DARIAH–BG:
NATIONAL INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH E - INFRASTRUCTURE FOR ARTS AND HUMANITIES AS PART OF EUROPEAN DARIAH
Name of infrastructure |
DARIAH - BG |
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Short description of the RI (relevance and objectives) |
GLAM institutions in Bulgaria digitize their collections archiving a huge amount of digital text, audio-visual material and images. The scientific potential of these data collections has not been fully exploited due to a lack of interoperability of resources and lack of appropriate tools to connect the data collections with the research questions in the arts and humanities. DARIAH - BG aims to enhance and support digitally-enabled research across the arts and humanities by setting up a distributed digital research infrastructure for: · implementation of a digital research cycle in Bulgarian research institutions (Universities, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Libraries, Museums, Archives, Archaeological sites, creative industries, educational and training institutions, SME’s) · exchanging and sustaining expertise in the field of Digital Arts and Humanities . |
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Structure of the RI
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DARIAH - BG will include: · Computer networks and Internet interface. · Digital content (databases of structured information) from the digitized collections of GLAM institutions. · specialized software for services based upon state-of the art technologies · Network of research scientific centres and thematic virtual communities |
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Terms |
Preparatory phase: 2014-2015 Implementation phase: 2016-2018 |
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Infrastructure coordinator and location |
Distributed, located in a single region, but in different institutions. Scientific and technical coordinator: in process of specifying (proposed Ontotext) |
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Type of management |
Financial management: Ministry of Education and Science |
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Bulgarian consortium
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The Bulgarian consortium consists of: • Institute of Information and Communication Technologies (IICT), • Institute of Mathematics and Informatics (IMI) • Institute of Art Studies – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences • Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with museum • Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” • New Bulgarian University, • Plovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski” • University of Veliko Turnovo “St. Cyril and St. Methodius” • Cyril and Methodius Research Centre • South-West University "Neofit Rilski" • Konstantin Preslavsky University of Shumen • Burgas Free University • Ontotext • Cyril and Methodius National Library -Sofia • Regional Library”Pencho Slavejkov”- Varna • Regional Library “Ïvan Vazov”- Plovdiv • Archives state Agency • National Historical Museum – Sofia • Archeological Institute and Museum- Sofia • National Ethnographic Museum – Sofia • National Art Gallery –Sofia • Sirma Media |
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DARIAH-BG Development stage |
DARIAH – BG will be a virtual infrastructure, functioning as a virtual access point for networking and for the interdisciplinary exchange of expertise among Bulgarian humanities researchers, as well as those engaged in maintaining libraries, archives and other cultural heritage digital collections. DARIAH – BG will operate through Digital Humanities Research Centres , responsible for the implementation of the digital research cycle and thematic virtual Communities of practice. These are in charge of creating and disseminating expertise about specific innovative user-friendly search and analysis tools for digitized data on the one hand and linking and interoperability solutions on the other hand. DARIAH – BG will operate through Digital Humanities Research Centres , responsible for the implementation of the digital research cycle and thematic virtual Communities of practice. These are in charge of creating and disseminating expertise about specific innovative user-friendly search, analysis and re-use tools for digitized data on the one hand and linking and interoperability solutions on the other hand. DARIAH-BG will function as a node in DARIAH-EU (Digital Research Infrastructure for Arts and Humanities), a European research infrastructure and will work closely together with national and international affiliated projects and sibling initiatives such as CLARIN, CLARIN-BG, CENDARI, ARIADNE, NeDIMAH, DASISH, etc. DARIAH-BG will be based upon the latest achievements in the field of information technologies, such as Grid-technologies and semantic web. |
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Necessary financial resource |
Preparatory phase: 800 000 BGN Development phase: 4 200 000 BGN For maintenance after the first 5 years – 500 000 BGN per anum |
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Expected advantages for Bulgaria, including ones with practical character |
DARIAH-BG is providing innovative tools to research digital data and finding new ways of maximising its informative value. T he free availability of this data offers a new boost to the digital economy (particularly from the learning and tourism) and exciting opportunities for app developers, designers and other digital innovators. DARIAH-BG aims to support the continued digitisation of Arts and Humanities data by providing the technical framework to facilitate access to research material and to connect researchers, information managers and information, thus: • enabling enhanced data sharing and exchange of knowledge, expertise, practices and methodologies among research communities; • supporting digitally-enabled research and content; • ensuring high standards and best practice; • providing the digital tools to aid interpretation and use; • ensuring long-term preservation of data and support the safeguarding of cultural heritage in Bulgaria; and • encouraging innovation and experimentation with other scholars. DARIAH –BG through DARIAH-EU will provide benefits via knowledge and technology transfer. For Bulgaria, this will include: • access to a lot of high-quality research data; • encouragement between Bulgarian researchers and others on a pan-European level; • access to state-of-the-art standards and best practices; • developing new and novel approaches to research; and • social and economic advantages in the future such as preserving Bulgarian cultural heritage and reducing research costs. DARIAH –BG will contribute significantly to the participation of Bulgaria in the cultural portal Europeana, thus ensuring an European level of our rich cultural heritage. DARIAH –BG network will be absolute free for citizens, teaching stuff, students and for research purposes. The industry will be probably charged a user fee or will have to pay for modules. DARIAH–BG will be a powerful instrument for the preservation of the national cultural identity. A team of highly competent experts is a necessary prerequisite for the development and maintenance of such an infrastructure. Bulgarian government and Bulgarian scientists are responsible for its successful implementation since it is a labour-consuming task requiring long-term efforts and investments. The long-term participation of most of the consortium members in international projects and initiatives, the accumulated digital content and related technological resources as well as the human experience in the field, are a guarantee for the success of this initiative.
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