion of “users” was driven by our perception of ESRC demands • (no-one else recognises the term …) • Basic research was often distant from applications • trying to interest the outside world in our research was (and is) difficult and time-consuming • We did not have the resource for a sustained and dedicated approach to user engagement • We engaged various kinds of users quite successfully, but failed on commercialisation

  6. What now? • No ESRC driver since end of Centre funding • Structural changes: LTG, MCG etc. wound down • Major current initiative: the Edinburgh-Stanford Link • Funded by Scottish Enterprise: central focus on commercialisation • of language and speech technologies • Full-time commercialisation manager • Substantial success in greatly improving interaction with companies • also interaction with other public bodies • development of Entrepreneurship courses

  7. Does it set the research agenda? • Not really … • Academics are more engaged with companies’ immediate problems • But by and large these are addressed by using current technologies (via consultancy) • This sets the application agenda, but the research agenda is not set by users (and mostly doesn’t interest them very much) • companies (especially small ones) are not easily engaged by much other than immediate problems

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