1. Digital Society
User, Market, Policy
Prof. dr. Caroline Pauwels
MICT – UGent
SMIT - VUB
IBBT
03/05/2011 Brussels

2. Associated research groups
• Currently over 90 researchers
• Communication Scientists, Sociologists,
Psychologists, Economists, Historians…
• 38 Senior Researchers (PhD)

3. Structure department
IBBT iLabs
Future Future Security eHealth
Media and Internet
Imaging Systems
and
Services
Market Innovation and Sector Transitions
Digital Future Digital
Future Internet
Societ UserMedia Arts
Empowerment Research
y
ICT Policy Research: Content, Access and Competition

4. MIST User Research Policy Research
Market Innovation & User Empowerment in Content, Access &
Sector Transitions a Digital Society Competition
Pieter Ballon Lieven De Marez Caroline Pauwels
Sven Lindmark Jo Pierson Jan Loisen
An Jacobs
Future Internet
Simon Delaere Bram Lievens Leo Van Audenhove
Leo Van Audenhove
Pieter Verdegem
9 CLUSTERS
Future Media
Olivier Braet Jan Van Looy
3 Karen Donders
Steve Paulussen UNITS
Heritiana Ranavoison 3 DOMAINS of
EXPERTISE
Digital Arts
Olga Van Oost Gert Nulens An Moons
Gert Nulens

5. Mission statement
1. To complement the IBBT technology driven departments
with social, economic and policy insights in order to
tackle grand societal challenges
2. to stimulate a climate of open & participative ICT
innovation in Flanders
3. To develop user centric ICT based on knowledge of
everyday life needs and practices.
4. To add to the overall interdisciplinary character of IBBT
5. To contribute to the overall excellence of IBBT through a
combined fundamental and applied research track,
leading to high level publications and based on strategic
partnerships

6. Research focus 1: Future internet: trends &
issues
• Mobile-Fixed convergence
• End node explosion
• Virtualisation and Platformisation
• Increasing pervasiveness/always on society
• Increasing surveillance & control
• Increasing regulability/net neutrality
• Merging policy spheres
• Quest for sustainability

7. Research focus 2: Future media: trends &
issues
• „always on‟ environment
• social networked environment
• a participative, interactive model
• multi-screen environment
• blurring realities/spheres
• experiential environment/immersion
• Increasing amount of „information‟
• increased personalisation
• user-centric innovation development
• internet-of-things
• Increased competition, new players, convergence

8. Research focus 3: Digital arts & culture:
trends & issues
• birth of digital born art and culture
• cultural content beyond the boundaries of traditional
institutions
• Emergence new players
• UGC
• new definition of users and producers
• New opportunities for creation,
preservation, storage and
cultural participation

9. Research approach
• Three interrelated research approaches
1. Market Innovation & Sector Transitions (MIST)
2. User Empowerment studies
3. ICT policy research: content, access & competition

10. 1. Market Innovation and Sector Transition
studies (MIST)
• Market Impact Assessment & new Business Modelling
studies, in order to evaluate the impact of ICT on specific
economic sectors or domains and support the
emergence of sustainable and competitive economic
growth models.
• Benchmark of existing business models, detect market
trends and assess the viability and potential implications
of future businessmodels.
• Toolkit: LL methodologies, Simbu, theoretical models of
value creation

11. 2. User empowerment studies
• Study of user adoption, diffusion, experience and
domestication, with a special attention for core issues
such as profiling, privacy, security and trust.
• an intertwined and 3-staged approach:
1. Study of first set of co-design and usability aspects and
requirements. Controlled situations as well as living lab
contexts can serve this research
2. Study of a second set of market introduction, adoption
and diffusion aspects, such as targeting, profiling, price
setting etc. This kind of research is more quantitative
in nature.
3. Study of a third set of issues, i.e. ICT introduction in
daily routines and practices: domestication research;
more qualitative research methodologies.

12. 3. ICT Policy research
• Policy Studies, encompassing impact assessment &
improvement studies, in order to develop future proof
ICT policy and regulatory frameworks and tools
• In-depth studies of the impact of digitization and
convergence on the regulation of the info-
communications sector with a focus on access, content
and competition policies
• Develop alternative regulatory models and tools.

13. Steer on strategic project port folio

14. Collaboration between departments

15. Conclusion: Meet the grand societal challenges
through interdisciplinary ICT research
“Never before in history has innovation offered promise of
so much to so many in so short a time” Bill Gates