Funding ICTD Research - Microsoft Research - Turning Ideas into

							Funding ICTD Research



              Kentaro Toyama
          Microsoft Research India

     Workshop on ICTD (pre-ICTD2006)
  SIMS, UC Berkeley      October 27, 2005
Outline

Personal Perspective and Introduction

Increasing Funding

Examples of Collaboration between
 Universities and MSR
Outline

Personal Perspective and Introduction

Increasing Funding

Examples of Collaboration between
 Universities and MSR
                       Dear Kentaro,

The E-mail             We met at the Computing Applications for Deep-
                       Sea Fishermen Conference in Goa, back in 1998.
                       I read about the MSR India lab in the news –
                       Congratulations!

                       I’m writing to tell you about a new project of
                       ours. As you know, fishermen have a need to
                       know the weather and market prices in real time.
                       We are planning a pilot to deploy a WiMax-based
                       system with waterproof PCs in fishing boats in
                       Kerala.

                       We need a small amount of funding to get
                       started, around US$250K, for boats, PCs, WiMax
                       tower, and grad-student support. Since there
                       are 10 million such boats worldwide, there is
                       huge potential for Microsoft to drive computers
                       into the mid-sized fishing industry, not to
                       mention the economic benefits to the fishermen
                       themselves.

                       Is this something that Microsoft would be
                       interested in? Please let me know what you
                       think and let us know how we can proceed.
Researcher   Kentaro
                       Thanks,
                       Pesca Torre
                       ICT4F, Dept of Computer Science
                       University of Machlee
Their View?




Researcher   Gatekeeper   Microsoft
My View




Mad Scientist   Kentaro   MSR India   Microsoft
Funding Function

           $ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l

 Factors
    m:     merit of the project/researchers
    s:     strength of relationship
    r:     perceived return on investment
    b:     budget of sub-organization
    o:     organizational openness to research
    l:     luck factor
Funding Factors                        l
                                               Supreme Being




                 Member of
Researcher                   Sub-org       Organization
                  sub-org


    m        s      r          b               o
Outline

Personal Perspective and Introduction

Increasing Funding

Examples of Collaboration between
 Universities and MSR
Increasing Funding

            $ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l

m:   merit of the project/researchers


 Demonstrate research experience
 Maintain detailed website of project
Increasing Funding

              $ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l

s:     strength of relationship

   Stay in touch
   Involve person/organization in relevant activities
   Have respect for the person/organization
   Express gratitude (if funded)
Increasing Funding

           $ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l

r:   perceived return on investment


 Ask about the goals of the organization
 Propose actions that help meet those goals
Possible Goals
 Impact
    Quantity (e.g., number of people affected)
    Quality (e.g., better educated children)
    Sustainability
 Knowledge and science
 Revenue / economic growth
    Direct
    Indirect, growth in industry
    Indirect, growth in economy
 Market penetration
 Intellectual property
 Image and reputation
    Mass media
    Visibility among peers
Possible Goals
 Impact
    Quantity (e.g., number of people affected)
    Quality (e.g., better educated children)
    Sustainability
 Knowledge and science
 Revenue / economic growth
    Direct
    Indirect, growth in industry
    Indirect, growth in economy
 Market penetration
 Intellectual property
 Image and reputation                            High value,
    Mass media                                   relatively easy
    Visibility among peers                       to deliver!
Increasing Funding

            $ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l

b:   budget of sub-organization


 Help organization meet its goals (future)
 Express gratitude loudly and publicly (if funded)
Increasing Funding

           $ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l

o:   organizational openness to research


 Know the culture of each organization
 Choose the right organization
Increasing Funding

           $ = f (m , s , r , b , o ) l

l:   luck factor

 Pray
 Wear a nice outfit 
Funding Function


       $ = f (m , r , s , b , o ) l



     $=
          S    f (m , r , s , b , o ) l
Try them all!
               Ms. X             Sub-org 1c       Org 1

                                   ...

                    Mr. Y           Sub-org 2f       Org 2
Researcher
                     Karishma      Windows EM

                    Santosh        India SMSG

                   Kentaro      MSR India        Microsoft

              Akhtar         Community Affairs

             Tom        MSR ERP
Outline

Personal Perspective and Introduction

Increasing Funding

Examples of Collaboration between
 Universities and MSR
Microsoft Research

Collaborations with Universities
Research collaboration

Internships

Community projects

Workshops and conferences
    – Sponsorship
    – Organization

External research funding
    – Discretionary funding
    – PhD fellowships
    – RFPs
Research Collaboration
Example

Project: sensor network for landslide
   detection (MSR India and IIT-
   Bombay)

    – Close personal ties between
      principal investigator and MSR
      India
    – IIT-Bombay identified and initiated
      project.
    – MSR (sr. researcher + intern)
      joined project and led systems
      research component.

Outcomes:

    – Synergistic research relationship     Work by Anmol Sheth (U Colorado), et al.
    – Poster paper at SenSys
      conference
    – IIT-Bombay received research
      funding through MSR ERP.
    – Some mention in press
Internships
Example

Project: study of Akshaya kiosks in a
   political / economic context

    – UC Berkeley PhD student Renee
      Kuriyan spent two months with
      MSR India, mostly in field in Kerala
    – MSR provided standard internship
      package: round-trip airfare, room
      and board, stipend

Outcomes:

    – Synergistic research relationship
    – Student furthered PhD work
    – Microsoft gained deeper                An Akshaya telecentre in Kerala
      knowledge of Akshaya and rural
      kiosk projects
    – Potential paper publication
Community Projects
Example

Project: summer computer camp
   for girls in a Bangalore slum

   – MSR provided equipment,
     curriculum, light training
   – St. Joseph’s College students
     taught classes

Outcomes:

   – Students met volunteer service
     requirement
   – MSR gained first-hand            Holi festival with children in Bangalore
     experience of computer
     education in urban slum
   – NGO/slum community received
     inexpensive computer training
Workshops and Conferences
Example

Project: ICTD 2006

   – SIMS, Siemens Research,
     MSR as main financial
     sponsors
   – CMU, SIMS, Siemens
     Research, MSR St. Joseph’s
     College students taught
     classes

Expected outcomes:

   – ICT4D researchers have a new
     publishing outlet for their work   http://sims.berkeley.edu/ictd2006
     and a venue for more
     interaction
   – Community of ICT4D
     researchers brought together
External Research Funding
Example

Project: Digital Inclusion RFP

    – MSR External Research &
      Programs releases request for
      proposals of research in “digital
      inclusion”.
    – Total $1.2M in funding, focus
      on technological innovation
    – Worldwide scope

Expected outcomes:

    – Universities gain some funding
      for research in ICT4D                 http://research.microsoft.com
    – Microsoft gains greater visibility
      for Microsoft as a supporter of      Introduce yourself to Tom Healy!
      ICT and development
View funding as a collaborative
 relationship, and focus on
 opportunities for synergy.
Thank you!