Weirdly missing old post: IDCC20
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title: "IDCC20 reflections"
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description: "In which I pull out a few themes and thoughts from the 15th International Digital Curation Conference in Dublin"
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slug: idcc20-reflections
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date: 2020-03-03T12:21:51+00:00
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type: post
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tags:
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- Conference
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- IDCC20
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- IDCC
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- Digital curation
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---
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!!! intro ""
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I'm just back from [IDCC20][],
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so here are a few reflections on this year's conference.
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You can find all the available slides and links to shared notes
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on [the conference programme][programme].
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There's also a [list of all the posters][posters]
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and an [overview of the Unconference][Unconference]
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[IDCC20]: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/idcc20/
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[programme]: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/idcc20/programme
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[posters]: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/idcc20/posters
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## Skills for curation of diverse datasets
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Here in the UK and elsewhere,
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you're unlikely to find many institutions
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claiming to apply a deep level of curation
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to every dataset/software package/etc
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deposited with them.
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There are so many different kinds of data
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and so few people in any one institution doing "curation"
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that it's impossible to do this for everything.
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Absent the knowledge and skills required
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to fully evaluate an object
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the best that can be done is usually to make a sense check on the metadata
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and flag up with the depositor potential for high-level issues
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such as accidental disclosure of sensitive personal information.
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The [Data Curation Network][DCN] in the United States
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is aiming to address this issue by
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pooling expertise across multiple organisations.
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The pilot has been highly successful
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and they're now looking to obtain funding
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to continue this work.
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The [Swedish National Data Service][SND]
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is experimenting with a similar model,
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also with a lot of success.
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As well as sharing individual expertise,
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the DCN collaboration has also produced
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some excellent online quick-reference guides
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for curating common types of data.
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We had some further discussion
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as part of the [Unconference][] on the final day
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about what it would look like
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to introduce this model in the UK.
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There was general agreement that this was a good idea
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and a way to make optimal use of sparse resources.
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There were also very valid concerns
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that it would be difficult in the current financial climate
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for anyone to justify doing work for another organisation,
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apparently for free.
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In my mind there are two ways around this,
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which are not mutually exclusive
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by any stretch of the imagination.
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First is to Just Do It:
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form an informal network of curators
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around something simple like a mailing list,
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and give it a try.
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Second is for one or more trusted organisations
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to provide some coordination and structure.
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There are several candidates for this
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including DCC, Jisc, DPC and the British Library;
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we all have complementary strengths in this area
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so it's my hope that we'll be able to collaborate around it.
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In the meantime,
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I hope the discussion continues.
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[DCN]: https://datacurationnetwork.org/
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[SND]: https://snd.gu.se/en
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[Unconference]: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/idcc20/unconference
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## Artificial intelligence, machine learning *et al*
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As you might expect at any tech-oriented conference
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there was a strong theme of AI running through many presentations,
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starting from the very first keynote from Francine Berman.
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Her talk,
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[*The Internet of Things: Utopia or Dystopia?*](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3688658)
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used self-driving cars as a case study
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to unpack some of the ethical and privacy implications of AI.
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For example,
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driverless cars can potentially increase efficiency,
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both through route-planning and driving technique,
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but also by allowing fewer vehicles to be shared by more people.
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However,
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a shared vehicle is not a private space in the way your own car is:
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anything you say or do while in that space
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is potentially open to surveillance.
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Aside from this,
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there are some interesting ideas being discussed,
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particularly around the possibility of using machine learning
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to automate increasingly complex actions and workflows
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such as data curation and metadata enhancement.
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I didn't get the impression anyone is doing this in the real world yet,
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but I've previously seen theoretical concepts discussed at IDCC
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make it into practice
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so watch this space!
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## Playing games!
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Training is always a major IDCC theme,
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and this year two of the most popular conference submissions
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described games used to help teach
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digital curation concepts and skills.
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Mary Donaldson and Matt Mahon of the University of Glasgow
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presented their [use of Lego to teach the concept of sufficient metadata](https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3685685).
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Participants build simple models
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before documenting the process and breaking them down again.
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Then everyone had to use someone else's documentation
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to try and recreate the models,
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learning important lessons about assumptions and including sufficient detail.
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Kirsty Merrett and Zosia Beckles from the University of Bristol
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brought along their card game "Researchers, Impact and Publications (RIP)",
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based on the popular "Cards Against Humanity".
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RIP encourages players to examine some of the reasons
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for and against data sharing
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with plenty of humour thrown in.
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Both games were trialled by many of the attendees
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during Thursday's Unconference.
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## Summary
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I realised in Dublin that
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it's 8 years since I attended my first IDCC,
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[held at the University of Bristol in December 2011][IDCC11]
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while I was still working at the nearby University of Bath.
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While I haven't been every year,
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I've been to every one held in Europe since then
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and it's interesting to see what has and hasn't changed.
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We're no longer discussing data management plans,
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data scientists or various other things
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as abstract concepts that we'd like to encourage,
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but dealing with the real-world consequences of them.
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The conference has also grown over the years:
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this year was the biggest yet,
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boasting over 300 attendees.
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There has been especially big growth in attendees
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from North America, Australasia, Africa and the Middle East.
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That's great for the diversity of the conference
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as it brings in more voices and viewpoints than ever.
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With more people around to interact with
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I have to work harder to manage my energy levels
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but I think that's a small price to pay.
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[IDCC11]: http://www.dcc.ac.uk/events/idcc11
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