# TRIC-DT Ways of Working

:::info
:information_source: **About this Document**

This document consolidates some of the materials being developed by the Innovation and Impact Hub, a draft ways of working document produced by David Wagg ([sharepoint file](https://thealanturininstitute.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/TRICDTLeadershipteam/Shared%20Documents/Planning/1.%20Scientific%20Plan/WaysOfWorkingV1.0.docx?d=w2bfd020aeead4f27a7f85e789d4f2bfe&csf=1&web=1&e=LNxOL2)), and an [initial governance document](#) created at the start of the TRIC-DT.

The aim is to host this on the TRIC-DT GitHub project pages: https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/tric-dt
:::

[TOC]

Split it up
- [ ] principles/values/community narative
- [ ] onboarding
    - [ ] (internal) comms
- [ ] (external) comms

## Context & Background
The TRIC-DT has been established for just under one year now, and multiple researchers are starting (or about to start) work in the Turing HQ in London, several TRIC-DT funded PDRAs are starting work in other locations like Sheffield, other researchers from affiliated projects and organisations are engaging the team, and David Wagg has recently taken over as co-ordinating director.

As such, this a good time to make clear our ways of working, and create an open and living document to help our community understand how we can collaborate to achieve our [vision and objectives](https://thealanturininstitute.sharepoint.com/:w:/r/sites/TRICDTLeadershipteam/Shared%20Documents/Planning/1.%20Scientific%20Plan/TRIC%20DT%20overview_v2.0.docx?d=w0a77d3de643543068b0d8fa9ee24b7ad&csf=1&web=1&e=PUGPBR).

The Turing has a very active research culture and community, which is of immediate benefit to the team and also a critical piece of research infrastructure that should be nourished. Leveraging this culture and community to articulate a “ways of working”, therefore, is vital to maximise the positive experience and productive nature of the TRIC-DT. 

Doing so is also important to the overall mission of the TRIC-DT, as the field of digital twins (and AI more widely) is a very fast-moving sector, and other research teams around the world (many with large resources) are already highly active. Therefore, we **do not** have to start from scratch (in fact, doing so would be counter-productive), but we do need to have a transparent and accessible statement to help shape our own identity and clarify its relational components (e.g. how we collaborate with external partners and communities).

## Values
The Turing's values provide a framework centred upon the collective goals and objectives of the community. As the [Turing 2.0 strategy](https://www.turing.ac.uk/about-us/our-strategy) emphasises the need to have a *challenge-driven* approach to science and innovation, which supports and promotes collaboration between teams and groups in the Turing, it is important that the TRIC-DT also embodies these shared values.

[](https://camo.githubusercontent.com/c8d34cdbf291681ea86a65a6845ec1d10959f72dd6e494840cc443c49d1315a5/68747470733a2f2f6861636b6d642e696f2f5f75706c6f6164732f48796c3054547279362e706e67)*Figure 1. A graphic depicting the Turing's values: trust, inclusivity, respect, leadership, transparency, and integrity.*

The Turing's Research Community Manager team provide a helpful summary of how to operationalise these values as part of their [approach to open research community management](https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/open-research-community-management#operationalising-the-turings-values-in-community-management):

- **Transparency**: Prioritise transparency and clarity in all our communications, collaborations and engagement pathways -- this is our responsibility and duty towards each other as peers and the communities we lead.
- **Leadership**: Apply open leadership practices in our community-building processes that encourage our community members to co-create additional knowledge and understanding, and apply that knowledge.
- **Inclusivity**: Embed equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility (EDIA) approaches in all our work and use community-based knowledge to improve the community or address the identified problem.
- **Respect**: Maintain respectful co-creation processes in the team and the communities by providing clear ways to participate, engage and lead through regular and ongoing opportunities.
- **Trust**: Build trust in the community by making implicit knowledge explicit and providing access to resources that enable everyone to discover, display and directly use their knowledge and skills.
- **Integrity**: Ensure ethical integrity through the involvement of community members, especially those impacted by our work.

## TRIC-DT Principles
While anchored in the Turing's shared values, it is also important to translate these into more specific principles that can govern the TRIC-DT's approach to research and innovation. The following principles help provide this further specificity, but should still be treated as starting points for open communication (e.g. reflection and deliberation about specific research activities or transparent forms of decision-making).

1. Ensure our research and innovation advances our understanding of technological and societal challenges, and where possible supports the realisation of effective solutions.
2. Advocate for open and reproducible approaches to the design, development, and deployment of digital twins to support our goal of democratising access to DT technology.
3. Use our shared ways-of-working to cultivate a culture of transparent and compassionate communication and feedback, being open to learning from one another to achieve the goal of creating shared knowledge and understanding.
4. Be as open as possible; closed as necessary.
5. ==...==

<!-- Starting point for open discussion with team. -->

## Resources
Following these principles and evaluating success is a team effort. As principle 3 acknowledges, we have to be willing to learn from and support each other.

The following resources are a non-exhaustive set of tools and practices, grouped into overlapping thematic areas (e.g. communication and stakeholder engagement are closely interlinked). Some are for internal ways of working, others for external, and some a mixture a both.

### 1 Communication
Clear communication is vital to the success of any team or organisation. This applies to both internal (e.g. sharing achievements, updates, or blockers with colleagues) and external (e.g. consistent messaging) communication.

#### Team Meetings

Details about specific operational meetings (e.g. frequency and purpose) can be found in the ==TRIC-DT operational handbook== (section 4.4, *internal only*).

The following are also good tips for ad-hoc meetings (*internal and external*):

- Have a clear why, who, and what.
- Take notes during meetings that can be shared with others for transparency and openness, or just help with remembering details at a future date 🤯. In the I&I Hub we started keeping meeting notes in a [shared list](https://thealanturininstitute.sharepoint.com/sites/TRICDTLeadershipteam/Lists/ramevents/AllItems.aspx). ==Do we want to continue doing this?==
- Where relevant, there are co-working times that the Turing Way community host. Details are here: ==add link==
- Outlook's [scheduling assistant](https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/use-the-scheduling-assistant-and-room-finder-for-meetings-in-outlook-2e00ac07-cef1-47c8-9b99-77372434d3fa) is a great tool to use for finding availability. To ensure that this is effective, please try to keep your calendar up-to-date.
- There is also a feature called [Bookings](https://outlook.office.com/bookings/) built into Office 365 that you can use to generate a link that can be shared with external people, based on your availability. This saves a lot of back-and-forth via emails.

#### Slack
There are two slack channels in operation.

- A public channel for Turing `#digital-twins`: for discussing updates or sharing news and opportunites pertaining to digital twins with broader Turing community. [Join here!](https://alanturinginstitute.enterprise.slack.com/archives/C03F3DVDQKE)
- Private channel for TRIC-DT `#tric-dt`: for discussing internal team matters (e.g. asking questions) or collaborating on specific tasks. [Follow this internal link](https://alanturinginstitute.enterprise.slack.com/archives/C04RTSJKV4M)

If you need help using Slack, the following guide is a good reference: https://mathison.turing.ac.uk/page/2167?SearchId=312536

#### Newsletter
The TRIC-DT Mailing List is managed by Janine Coomber and can be used for disseminating information about upcoming events.

There are multiple mailing lists and mailboxes to disseminate information:
- The TRIC-DT team mailing list ([e-mail]). This is an outlook group, which means you can use it to send email to everyone included in that group but it doesn't have a separate mailbox (it cannot receive emails). This group includes the co-directors, programme team, partnerships team and hub team but NOT the researchers
- The TRIC-DT Researchers mailing list ([e-mail]). This is an outlook group, which means you can use it to send email to everyone included in that group but it doesn't have a separate mailbox. This group includes all tric-dt research staff such as RCMs, RAMs, REG members and PDRAs.
- The digital twins mailbox ([e-mail]). This is a separate mailbox which means you can use it to both send and receive emails. Access to this mailbox should be limited to the core tric-dt team and can be requested via Janine. We are currently using this mailbox for communications around network+ and the tric-dt seminar series. [Read instructions how to use a shared mailbox](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/open-and-use-a-shared-mailbox-in-outlook-d94a8e9e-21f1-4240-808b-de9c9c088afd). If the digital twins mailbox calendar doesn't appear in your outlook app. Go to calendar tab > Add calendar > Add from directory > select your email from dropdown > type in share email into search bar > click Add

#### Website
The TRIC-DT webiste is for communicating ==x,y,z== to a public audience: https://www.turing.ac.uk/research/research-projects/tric-dt

#### Discussion Boards
The following discussion boards are useful entry points into external communities.

- [DT Hub](https://digitaltwinhub.co.uk/): The Digital Twin (DT) Hub was launched in 2020 by the Centre for Digital Built Britain as part of the UK Government-mandated National Digital Twin programme. They are a key strategic partner for the TRIC-DT and have an active community that we encourage all members of the TRIC-DT to join (e.g. attending gemini calls, participating in conversation).
- ==[...]==

#### Social Media
While no accounts exist for the TRIC-DT specifically, there are official Turing Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts managed by the Communications team. You can read about these and submit requests here: https://mathison.turing.ac.uk/page/2325?SearchId=312485.

There is also guidance on using personal social media accounts on Mathison: https://mathison.turing.ac.uk/page/2720?SearchId=312487

#### Outreach
The following are recommended forms of impact and outreach. If you want support or guidance, please consult the TRIC-DT programme manager and research community manager.

- Blog posts: public sites like Medium, Substack and others can be useful ways to help your blog posts reach a wider audience. In addition, the following are more targeted options for the DT community:
- The Innovation and Impact Hub manages a dedicated area on the TRIC-DT knowledge commons for technical blog posts, which can then also be promoted via [social media](#social-media).
- The Communications team also manage a blog for the Turing website. However, pre-written pieces are not accepted, so you will need to get in touch with them first to discuss ideas. Guidance is here: [for the process for writing posts for the Turing website, and also our intranet (Mathison) if you want to share news internally.](https://mathison.turing.ac.uk/page/2329?SearchId=312550)
- Podcasts: the Turing's official podcast can be an effective way of practicing your ability to translate complex ideas into accesible (and jargon-free) discussion points. You can read more about the process for pitching an episode here: https://mathison.turing.ac.uk/page/2975?SearchId=312553
- White papers: white papers are comprehensive reports or guides that present a thorough analysis of a specific issue, often backed by empirical data, with the aim of informing readers and offering solutions or recommendations. Because of the importance of policy and regulation on shaping the digital twins landscape, such deliverables can be an invaluable resource for engaging

s (e.g. policy-makers, regulators, industry professionals).
- See our white paper, 'Towards ecosystems of connected digital twins to address global challenges' for an example: https://www.turing.ac.uk/news/publications/towards-ecosystems-connected-digital-twins-address-global-challenges

- Opinion Pieces: Opinion pieces can serve as an invaluable tool for scientific outreach and engagement by acting as a bridge between the academic community and a broader audience that includes policy-makers, industry leaders, and the general public. Unlike academic papers, which are often laden with jargon and technical details, opinion pieces are more accessible and can distill complex issues into more relatable terms.
- When writing for a general audience you should always make sure your piece is engaging (eg open with a good hook) and accessible for a wide audience. For more guidelines for how to achieve this, checkout our [script & accompanying slides for a conference session on 'how to write lay summaries'](https://hackmd.io/_tgE3imQRLu1io6G9iMiVQ)
- ==Any other links (e.g. TTW)?==
- ==Good locations for opinion pieces...==

#### Presentations
- Slide decks from past presentations [can be found on our sharepoint](https://thealanturininstitute.sharepoint.com/sites/TRICDTLeadershipteam/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FTRICDTLeadershipteam%2FShared%20Documents%2FHub%2Fpresentations&viewid=f768019e%2D1b71%2D434d%2Db848%2Dbf9557255245)
- You can use this general-purpse [slide deck for the I&I Hub](https://thealanturininstitute.sharepoint.com/sites/TRICDTLeadershipteam/Shared%20Documents/Forms/AllItems.aspx?id=%2Fsites%2FTRICDTLeadershipteam%2FShared%20Documents%2FPresentations%2Ftric%2Ddt%2Dhub%2Epdf&parent=%2Fsites%2FTRICDTLeadershipteam%2FShared%20Documents%2FPresentations&p=true&ga=1)
- always try to include (brand consistency)
- "How do we represent Turing at events? What are the minimal amount of things I have to say to get the concept across?"
- The Alan Turing Institute is the national institute for data science and AI.
- The TRIC-DT is a new Turing initiative created to carry out fundamental research relating to digital twins that addresses the most urgent challenges facing society and achieves real-world impact​
- Research Infrastructure roles

#### Documentation (of Research projects)
It is important to document the (often) messy process of research and project governance and to do so in the open to help others learn.

- Github project tracker (Kalle to collect some examples)
- Where should GitHub repos sit? (under Turing organization if possible)
- best practices for open sourcing projects, how do we deal with IP etc? ==co-directors asked for clear guidance here==
- Arbitrary milestones (e.g. AIUK)

#### Documentation (of Cross-theme activities)
- we

### 2 Research Community Infrastructure
Research community infrastructure encompasses the physical, digital, and organisational systems and resources that facilitate and support scientific research (e.g. shared databases, collaborative tools for knowledge production and sharing, and established protocols for data sharing and ethics).

#### Seminar Series
While seminars are a great way to share knowledge and build a community, there are challenges for engagement and maintainence due to the time pressures that all of the research community face. Therefore, it is important to be intentional when organising a seminar series.

Therefore the TRIC-DT Seminar Series is set up to be community-driven and responsive. We encourage members to take ownership through a participatory model: Members can suggest and comment on topics by creating and engaging with issues there. The aim of this streamlinging is to make the seminar organization process sustainable, with all discussions, topics, and decisions tracked transparently on our GitHub repository.

Currently, engagement levels are modest and primarily driven by the Hub, with speaker commitments coordinated via email. For each event, a [checklist](https://github.com/alan-turing-institute/tric-dt/blob/main/Seminars/checklist.md) provides a clear roadmap for organization.

Our vision is a self-organizing community with rotating annual chairs, aiming for a regular seminar cadence. Possible metrics to measure the success of the series are
- Positive feedback by the researchers
- A schedule planned three months ahead, reflecting a surplus of topic suggestions over available slots.

#### Reading and Discussion Groups

- TRIC-DT Zotero Library: the Innovation and Impact Hub manage a public Zotero library, which can be used to share articles with others. The following guidance sets out a few simple steps for adding new items to the libray: ==(add link)==

#### Ethical and Responsible Research and Innovation
* TREx: the Turing Research Ethics (“TREx”) process is The Alan Turing Institute's official ethics approval system. (https://mathison.turing.ac.uk/page/2293?SearchId=321283)
* Turing Way: the Turing Way is a handbook to reproducible, ethical and collaborative data science. (https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/index.html)
* Turing Commons: a set of resources that focus specifically on ethical and responsible research and innovation. (https://alan-turing-institute.github.io/turing-commons/)
* Trustworthy and Ethical Assurance
* Data Safe Haven

#### Skills and Training
* Knowledge Commons
* Policy Impact
* Aspiring Leadership Programme

#### Special Interest Groups

#### Research Application Managers

#### Theory of change

### 3 Stakeholder Engagement
Stakeholder engagement is a crucial component of research and the translational work of ensuring impact for any given project (e.g. enriching the relevance of research findings, ensuring ethical grounding and transparency). A meaningful and participatory approach to stakeholder engagement allows others to contribute to a research project, enabling diverse perspectives to co-create or shape a more robust and shared understanding of the research and its impact.

- Building Partnerships
- Project partners versus strategic partners
- Stakeholder identification
- We keep a joint [list of stakeholders](https://thealanturininstitute.sharepoint.com/sites/TRICDTLeadershipteam/Lists/rampeople/AllItems.aspx) on our sharepoint
- Public Engagement
- Building trust and social license
- Methods for assessing the impact of stakeholder engagement
- Stakeholder identification, analysis, and mapping