'Linked Art II: Developing Community, Practice, and Scholarship' brings together University researchers with experts from some of the leading art museums in the UK and US. The project will engage with scholars and practitioners to highlight the opportunities afforded by connected collections as data, and establish where new digital methods and tools are needed to enable novel research. Linked Art II will engage with cultural institutions to examine how structured data can contribute towards digital challenges, including improving the accessibility of collections, and increasing the range and diversity of institutions and material available to the public. The foundation of the project is the development and application of Linked Data to cultural heritage collections, with an emphasis on works of art and their provenance. Linked Data will provide a platform for multi-modal digital scholarship across these rich collections; Linked Art II will continue a partnership setting an international agenda to realise this platform through a common data model, building capacity for future collaborative implementations and research investigations. In the first phase of this work, a research network was formed to bring together experts who are collaborating on the design of the common data model. The Linked Art II project continues this work, but also seeks to trial and test the model through a series of feasibility studies and proof of concept implementations. These 'exemplars' will be developed in collaboration with project partners and the wider Linked Art community; two exemplars will be selected via an open call for collaboration. The project will publish documentation and explanation of the exemplars on the Linked Art website so that others can understand and learn about the practicalities of Linked Art adoption. The project is led by the University of Oxford and the J. Paul Getty Trust, with project partners from the UK and US including: the American Numismatic Society, the National Gallery (London), the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), Newfields, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution, the University of the Arts London, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the Yale Center for British Art. The project will advocate Linked Art adoption amongst the cultural heritage community in the UK and US through a series of outreach workshops, disseminating discussion points and conclusions from the network in easily understood and readily available forms, and enabling the wider sector to benefit from the transformative step-change offered by Linked Art as it evolves.

StoryFutures China brings together two of the world's leading cultural institutions - The National Gallery in the UK and Shanghai Science and Technology Museum in China - to research, prototype and develop immersive storytelling experiences that both enhance visitor experiences on-site as well as allow for the Gallery and the Museum to take experiences to the audience, wherever they are in the world. This groundbreaking collaboration will create two audience-facing immersive prototypes, one at each location, that are specifically designed to speak to local audiences as well as travel to their counterpart institution in the UK or China. In so doing, StoryFutures China will facilitate a new level of cultural exchange between the two countries by promoting an approach to visitor experiences that has the international visitor in mind as much as the nation's citizenry. Themed around a concern with "art in science" and "science in art and", this collaboration will enhance and translate artworks and historical artefacts for visitors by using immersive technologies to provide additional layers of informational depth and emotional engagement by revealing the stories behind some of each countries' national treasures. This project addresses major challenges for both the UK's and China's creative and cultural industries by examining how the disruptive capabilities of immersive technologies can be harnessed to produce new audience experiences, business models and cultural value that can drive economic growth in both countries. It draws on the unique strength and position of the successful StoryFutures project, funded by the UK's Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund, including a well-established collaborative model with The National Gallery, to promote an open innovation approach to developing immersive storytelling prototypes that respond to clearly identified audience behaviours and needs. By utilising StoryFutures' open innovation framework, this project will introduce novelty into large organisations' supply chains, develop new business models and create immersive prototypes that can be experienced and tested by thousands of visitors to promote better understandings and cultural exchange between countries. Moreover, the prototypes will stand as "use cases" for future collaborations between the UK and China and, within each country, represent scalable opportunities for the growing visitor experience economy at cultural and commercial institutions. In so doing, the project underscores the role of cultural institutions in promoting growth and innovation in the wider creative economy. By focusing on the themes of "art in science" and "science in art", StoryFutures China develops an area of major concern in both museums and art galleries, brokering a relationship that is collaborative rather than competitive. By bringing together cultural institutions from across sectors, the project will promote best practice and knowledge exchange in how best to harness the disruptive technologies of AR, MR and VR for visitor experiences and how to reach audiences away from the physical location of each institution. The project draws on the world-class research in design at Brunel, storytelling and audience insight at Royal Holloway and the long-standing expertise in the immersive tech by Shanghai Foremost Group. In particular, it builds on the success of the Virtual Veronese prototype developed by StoryFutures and The National Gallery: the insights from this project revealed that whilst an experience could uniquely blend the physical and the digital for visitors on site in the use of AR, the potential for VR was to take the Gallery to the audience wherever they may be.

Public opinion on complex scientific topics can have dramatic effects on industrial sectors (e.g. GM crops, fracking, global warming). In order to realise the industrial and societal benefits of Autonomous Systems, they must be trustworthy by design and default, judged both through objective processes of systematic assurance and certification, and via the more subjective lens of users, industry, and the public. To address this and deliver it across the Trustworthy Autonomous Systems (TAS) programme, the UK Research Hub for TAS (TAS-UK) assembles a team that is world renowned for research in understanding the socially embedded nature of technologies. TASK-UK will establish a collaborative platform for the UK to deliver world-leading best practices for the design, regulation and operation of 'socially beneficial' autonomous systems which are both trustworthy in principle, and trusted in practice by individuals, society and government. TAS-UK will work to bring together those within a broader landscape of TAS research, including the TAS nodes, to deliver the fundamental scientific principles that underpin TAS; it will provide a focal point for market and society-led research into TAS; and provide a visible and open door to engage a broad range of end-users, international collaborators and investors. TAS-UK will do this by delivering three key programmes to deliver the overall TAS programme, including the Research Programme, the Advocacy & Engagement Programme, and the Skills Programme. The core of the Research Programme is to amplify and shape TAS research and innovation in the UK, building on existing programmes and linking with the seven TAS nodes to deliver a coherent programme to ensure coverage of the fundamental research issues. The Advocacy & Engagement Programme will create a set of mechanisms for engagement and co-creation with the public, public sector actors, government, the third sector, and industry to help define best practices, assurance processes, and formulate policy. It will engage in cross-sector industry and partner connection and brokering across nodes. The Skills Programme will create a structured pipeline for future leaders in TAS research and innovation with new training programmes and openly available resources for broader upskilling and reskilling in TAS industry.

Phase 2 of the Linked Conservation Data (LCD) project builds on an existing collaboration between University of the Arts London and Stanford Libraries and a number of other high profile US and UK partners as part of a Research Networking project funded under the AHRC's Highlight Notice for UK/US Collaborations in Digital Scholarship in Cultural Institutions. LCD explores methods for enabling access to knowledge about collections in memory organisations such as museums, galleries, libraries and archives. The work of conservators in these organisations focuses on investigating the structure and condition of objects and treating and protecting them. A core task in conservation is documenting observations made during this work. This creates a wealth of records about material observations, evidence and conclusions on the history of each object. Combining this knowledge with other historical resources such as texts is crucial for researching and interpreting history particularly for contested objects where the narrative from material evidence may be different from the popular understanding of an object. LCD aims to provide ways that conservation documentation can be produced, disseminated and re-used more effectively through Linked Data (https://www.w3.org/standards/semanticweb/data) in order to enable new research and new interpretations through offering researchers enhanced access to conservation data. We anticipate that this will contribute to educational programmes utilising conservation data, the development of improved methods for the protection of our cultural heritage and increased public engagement with collections in memory organisations. During phase 1, the LCD project: - addressed the issue of not being able to cross-search conservation records about the same things because of different vocabularies and established a pathway for harmonising and combining conservation vocabularies so that they can work together (https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/output/142), - studied conservation records and identified some types which are difficult to describe and share and initiated discussions for new proposals to overcome these limitations (https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/output/151), - raised awareness of the value of data in the profession through workshops and webinars (https://www.ligatus.org.uk/lcd/meetings). In phase 2 we aim to develop a Linked Data pilot implementation on book conservation which is of interest to partner organisations such as the Bodleian Library, the Library of Congress and the Stanford Libraries with different datasets harmonised into one system. The project builds on its existing partners and brings together national organisations and universities from the UK and US to form a critical mass of activity able to transform scholarship using conservation data. We are also partnering with major professional bodies in conservation who have agreed to co-author and co-sign a policy/strategy document to promote LCD's objectives. We are involving experts in education who will advise the consortium of how conservation data can be used to help educational programmes for schools in memory organisations. LCD phase 2 is the first step for setting up infrastructure for hosting shared vocabularies and datasets for conservation. We are preparing the consortium for a follow-up phase and we are establishing the foundations for Linked Data projects not only in conservation but potentially in other fields as well. LCD will inform current conservation documentation projects in memory organisations (e.g. three projects are in progress within consortium partners alone). The pilot is essential for testing methods and strengthening the consortium, as partners will work together through cross-disciplinary collaboration. A consortium of this scale with backing from major professional bodies is rare and this is a unique opportunity to make a real change to academic scholarship in memory organisations.

IPERION CH aims to establish the unique pan-European research infrastructure in Heritage Science by integrating national world-class facilities at research centres, universities and museums. The cross-disciplinary consortium of 23 partners (from 12 Member States and the US) offers access to instruments, methodologies and data for advancing knowledge and innovation in the conservation and restoration of cultural heritage. Fourth in a line of successful projects (CHARISMA-FP7, Eu-ARTECH-FP6 and LabS-TECH network-FP5), IPERION CH widens trans-national access by adding new providers with new expertise and instruments to the three existing complementary platforms ARCHLAB, FIXLAB and MOLAB. The quality of access services will be improved through joint research activities focused on development of new advanced diagnostic techniques and (with DARIAH ERIC) tools for storing and sharing scientific cultural heritage data. Networking activities will (a) promote innovation through technology transfer and dynamic involvement of SMEs; (b) improve access procedures by setting up a coordinated and integrated approach for harmonising and enhancing interoperability among the facilities; (c) identify future scientific challenges, best practices and protocols for measurements; (d) optimise the use of digital tools in Heritage Science. To advance the international role of EU cultural heritage research, IPERION CH will generate social and cultural innovation by training a new generation of researchers and professionals and by worldwide dissemination and communication to diverse audiences. To ensure long-term sustainability, the advanced community of IPERION CH will work towards inclusion in the new ESFRI Roadmap and constitution of a RI with its own EU legal entity (e.g. ERIC). Synergies with national and local bodies, and with managing authorities in charge of ESIF, will expand the scope and impact of IPERION CH in terms of competitiveness, innovation, growth and jobs in ERA.