Curtis+Cartwright
Curtis+Cartwright is an independent research and strategy consultancy. For over ten years we have helped clients make better decisions about developing, applying and promoting current and emerging technology. We stimulate innovation and facilitate understanding wherever technology meets people, process and policy.
Our clients typically come from the education, academic libraries, police, and central government sectors, but we work across the full range of public and third sectors. Our areas of expertise include service design, strategy and governance, evaluation and review, cloud and research computing, horizon scanning and futures.
Latest News: December 2011
Government agency and key disciplines: learning from international experience
Curtis+Cartwright, in partnership with Kingston University, is conducting a project for HEFCE to investigate the effect of market forces and governement agency in other countries with similar funding systems, and to evaluate their effect in supporting subjects of strategic importance. For more information about this work, please contact Geoff Curtis.
JISC transition support
We have just completed our assignment to support the JISC transition process following the Wilson Review. We undertook Strand B, which was a systematic review of all JISC services, and an identification of the activities that the future JISC should undertake. This was an intensive and challenging assignment that involved extensive consultation across the FE and HE sectors and JISC service portfolio.
Cost analysis of cloud computing
We are conducting a project jointly funded by JISC and EPSRC to perform a cost analysis of cloud computing for research. The flexibilty and scalability of the cloud computing paradigm offers a great deal of potential for research computing users and providers, but issues surrounding the cost of working on the cloud can present a confusing barrier. This project aims to bring some clarity to these issues, and produce useful advice and guidance for researchers, institutions and funding bodies.
For more information about this project, contact Rob Hawtin.
Libraries of the Future
Libraries of the Future was a high profile initiative funded by the British Library, JISC, RIN, RLUK and SCONUL, and conducted by Curtis+Cartwright in partnership with SAMI Consulting and Sarah Thomas and Richard Ovenden of Oxford University.
The project sponsors are holding an official launch event on 7 December taking forward the outputs of this work. This will provide briefing on the outcomes of the project - three scenarios describing possible futures for teaching, academic and research libraries in the UK. These will help Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and other organisations look at the challenges faced from a fresh perspective and help them formulate strategies to ensure the sector continues to be a leading global force. Those attending will hear advice on using the scenarios in an institutional setting. Speakers will include Dame Lynne Brindley, Chief Executive of the British Library and Professor David Baker, Chair of the JISC Transition Group. The event is free to attend, registration is available here.
We are more than happy to respond to any questions or inquiries regarding the scenarios or their application in strategic planning for HE and academic libraries, contact Geoff Curtis for more details.
Re-use of Cultural sector information
Our report for the European Commission on the importance of the re-use of holdings in the cultural sector across Europe is now available. Museums, libraries, archives and other bodies are finding ways to re-use (and sometimes monetise) their holdings, and this project investigated the impact that changes to the PSI Directive would have on the sector - which is currently exempt.