JISC

To: Heads of Institutions funded by the HEFCs or by the DENI

Copies: Information Services Directors of those Institutions

Development of Network Efficiency Mechanisms

Introduction

1. This Circular invites bids against an allocation of up to £400,000 for the development of mechanisms to help institutions deal with the consequences of the introduction of charging for network usage in the coming academic year. Such mechanisms are needed to identify network traffic at the user level, and to put in place effective controls on some or all network traffic. Projects will be funded at a total level of up to 75% of their overall costs to the institution. The closing date for bids is 20 February 1998.

Background

2. The JISC and its working groups are currently working to finalise the details of the new charges which were outlined in the JISC Secretary's letter of 22 September 1997. These charges will be implemented from August this year. It is safe to assume that the charges will be based on the connections from JANET to the Internet in North America, and will vary according to usage.

3. Institutions will therefore be faced with a new charge against their budgets, and the size of that charge will be influenced by the behaviour of their users. Given a continuance of the current usage pattern, the charge would grow significantly in subsequent years. Many, or most, institutions will therefore wish to have a means of devolving that charge to those using the network, and/or of influencing the pattern and scale of usage.

4. At present, institutions tend to have little information about the extent or type of usage by specific groups or individuals, or the way in which that usage is linked to academic activity. That deficiency is being addressed by the ACN / CALT Working Group on Network Usage.

5. There is, however, a pressing need to have tools available to monitor actual traffic; this will help identify the individuals or groups generating such traffic and the kind of distant connection or network service being used, and permit restrictions and/or accounting to be put in place. The bidding process launched by this Circular is aimed at addressing that issue.

Objectives

6. Proposals are therefore invited for projects aimed at resolving the whole or some specified part of the problem.

7. The JISC will aim to make available to the UK HE and Research Councils community, as a result of this initiative, a set of tools and procedures which will help institutions to:

• identify network traffic at the user level;
• put in place effective controls and/or prohibitions on any or all network traffic to/from designated individuals or groups of users, according to the type and destination of the traffic (for example: transatlantic; other international; domestic; and use of designated network services; further classifications may well be appropriate);
• reconcile the information thus obtained internally with the figures provided by the charging body;
• assess the resources needed to implement these new tools and procedures, and determine the best way of providing them; and implement the whole package smoothly.

8. Proposed projects may aim to do any or all of the following:

• develop tools and procedures intended to deliver the required features; or
• evaluate existing tools and procedures which are available in the commercial or academic domain; or
• report on the implementation of such tools and procedures elsewhere.

9. All the outputs from successful projects must be complete and ready for use by 30 June 1998.

Evaluation Criteria

10. Proposals will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• the extent to which the project would carry forward the objectives of this initiative;
• the applicability of the output to the whole of the sector;
• the perceived ability of the project team to deliver the intended output within the specified time;
• value for money;
• the extent to which awareness is shown of related developments elsewhere;
• the clarity of the workplan and deliverables;
• the extent to which the project would be consistent with the others, if any, selected as a complete package.

11. While this initiative is aimed principally at usage which results in charges for external network connections, those charges will in most cases be a small fraction of the total costs to the institution of providing the internal network. Therefore, if proposals have the added possibility of offering controls or accounting for internal as well as external usage, that will be seen as a benefit.

Funding Rules

12. Funding under this initiative is available only to HE institutions funded by the HEFCs or DENI.

13. The formation of consortia of such institutions, and collaboration with industry, are both welcomed, but each bid must be submitted in the name of a single HE institution, to which funding for the project will, if successful, be awarded.

14. Successful proposals will be funded at up to 75% of the total cost shown in the bid.

15. Overhead costs which are a genuine additional burden on the institution may be included, but must be shown as distinct costed items and not as an added percentage.

16. Costs of equipment may be included, but any JISC contribution may be reduced to reflect the extent to which the equipment will become a fixed asset for the benefit of the institution.

17. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) arising from projects funded under this initiative remain the property of the institution or consortium concerned, but it will be a condition of funding that such IPR will be licensed, free of charge, indefinitely, to the UK HE and Research Councils Sector. This condition will not however prevent the recovery of reasonable costs of distribution and dissemination, where this is additional to the approved costs of the project.

Submission of Proposals

18. Proposals must be submitted in hardcopy, printed single sided on A4 white paper. The sheets should be submitted paperclipped or in a wallet, and NOT stapled.

19. Each proposal must include a cover sheet and up to five further pages. The cover sheet must include:

• a name for the project;
• the name of the contact individual, together with telephone and fax numbers and email address;
• the name and address of the lead institution;
• details of any collaborating organisations;
• an executive summary of the project;
• the total cost of the project, including the JISC contribution;
• the timescale for completion.

20. The body of the proposal must contain:

• a summary of any relevant previous experience;
• references to any relevant work elsewhere;
• a detailed description of the work to be done, including specifications for the measurable deliverables which the work will produce;
• a workplan showing timescales for each deliverable and any relevant dependencies;
• a breakdown of costs; and
• a statement that the project will be supported by the institution(s) concerned.

21. Proposals must be submitted by postal mail, so as to arrive no later than close of business on Friday 20 February 1998, and addressed to:

Network Efficiency Proposals
JISC
Northavon House
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol BS16 1QD

22. Bidders will be notified of the results by Monday 23 March 1998.

Queries

23. Queries relating to this initiative may be addressed to me at R.Rogerson@jisc.ac.uk or tel 0117 931 7451.

JISC Electronic Publications

24. This and all other JISC Circulars can be found on the JISC web site.

Ron Rogerson
Secretary, JISC Advisory Committee on Networking