WHAT
The media research and innovation centre is a new knowledge centre collecting, processing and communicating new knowledge and experiences within the media area, nationally as well as internationally, in an accelerated and systematic process that makes knowledge available in a relevant, current and useful form to efficiently be used by and implemented in the media industry as:
- Development projects
- Education
- Knowledge bank
WHY
A new digital reality that fundamentally and continually changes the conditions and foundation of the media demands innovative solutions and opportunities in a constantly and rapidly changing media industry. Solutions in need of new knowledge, insight, development and education that the MFI can deliver.
Being anchored at the Centre for Journalism and the University of Southern Denmark puts the MFI in a unique position where research, knowledge and teaching are combined and create the best frames for inspiration, insight and developing new suggestions and solutions for the media industry that will be regarded as important, relevant and immediately applicable.
With this innovation centre, the University of Southern Denmark wishes to take on a greater responsibility for media and society in the future, bring together relevant media actors and purposefully accelerate a process in which we create new research-related knowledge and, at the same time, make existing knowledge more directly useful and quickly applicable.
HOW
The focal point of the centre’s work is gathering, processing and communicating new knowledge necessary to understand and work with media development. This is done while considering the specific needs of the media industry. The idea is to accelerate the relation between research, development and implementation so that the latest domestic and international research, much faster and much more systematically than today, is collected, processed and made usable for the media. This happens via three tracks:
# knowledge bank (research + communication)
# teaching (courses + consultancy work)
# development projects (models + methods)
Examples of the three tracks:
Research
- Research projects for media, institutions, organizations, companies etc.
- Analyses and digital media monitoring for media, organizations – weekly/annually etc.
- Monthly media publications: New research, new methods etc.
Teaching
- Further and continuing education – as company courses, individual, online etc.
- Consultancy work
- Mentor coaching
Development
- Incubation and development projects with industry about new models and methods in relation to communication, work procedure, technology, funding etc.
- Development of new journalistic/editorial/digital tools, best practice
The centre is financed by a base grant from the University of Southern Denmark, various funds, partnerships as well as sales of different services and assignments.
WHO
The centre will, at first, be established with a base staff of 3-4 full-time equivalents, including internal as well as external researchers, teachers and other key persons with different forms of part-time employment as well as a full-time project manager. When completing larger projects, more staff will be employed for the assignments in those periods, and the actual number of employees will then be significantly higher than the base staff.
WHEN
The centre was established in 2019.
The University of Southern Denmark will fund a base frame for the following three years covering the establishment and day-to-day operations of the centre for a small hand-full of employees during this period – with the option of expanding with external funding such as grants and sales and assignments/projects. Hereafter, the centre should be self-funded and, in the long term, also generate revenue.