The UK’s Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) has announced that funding to the Intute service will cease in its current form from August 1, 2010. JISC and Intute are considering whether limited aspects of the current content could be sustained through different routes perhaps using social networking channels.
JISC regularly reviews the services that it funds, to ensure they deliver value for money, quality products and to test their sustainability for the future. A services portfolio review takes place annually and in May 2009 the future funding of JISC services, including Intute, was considered in order to identify the funding priorities for the academic year 2010/11.
Intute started in 1996 as the Resource Discovery Network, an approach at the time to help librarians bring together quality resources online. The service was seen to have pioneered one of the first online searchable catalogues for academic information and virtual training resources. In 2006, Intute launched as a service.
As JISC services reach the end of their existing funding cycle it is always intended, wherever possible, that they move from being fully funded to being part-funded or fully sustained by other sources. In 2007, Intute’s funding was renewed and the service was given five years to establish funding from alternative sources. However, without a clearly identified alternative funding stream the continuation of Intute in its current form is not considered viable beyond July 2010.
The review process involves researchers, academics, information professionals and senior policy makers from across education and research. Through this process the committee members concluded that the current Intute model is too complicated and costly.
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