AI Innovation laboratory

* This laboratory has been completed.

Date of establishmentJuly 8, 2009
Director

Objective 1

The introduction of e-Government has so far been proceeding at a sluggish pace in our country. In order to promote this at the local level, we will conduct empirical studies and make proposals on the concrete measures and methods necessary to realize “e-Local-Government” as soon as possible.

[Major Research and Activity Areas] 1. Research into Human Resource Development, 2. Research into Methods for System Development and Operations, 3. Activities Related to the Industry-University-Government Collaboration System, 4. Promotion and Consultation for Information Policy

  1. Research into Human Resource DevelopmentImprovements to municipality management and government services are indispensible in realizing decentralization. It is extremely necessary to reform municipality management and its operations for this purpose, and, in order to do so, human resource development is vital. With the aim of the development of “e-Local-Government” systems, we intend to conduct research and studies into the necessary curriculum and implementation measures required to cultivate the high-level engineers involved in information and communication technology.
  2. Research into Methods for System Development and Operations(1) Information systems often become obsolete right after they are developed, and, under conventional development methods, control is often lost as fast-evolving technologies, contribute to the cycle of obsolescence and restructuring. Maintenance procedures cannot keep up with such a drastically changing environment, and it is possible the know-how and procedures concerning important operations may become buried or lost. Therefore, a paradigm shift in system development is required, such as “application generators” which have been developed and are close to being brought into practical use. We validate the practical use of application generators, which create a “knowledge base” through analyzing system requirements with artificial intelligence and automatically generate source code and database.(2) Research into Operational Management
    If it becomes necessary to reconstruct “e-Local-Government” systems every seven to ten years, as has often been the case, this will place a huge financial burden on municipalities. In order to avoid such a situation, application systems should be made openly available to allow all municipalities in the country to share. It is also important that maintenance be made easier to prevent operations from experiencing black box syndrome, and to keep operational costs extremely low.
    We also seek to validate the effectiveness of the ASP service (SaaS) and cloud computing, and, in the process, conduct research into advanced technologies to minimize costs and optimize the system architecture, including hardware and networks.
  3. Activities Related to the Industry-University-Government Collaboration SystemIt is essential to promote industry-university-government collaborations in this project as we conduct research and development for systems as a project team made up of laboratory members and private engineers. We coordinate between industry and government from a neutral position, taking into consideration the different interests of each.
  4. Promotion and Consultation for Information PolicyWe promote upper process consultations for the implementation of “information policy” regarding e-Local-Government and e-municipalities. We work with municipalities to establish their CIO system from the system design stage and conduct consultation throughout the entire promotion. We actively support their efforts from the viewpoint of utilization of ICT, as the risk management and business continuity planning/management (BCP/BCM) operations of municipalities have had to be reconsidered, especially following the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Objective 2

We support efforts related to “vitalization” and “local regeneration” in selected areas, through collaborations between local municipalities, local NPOs and local residents. We provide support from the aspect of IT technology for these efforts which include the creation of new jobs, and environmental and energy source optimization.

[Major Research and Activity Areas] Structuring of local networks through collaborations between residents, the government and industry

We first determine the target areas and size of communities and observe and analyze characteristic data for each designated area. Then we work on the human resource development that will lead to the industrial collaboration and promotion of employment that best reflects local characteristics. We also attempt the vitalization of communities by promoting information exchanges between parties both inside and outside the community, as well as both inside and outside the country. This is achievable as a result of the establishment of local networks.
Research and activity items are as follows:

  1. Determination of target communities and size specification (area, human resources/employment, industries, administrative support, educational institutions, etc.)
  2. Historical analysis on community information (Past research data, new research, etc.)
  3. Observation of community characteristics (people, goods, economy, information, environment, decision making)
  4. Study of community cloud (Analysis and correspondence for large common data)
  5. Human resource development in communities (creation of social educational programs with a focus on local characteristics)
  6. Employment promotion in communities (creation of promotional programs for employment with consideration given to a gender-equality)
  7. Industrial ties in communities (Smart innovation through industrial collaborations)
  8. Administrative support for communities (e-Local-Government, residents services, NPO collaboration, etc.)
  9. Collaborations among educational institutions in communities (Requesting local universities to act as the hubs for research and other activities)
  10. Positioning of communities in the world (Collaboration formats between the local and the national, and the local and the global)
  11. Launch of community vitalization projects (Establishment of creative research projects through collaborations between industry, university and government)

Outline of Research Activity

* First Year

(Regarding Objective 1)

  • Accumulation of experience, knowledge and know-how concerning the prefectural or municipal personnel in charge of comprehensive planning (Collection Phase)
  • Continuous provision of information on the necessity of “e-Local-Government with the aim of municipality management reform and improvement of operations”

(Regarding Objective 2)

  • Determination of target communities and size specification (area, human resources/employment, industries, administrative support, educational institutions, etc.)
  • Historical analysis on community information (Past research data, new research, etc.)
  • Observation of community characteristics (people, goods, economy, information, environment, decision making)
  • Study of community cloud (Analysis and correspondence for large common data)

* Second Year

(Regarding Objective 1)

  • Provision of detailed proposals to municipalities and conducting of test projects for commission and affiliation, regarding information policy, risk management and business continuity
  • Narrowing down of candidate municipalities for “e-Local-Government” and applicable operations

(Regarding Objective 2)

  • Human resource development in communities (creation of social educational programs with a focus on local characteristics)
  • Employment promotion in communities (creation of promotional programs for employment with consideration given to gender equality)
  • Industrial ties in communities (Smart innovation through industrial collaborations)
  • Administrative support for communities (e-Local-Government, residents services, NPO collaboration, etc.)

* Third Year

(Regarding Objective 1)

  • Output of knowledge and know-how acquired throughout the two years mentioned above (Output Phase)
    >> Compiling knowledge and know-how on information policy, including the CIO system, with the viewpoint of administrative management of municipalities.
  • Establishment of best practices of “e-Local-Government”

(Regarding Objective 2)

  • Collaborations among educational institutions in communities (Requesting local universities to act as the hubs for research and other activities)
  • Positioning of communities in the world (Collaboration formats between the local and the national, and the local and the global)
  • Launch of community vitalization projects (Establishment of creative research projects through collaborations between industry, university and government)

Researchers, managers and professors

Yoshiyasu TakefujiDirector Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies
Mitsuyo Hanada Professor Emeritus
Yasushi Kiyoki Professor, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies
Isao Yanagimachi Professor, Faculty of Policy Management
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