Alfalab

Lack of cooperation and the absence of a technical information infrastructure forms an obstacle to humanities research in the battle for resources to succesully compete with the other science. The project initiators of Alfalab tend to improve this situation by bringing different groups and disciplines within the humanities together, with the aim of developing a common digital infrastructure. That digital infrastructure may take the form of a digital portal and a virtual laboratory (Research Area) for alphas, or short: Alfalab.

Project Description:
Alfalab is an initiative of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences(KNAW), where five scientific institutes work together. The objective is to cooperate and promote the use of digital methods within humanities research. Alfalab disseminates knowledge about digital tools and data. Alfalab creates ad develops digital tools for the humanities community, and Alfalab investigates the use of digital tools in the humanities and how these tools (virtual) support and encourage partnerships.

Central to the development Alfalab is the retrieval, enrichment, coupling, analysis and integration of digital databases for humanities research through innovative techniques. The goal is to create a digital infrastructure for the humanities, consisting of the following components:

1. Laboratory: modifying, linking, providing and implementing innovative ICT tools for manipulating and analyzing digital resources for the humanities.
2. Portal: developing a common access to these tools and to the available Dutch data files (a digital portal for the humanities).
3. Disseminarium: spreading knowledge about new research opportunities by using this infrastructure in larger groups of researchers.

Operational level:
The project focuses on three elements: the Tekstlab (focusing on textual sources), the Spacelab (focused on geo-data) and Lifelab (focusing on lifelong population data). These three elements are connected within the Alfalab portal.

The planned digital infrastructure will make it easier to share and (re)use data and tool.

Goals:
On the long term within Alfalab we are seeking the integration of Dutch historical data material in terms of life courses and also on the aggregation of data and demographics and the developed tools. In the current pilot phase of Alfalab the focus of the Levenslab lies on delivering a portal for exploring the historic data and (through proof of concept applications) the possibilities of integration.

The ultimate goal of Alfalab is not to develop an Academy-specific infrastructure, but a significant contribution to the humanities infrastructure within the Netherlands, in cooperation with but also for the benefit of other parties.

Role of DANS:
DANS Portal: Research, design, development and implementation of the portal environment for Alfalab (the ICT infrastructure where applications and data are being made accessible).

Duration:
2009 - 2011

Contact DANS:
Maarten Hoogerwerf T +31(0)6 232 973 85 E maarten.hoogerwerf at dans.knaw.nl

Partners:
Huygens Instituut
Meertens Instituut
Fryske Akademy
Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS)
Virtual Knowledge Studio (VKS)