Projects

Move the Needle

Levelling up the People of HPC

Move the Needle was a collaborative project between Alces Flight and Women in HPC (WHPC) focused entirely on the efforts people are making to transform our field of supercomputing to one that is more diverse and inclusive.

Our first season of Move the Needle ran from February to November, 2024.  Throughout this period we gathered research, conducted interviews, and ran a goals and accountability group to find out what people are doing around the world to ‘move the needle’ towards making our community more open and welcoming.

This space showcases all of the outcomes from our project.  Welcome!

Our Project Goals

The Move the Needle project was all about exploring the people side of supercomputing!  We set three goals for this project which were: 

  • Identify and share the projects, programs and stories of progress in equity, diversity, accessibility, and inclusion (EDIA) in HPC.
  • Discuss the blocks, barriers, and issues that hamper progress in creating a more welcoming space.
  • Explore building better legacy in HPC through people and sustainability initatives.

Everything we learned we’ve placing in our Knowledge Portal.  Why not take a look and see what we’ve collected?

The Accountability Team

Part of this project involved a group of individuals willing to share and account their journey to move the needle in HPC.  This group:

  • Selected up to three goals towards moving the needle forward in HPC.
  • The goals could be personal or group-focused.
  • The size and scale of these goals could vary from personal development all the way through major EDIA programs or reviews.

Over the course of the project they submitted surveys and reports detailing progress.  We further hosted three online meet-ups for those who wished to talk about their aims and seek support and guidance from the group. 

Knowledge Portal

We were lucky to have several individuals and groups who have shared their knowledge about moving the needle in EDIA.  As such, we’ve created a knowledge portal to capture the interviews, publications and more for ease of access.

Project Dates

Here are the important project dates and milestones:

  • December 8, 2023 to February 5, 2024: Open Recruitment for Accountability Team.
  • February 12, 2024: Accountability Team Launch
  • July 8, 2024: Project Halfway Point
  • July 23, 2024: Project Halfway – Public Update
  • November 18, 2024: Accountability Team Wrap-Up
  • December 6, 2024: Final Community Report Presentation
  • February 3, 2025: Final Public Report and publication of Facilitation Guide

Our project finale was held at the Women in HPC Breakfast at CIUK 2024 in Manchester.