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DGOnline Newsletter
Volume 14: January 2008
Welcome to dgOnline, the electronic newsletter of the Digital Government Society of North America. dgOnline is a monthly summary of news and events of interest to the DG community. To submit material for inclusion in future issues, please contact Denise Dreany
In this issue:
-- Message from Incoming President Eduard Hovy
-- Articles and Reports of Interest
-- Conferences and Calls for Papers
Message from Incoming President Eduard Hovy
Dear DGSNA Colleagues,
This is an interesting and exciting time for our new Society. Born with much enthusiasm almost two years ago, the Digital Government Society of North America currently numbers about 150 members (from countries all over the world), has a small but significant bank balance, is in the process of acquiring official 501(c)3 status as a tax-exempt organization, and—most importantly—boasts a core of loyal and enthusiastic helpers.
Under the guidance of past President Sharon Dawes, several committees were established to develop areas as different as outreach to DG in other continents, journals, types of membership, and education. Over the two years, Sharon has done a wonderful job in getting the Society off the ground, and I would like to thank her, in the name of all of us, for achieving so much so thoroughly, and drawing in so many as active contributors in one way or another.
But we do face a few challenges. The next few years will tell whether our Society will steadily grow or merely survive. I would say we have two principal concerns: ensuring that the DG research community stays healthy and active, and bringing into our society more practitioners, mainly from the government, but also from commerce.
Regarding the former, I am delighted to tell you that this year’s dg.o conference, scheduled for late May in Montreal, drew a record 80 papers submitted for review. This is a great sign of vitality—all the more because research funding explicitly dedicated by the US National Science Foundation (NSF) for DG has been tapering off. It means, in other words, that our conference is drawing people not because they are required to come, but because it is interesting, a place where you learn and meet others from academia and government who care about the same issues. It also has the important benefit that our bank balance will continue to grow, which will allow the Board to undertake some of its ambitious and interesting projects.
Regarding the latter challenge, namely outreach to practitioners, we are actively pursuing several strategies simultaneously, including organizing practitioner-oriented workshops, introducing researchers to practitioners in appropriate settings, arranging tutorials at the dg.o conference, etc. Our ongoing partnership with Transitions in Governance 2008, an online community discussion of the management issues that will confront the next US administration, should provide interesting material. But we are constantly looking for more ways in which to bring DG research and practice together. We welcome any suggestions and offers to help in this cause.
A society like ours is based on two pillars: sound finances and voluntary participation. Our sponsorship committee, headed by Theresa Pardo, is actively looking for donations, both for parts of the dg.o conference and support the Society in general (in the form of education, outreach, other activities, etc.).
Ultimately, though, everything comes down to us—you and I, the members, who make up the Society. We volunteer to do whatever we have time for, in order to build a rich and interesting network of knowledge, connections, and friends. I would like to thank very much all the people who have so generously helped over the past two years, since the Society started: the committee members, the conference organizing team, the NSF (and specifically Larry Brandt), and particularly the outgoing Board, without whose work and regular phone meetings we would not be in nearly such robust shape. To Valerie Gregg, outgoing secretary and continuing Board member; Yigal Arens, continuing Treasurer, Bob Maslyn, Costas Panagopoulos, and Jochen Scholl, outgoing board members; to Committee chairs Andrea Kavanaugh, Christine Williams, Jose Fortes, Peggy Agouris, Charles Christopher Hinnant, Nosh Contractor, and to everyone on the committees who helped them: a warm and grateful thank you for what you did over the past two years.
Joining me on the incoming Board are Jochen Scholl (President-Elect), Yigal Arens (Treasurer), Andrea Kavanaugh (Secretary), and members Valerie Gregg, Theresa Pardo, Ramon Gil-Garcia, Judy Cushing, and John Bertot. I look forward to working with you all!
So the next two years are an exciting time, and a challenging time, for the Society. How will things develop? That depends on all of us, together. I invite you, should you feel like doing something (no matter how little), to let one of the Board members know. If you see an opportunity—anything in which the Society, the representative of people interested in Digital Government research and practice, can help—please do inform us! Our success depends on all of us
My very best wishes to you for a happy, successful, and prosperous 2008!
Eduard Hovy
President of DG Society of North America
Articles and Reports of Interest
Intelligent Community Forum Announces Top Seven Intelligent Communities of the Year.
This year's Top Seven included three American communities, plus three from the rest of the world that were named to the list for a second time.
E-Mail and Public Records: a Policy Struggle
Governing reports on the millions of state and local employees who correspond by e-mail every day and routinely toss out messages by hitting the "delete" key. Few governments have come up with clear rules governing where and how to keep that evolving public record.
Wireless Meltdown
Municipalities that have jumped on the WiFi bandwagon have hit a stumbling block. Gov-Tech reports on CIOs' struggle to build wireless in the face of unrealistic demands and business models.
In Search of Solutions: Using the Internet, Libraries and Government to Find Help
A new survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, in partnership with the University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign, challenges the assumption that libraries are losing relevance in the internet age. More people turn to the internet (at home, work, libraries or other places) than any other source of information and support, including experts and family members.
Europe Leads in eGovernment Readiness: UN E-Government Survey 2008
The annual UN E-Government Survey reveals large differences between five regions of the world in terms of e-government readiness.
Conferences and Calls for Papers:
Calls for Papers
Conference at Harvard on Networks in Political Science
Boston, Massachusetts, June 13-14
Deadline: March 1, 2008
contact: david_lazar@harvard.edu
Directions and Implications of Advanced Computing Symposium Conference
on Online Deliberation
(DIAC-2008/OD2008)
Sponsored by Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility and UC
Berkeley School of Information
Partners: National Coalition for Dialogue & Deliberation (NCDD)
University of California, Berkeley,
June 26 - 29, 2008
Deadline: March 15
www.publicsphereproject.org/events/diac08/
ICEG 2008
4th International Conference on e-Government
Melbourne, Australia, October 23-24, 2008
Deadline: May 8, 2008
www.academic-conferences.org/iceg/iceg2008/iceg08-call-papers.htm
Conferences
Third Annual i Schools Conference
Futures: Systems, Selves, Society
University of California, Los Angeles, CA, February 28-March 1, 2008
CfP ICTTA 08
Damascus, Syria, April 7-11, 2008
www.conferences.enst-bretagne.fr/ictta
2008 NASCIO Mid-Year Conference
Chantilly, Virginia, April 29-May 2
dg.o 2008 "Partnerships for Public Innovation"
9th Annual International Conference on Digital Government
Hilton Bonaventure Hotel, Montreal Canada, May 18-21, 2008
ICE - 2008 14th International Conference on Concurrent Enterprising
"A New Wave of Innovating"
Lisbon, Portugal, June 23-25, 2008
ICEG 2008
4th International Conference on e-Government
RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia, October 23-24, 2008
www.academic-conferences.org/iceg/iceg2008/iceg08-home.htm
Grant Opportunities:
Advanced Learning Technologies (joint with NSF’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources)
Scientific Foci: Research on computer science and cognitive science challenges posed by human learning environments and learning technology platforms. Projects must pursue both learning and technology questions, and focus on science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) education.
Proposal Deadline: April 25, 2008
http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12834&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience (joint with the National Institutes of Health and other NSF directorates)
Scientific Foci: Interdisciplinary research in computational neuroscience, providing a theoretical foundation and set of technological approaches that enhance understanding of nervous system function and may also have a significant impact on the theory and design of engineered systems.
Proposal Deadline: February 28, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5147&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Creative IT **NEW in FY 2008**
Scientific Foci: Focus on research that improves our understanding of creativity while producing simultaneous advances in computer science and information technologies with digital arts, cognitive science, engineering design, and physical and life science.
Proposal Deadline: September 21, 2007
http://nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=501096&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI ) **NEW in FY 2008**
Scientific Foci: Cyber-Enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI) is NSF’s bold five-year initiative to create revolutionary science and engineering research outcomes made possible by innovations and advances in computational thinking, where computational thinking is defined comprehensively to encompass computational concepts, methods, models, algorithms, and tools. CDI seeks ambitious, transformative, multidisciplinary research proposals within or across the following three thematic areas: From Data to Knowledge; Understanding Complexity in Natural, Built, and Social Systems; and Building Virtual Organizations. PIs are encouraged to submit CDI proposals that are truly distinctive from proposals submitted to other CISE programs.
Letter of Intent Deadline (mandatory): November 30, 2007
Preliminary Proposal Deadline: January 8, 2008
Full Proposal Deadline: April 29, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503163&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Community-Based Data Interoperability Networks
Scientific Foci: This program supports research community efforts aimed at broad digital data interoperability through the development of mechanisms such as robust data and metadata conventions, ontologies, and taxonomies. Support is provided for community consensus-building activities and, based on community consensus, for developing associated technical standards with supporting implementation tools and resources.
Proposal Deadline: July 23, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=502112&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Sustainable Digital Data Preservation and Access Network Partners (DataNet)
Scientific Foci: DataNet will create a set of exemplar national and global data research infrastructure organizations that integrate library and archival sciences, cyberinfrastructure, computer and information sciences, and domain science expertise to: provide reliable digital preservation, access, integration, and analysis capabilities for science and/or engineering data over a decades-long timeline; continuously anticipate and adapt to changes in technologies and in user needs and expectations; engage at the frontiers of computer and information science and cyberinfrastructure with research and development to drive the leading edge forward; and serve as component elements of an interoperable data preservation and access network.
Preliminary Proposal Deadline: January 7, 2008
Full Proposal Deadline: March 21, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503141&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
High End Computing University Research Activity (with DARPA)
Scientific Foci: Research and education projects in languages, programming models and programming environments for high-end computing.
Proposal Deadline: April 8, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13645&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Human and Social Dynamics (HSD)
Scientific Foci: The Human and Social Dynamics (HSD) priority area fosters breakthroughs in understanding the dynamics of human action and development, as well as knowledge about organizational, cultural, and societal adaptation and change. The FY 2008 competition will include three emphasis areas (Agents of Change; Dynamics of Human Behavior; and Decision Making, Risk and Uncertainty).
Proposal Deadlines: February 19 (type 1) 22 (type 2)
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2008/nsf08508/nsf08508.htm
Mathematical Sciences: Innovations at the Interface with Computer Sciences
Scientific Foci: Supports collaborative research in fundamental mathematics and statistics, and computer science with a focus primarily on mathematical and statistical challenges posed by large data sets, managing and modeling uncertainty, and modeling complex nonlinear systems.
Proposal Deadline: Spring 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=9673&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Software for Real-World Systems (SRS) **NEW in FY 2008**
Scientific Foci: SRS calls on researchers to discover, define, and apply fundamental scientific principles, engineering methods, and educational methods to the challenges of developing, analyzing, and maintaining software for real-world systems of today and tomorrow.
Proposal Deadline: January 17, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503175&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Computer Systems Research
Scientific Foci: Innovative research that has potential to augment our fundamental understanding of these increasingly large and complex systems and lead to major advances in systems software, service architectures and abstractions, system modeling and simulation, virtualization, cross-system integration, real-time and pervasive computing, storage and file systems, networked sensing and control, flexible assured system composition, and design for dependability and resiliency under uncertainty.
Proposal Deadline: TBD. Solicitation to be released fall 2007, with a proposal deadline early spring 2008.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13385&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Cyber Trust
Scientific Foci: Research leading to computer-based systems and networks that function as intended, especially in the face of cyber attack, that process, store and communicate sensitive information according to specified policies, and that reflect privacy concerns of citizens. Proposals may address any aspect related to security, privacy, dependability, reliability and safety of systems and networks.
Proposal Deadline: March 24, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13451&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Emerging Models and Technologies
Scientific Foci: Frameworks and foundations for novel computing models that will lead to better computing and communication systems, including, for example: modeling and simulation of bio-systems; design of bio-inspired computing models for solving complex problems; investigation of various aspects of quantum-based approaches to processing information; and nanoscale science and engineering approaches.
Proposal Deadline: TBD. Program announcement to be released fall 2007; proposal deadline winter 2007-2008.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=11176&org=CCF
Expeditions in Computing **NEW in FY 2008**
Scientific Foci: New research program to tap the great reservoir of opportunities that fundamental research advances in computing and information promise for the future. Investigators in the computer and information science and engineering fields and beyond are encouraged to come together within and/or across departments or institutions in the development of compelling, transformational research agendas that promise disruptive innovations in computing and information for many years to come. Three five-year awards, each totaling $10 million, will be supported this year, with three new awards to be made each year in subsequent years.
Letter of Intent Deadline (Mandatory): November 5, 2007
Preliminary Proposal Deadline: December 30, 2007
Full Proposal Deadline: April 1, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503169&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER)
Scientific Foci: A foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organizations.
Proposal Deadline: Midsummer 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5262&org=NSF
Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI)
Scientific Foci: Synergize university-industry partnerships by making project funds or fellowships/traineeships available to support an eclectic mix of industry-university linkages. Program targets high-risk/high-gain research with a focus on fundamental topics, new approaches to solving generic problems, development of innovative collaborative industry-university educational programs, and direct transfer of new knowledge between academe and industry.
Proposal Deadline: Proposals accepted in all CISE programs at relevant deadlines.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13706&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program (I/UCRC)
Scientific Foci: Develops long-term partnerships among industry, academe, and government. The centers are catalyzed by a small investment from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and are primarily supported by industry center members, with NSF taking a supporting role in their development and evolution.
Letter of Intent Deadline: January 4, 2008
Proposal Deadline: March 28, 2008
Letter of Intent Deadline: June 27, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5501&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Networking Technology and Systems
Scientific Foci: Supports forward looking, basic and experimental, research to increase our understanding of how complex, dynamic networks behave, how they can be designed to deliver sustainable end-to-end performance and services, and how they can be managed and controlled to rapidly adapt to changes with a high degree of reliability and minimal service disruption. Both evolutionary proposals which focus on radical approaches to address challenges related to the current Internet and revolutionary, clean-slate proposals, which seek to create a future Internet, are welcome.
Proposal Deadline: March 25, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12765&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE)
Scientific Foci: Enable U.S. institutions to establish collaborative relationships with international groups or institutions in order to engender new knowledge and discoveries at the frontier and to promote the development of a globally-engaged, U.S. scientific and engineering workforce.
Proposal Deadline: The next PIRE competition is being planned for 2009. Please check the link below for updates.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12819&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Sites
Scientific Foci: Supports active research participation by undergraduate students in all research areas funded by CISE. REU Sites engage a number of undergraduate students in research and may be based in a single discipline or academic department, or on interdisciplinary or multi-department research opportunities with a coherent intellectual theme.
Proposal Deadline: August 18, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5517&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Research in Undergraduate Institutions
Scientific Foci: Supports research by faculty members of predominantly undergraduate institutions through the funding of (1) individual and collaborative research projects, (2) the purchase of shared-use research instrumentation, and (3) Research Opportunity Awards for work with NSF-supported investigators at other institutions.
Proposal Deadline: Proposals accepted in all CISE programs at relevant deadlines.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5518&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Science of Learning Centers (SLCs)
Scientific Foci: Offers awards for large-scale, long-term centers that create the intellectual, organizational and physical infrastructure needed for the long-term advancement of Science of Learning research. It supports research that harnesses and integrates knowledge across multiple disciplines to create a common groundwork of conceptualization, experimentation and explanation that anchor new lines of thinking and inquiry towards a deeper understanding of learning.
Proposal Deadlines: February 4, 2008 and August 4, 2008
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=5567&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Small Grant for Exploratory Research (SGER)
Scientific Foci: SGER proposals are for small-scale, exploratory, high-risk research in the fields of science, engineering, and education normally supported by the NSF. While not a program, per se, the SGER is a mechanism NSF uses to catalyze rapid and innovative advances by supporting preliminary work on untested and novel ideas and/or ventures into emerging and potentially transformative research ideas. SGER awards cannot exceed $200,000 for a period of two years, however most are for smaller amounts and/or for shorter durations. Interested researchers are strongly encouraged to contact program directors in their disciplines to discuss the opportunities for SGER awards.
Proposal Deadline: Please speak to a CISE program director.
http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05053/nsf05053.jsp
Theoretical Foundations
Scientific Foci: Basic research on algorithms, complexity, and theory that enables scientific advances in and reveals the potential limitations of computation, communications, signal processing, numerical computing and optimization, symbolic and algebraic computation, and the applications of these insights to other areas of science and engineering.
Proposal Deadline: TBD. Solicitation to be released fall 2007, with a proposal deadline winter 2007-2008.
http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13679&org=CISE&sel_org=CISE&from=fund
Contact Denise Dreany for questions or to submit material for future newsletters.
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