What is meant by "An Open, Free Consortium"?
By an open consortium is meant a loosely knit collection of
individuals: Researchers, software engineers, railway technologists,
etc., and of their host institutions: Universities, railway companies,
research centres, etc. The "loose knit" is The TRain Consortium.
At any time individuals and institutions may
enter (or leave) the open consortium.
Individuals: People and Institutions
Each individual (person) or institution acts individually.
There is no
legal or financial, contractual relationship between any two distinct
institutions nor individuals from distinct institutions, binding them in
any other by way than their offering one another the fruits of their
individual research on TRain related matters.
By "acting" together, as the TRain Open, Free Consortium", it is
expected that each individual, each institution will be spurred on to
a more concerted effort, including even joint efforts, towards
"modelisation" of "all things" railways.
No Common/Shared Funding
By an open and free consortium of the kind proposed here is also meant that
there is no central funding source, no shared or common capital from which
TRain research and other TRain activities may be funded.
TRain individuals and institutions are themselves to secure any needed
funding.
Research Funding
Although the TRain Consortium will and shall not act as a funding
agency, it may well decide to support identified national or
international railway domain research projects. This support is not
financial. Rather it could be support, say in the form of written
recommendations to national or international funding agencies, of
proposed research efforts.
How such support can manifest itself remains to be formulated.
Possibility of Joint Research
The TRain Consortium shall be pro-active in encouraging and in helping to
arrange joint research efforts.
"Blue Seals" of "Approval"
Whether the TRain Consortium can otherwise issue "blue seals" of
approval of individual or joint research efforts remains to be seen.
Our current "thinking" is: Rather not. We would rather like to see
research efforts emerge and survive, ie., attract attention, on
their own scientific merits.
We would like to believe that subscribing to the TRain Consortium
Charter suffices as a qualifier.
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