The problems of providing and organising SERC's central and distributed computing facilities for academic research are examined. Four options are considered for the future organisation of these computing facilities, and for their administration and funding, which could provide a solution to some of these problems.
The role of SERC in supporting computing for academic research in the UK in relation to the roles of other funding bodies is described in Section 3. The problems currently besetting the provision of computing resources are considered in Section 4. Among the problems discussed are: the unsatisfactory nature of the present administrative arrangements and funding mechanisms within SERC, and the blurred responsibility within SERC between central support and direct provision for certain types of computing provision. The wider problems are also discussed of divided responsibility for computing provision and for long-term strategic planning between the various funding agencies involved in research computing, of the effects of rapid technological development, of coordination of hardware and software provision and support, and of user support. Section 5 summarises the evidence which has been taken by the Working Party from Boards, user support groups, and other bodies.
The four options which have been examined in seeking a robust solution to SERC's computing problems are discussed in Section 6. Options I and II are discussed as possible solutions to the short-term internal problems of SERC. Option I involves the devolution of all responsibility for computing to Boards with no central provision. Option II involves the reorganisation of SERC computing so that facility-related computing and some other aspects of computing such as ICF are devolved to Boards and central provision is retained for infrastructure and networking. Options III and IV are considered as possible solutions to the problem of future provision of large state-of-the-art computers, either funded solely by SERC (option III) or jointly by all the Research Councils (option IV).
In Section 7 the recommendations of the Working Party are given in detail. Option II is put forward as the preferred solution to SERC's short-term problems, and specific recommendations are made as to the future organisation of computing resources. Option IV proposes collaboration between SERC and the other research councils in the provision of a national resource for research computing, including large state-of-the-art computers.
The specific recommendations made by the Working Party are as follows:
