Testimonials
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As Heritage Manager at Down County Museum, I worked with the CDDA team, including their researchers, IT professionals and dedicated Project Manager when they were successful in their tender to facilitate a programme of community engagement for DCM and Newry, Mourne and Down District Council's Ballykinlar History Hut project (2018-2019), funded by the 'Shared History & Culture Programme' of the European Union's PEAVE IV initiative, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). |
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I am writing to thank you most sincerely for CDDA’s services (as sub-contractor to CMC) to the General Register Office, Northern Ireland, in the successful delivery of the Digitisation Project. The efforts of CMC and CDDA which resulted in the completion of the project ahead of schedule were much appreciated, especially given the complexities involved in digitising records of varying age and quality. The replacement of the manual certificate process has made a major difference in the way GRONI works and to the level of service, we can now provide to our customers. The completion of this project has also provided for the first time in Northern Ireland a full electronic index and image retrieval system of all life event records dating back to 1845. Throughout the project, I have been impressed by the professionalism, skills and expertise demonstrated by the CDDA staff, in particular, the Management Team, Elaine Reid, David Hardy and Anthony Anderson. At the same time, I wish to extend my gratitude to the entire CDDA Team, all of whom successfully met the many challenges associated with this project. T N CAVEN (DR) |
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Testimonial as the Principal Investigator from the Economic and Social Research Council’s Digitising Scotland (DS) Project. DS was a large £2.5 million project which transcribed all of the civil registration records in Scotland. This involved processing some 26 million records covering a period 1855 to 1973. These records were held as digital images and DS transcribed these producing machine-readable data that then can be used by researchers. In 2016 we partnered with the Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis (CDDA) at Queens University, with CDDA Elaine Reid taking the role of project manager and data processing manager. Specifically, CDDA provided the management of all the core project data (the transcription, processing and quality assurance). This was an extremely complex management process with multiple stakeholders (UK/overseas), a significant procurement process and the requirement to guarantee important conditions (i.e. levels of data security and data quality levels). This project had an abortive first phase, managed by another organisation, and so I, as PI, was extremely aware of how difficult the project management for this piece of work was. CDDA were extremely effective at managing and delivery of the DS project. From high-level scoping, through a detailed processing design phase (including bespoke multi user software system design to enable automatic end-to-end tracking and support of project transparency), arranging security accreditation and then training and piloting with an overseas contractor, CDDA’s David Hardy was prominent in this role. This was a very complex process with multiple points where delay could have occurred (meaning that the project might have failed). CDDA ensured delays were kept at a minimum and all stakeholders brought along with milestones. This often required CDDA working rapidly, finding alternative solutions or work arounds, to problems as they emerged. In summary I have found CDDA great to work with, they are efficient and always deliver a very high standard of service and products. Further, CDDA are extremely effective working with stakeholders and at managing large teams of employees. Please do contact me if you would like further information. Yours Faithfully Professor Chris Dibben |
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Since August 2013 the East Belfast & The Great War Research Project (funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund) have engaged with CDDA through Living Legacies at QUB. Their innovation and professionalism ensured that our 'Antiques Roadshow' style events were hugely successful. As the project now comes to a close CDDA have stretched themselves to ensure that our requests have been met, and for that we are grateful. We look forward to working with the team at CDDA and Living Legacies in the future. Jason Burke |
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Any successful crowdsourcing project is, as Trevor Owens notes, ‘built upon a long-standing tradition of volunteerism and involvement of citizens in the creation and development of public good.’ It is also built on technical expertise and problem-solving, which drive that engagement and facilitate new ways in which the academy and heritage organisations can interact with and enable public participation. We are grateful to Mr. David Hardy, Senior IT Technical Officer at the CDDA, in the School of Natural and Build Environment at Queen’s, for his industry and expertise in building this platform, which is at the core or our AHRC Translating Cultures Féile History project and which provides a paradigm for future crowdsourcing projects at the university. Michael Pierse |
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We used the Centre for Digitisation and Analysis in Queen’s University, Belfast to help us with the vast amount of Irish language material needed in digital form to put Foclóir Stairiúil na Gaeilge together. This included material printed in the challenging older Irish script, as well as more modern material. Communication was always easy, prompt and clear, and the work sent back to us was of a very high standard, and done in a very timely manner. Dealing with them has always been a pleasure and we and we look forward to working with them again in the future.” Click here for website Dr Déirdre D'Auria |
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National Museums Northern Ireland (NMNI), as part of its collections documentation and access objectives, has required support to realised important projects requiring data preparation and digitisation across a wide range of collections related material. Outsourcing such work brings a range of different challenges. The Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis, their equipment, staff and experience have demonstrated an ability to fulfil a project on time, to the required standard and within budget. This level of confidence has proved to be essential in realising our objectives. Clifford Harkness |
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National Council for Voluntary Organisations "CDDA have provided a first-class service for us for five years, turning charity account PDFs into useful data, which we use to produce up-to-date statistics on the UK's voluntary sector. CDDA's dedication and attention to detail have been a real asset to our project." David Kane |
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Shankill Great War Project. Queens University Centre for Data Digitisation and Analysis Workshop. Today some members of S.A.S.H took part in a Computer Website Platform Training Workshop over in Queens University. As many within the Greater Shankill Area will know, some S.A.S.H members have been interested in the Great War from as far back as 2009, & it was always our intention to try & do as much research around this subject as we could, and then once compiled, have it put on show for not only the Greater Shankill Community, who we hoped would take pride in seeing & acknowledging the Sacrifice of those who came from within our community generations before but also for the public, who could then learn about the part Our Community played at this time. Anyone that follows S.A.S.H will also know that because of the help and guidance we have received from the Living Legacies 1914-18 project, C.D.D.A, Queen's University, & the Heritage Lottery Fund, that we were given the opportunity to do just that. Today's Workshop was an opportunity for most of the group to not only get a chance to see what the site will look like from the front, but also how it will work concerning Crowdsourcing. Crowdsourcing is a process that involves letting the Community play its own part in building the Shankill Great War Project Archive. It means that should anyone have information concerning a loved one or Other, they can send it to us through the site and have it included in the archive. This means that people who may be moved away to Scotland, Canada, Australia or anywhere else, years ago, but who are still proud of the fact that they are connected to the Shankill Road, can have their loved one's details placed, & Remembered, among their own, within the community from where they came. On behalf of S.A.S.H I would like to thank Elaine, Tony, Rachel, John Francis & Heather for their time & expertise at today's workshop, it is greatly appreciated. Shankill Area Social History. https://www.facebook.com/Shankill-Area-Social-History-SASH-Group-240223979375644/ |
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‘I direct Young Life and Times (YLT) – an annual postal attitude survey of 16 year olds. It is in its 13th year now, which makes it one of the longest-running surveys of this nature in the UK and Ireland. CDDA has been contracted to undertake the survey data digitisation for YLT for the last two years – a task which had previously been undertaken by contractors in England. YLT really benefitted from moving data digitisation and input to CDDA. Not only provide they a high data quality, follow a rigorous protocol in terms of data security and have local knowledge which improves data accuracy, but the close proximity of CDDA also meant that we saved time and any queries could be resolved face-to-face very quickly.’ Dirk Schubotz |
