Practical solutions to everyday problems
JISC is enhancing a can-do culture in technology across colleges and universities by continuing to support its grassroots services and promoting greater join-up to make sure that people get the most from the vast range of digital technologies that are available to them.
In November 2008 JISC published a briefing paper on shared services in UK further and higher education which surveyed the landscape, and discussed the benefits of and barriers to such administrative partnerships for the sector.
A further commitment to pooling resources for greater strength was marked in July 2009 by the nine JISC Regional Support Centres in England. They joined other national and regional organisations in signing the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) pledge to signal their intent to help bring to life the government’s vision for informal adult learning.
The pledge is a commitment by the RSC’s that they will be important ambassadors and advocates for learning and drive change on the ground – whether it be by helping colleges with grant applications, providing practical solutions for digital technology issues, 
or supporting managers looking to embed e-learning in their colleges.
Universities and colleges need only make small changes to start saving money and reducing their carbon footprint too, as highlighted by a JISC-commissioned Green ICT report released by Suste-IT in January 2009. JISC wanted a strategic review of what is happening in the field, but also case studies from around the UK to highlight best practice and enable institutions to learn from each other. Listen to the podcast (Duration 7:31). As pressure grows for everyone to cut their carbon emissions, JISC is set to continue its investment in this area in 2009-10 with further investigation into the use of IT to reach carbon reduction targets.
So as JISC seeks to lead its community from within, it ran a number of events aimed to bring together the shared expertise of people working in higher and further education. In February 2009, JISC brought the cream of UK educational software developers together with coders from across education and industry to find innovative technical solutions for educational use. The first ever JISC-sponsored Developer Happiness Day event resulted in such successful collaborations that it now looks to be an annual event.
Podcast: A self-confessed geek on JISC's 'Developer Happiness' event (Duration 12:50)