Australia and Canada Team Up to Strengthen Technological and Scientific Ties

The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (the Alliance) have partnered to share expertise for the promotion, development, and use of digital research infrastructure to advance progress in the global research ecosystem.

The new partnership was formed in Sydney on Tuesday 18 February where the ARDC Deputy CEO Dr Adrian Burton and the Alliance CEO George Ross signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The Honourable Mary Ng, Canada’s Minister of Export Promotion, International Trade and Economic Development of Canada served as a witness for Canada.

The agreement will enable knowledge exchange and sharing between both countries, starting with a showcase by the ARDC on its national training skills development approaches and resources to Alliance staff members this week in Canberra. 

In return, the Alliance will provide information on its digital research infrastructure training strategy. Ongoing collaboration will build on existing skills initiatives and ultimately lead to the co-development of future skills development activities and training curriculum for the benefit of researchers and digital research infrastructure professionals in both countries.

This ‘digital-first’ diplomatic initiative supports the development of strong research ties between the two countries and is an important part of the Government of Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy. 

The ARDC and the Alliance have much in common, with both organisations well placed to provide critical national digital infrastructure for researchers. The Alliance will receive CAD$85 million from a CAD$2.4 billion Canadian Sovereign AI Compute Strategy which accelerates the need for a strong national training program to support rapid infrastructure deployment. The ARDC has secured AUD$165 million in Australian Government investment to date just for 2023 to 2028 through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).

“This represents a critical step toward advancing digital research infrastructure and strengthening international scientific collaboration,” says the Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Canadian Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry.

“By sharing expertise and knowledge, Canada and Australia are positioned to maintain our leadership in global innovation, ensuring researchers have access to cutting-edge tools and can develop the skills they need to succeed. Our collaborative approach underscores the importance of international partnerships in driving digital research innovation.”

Alliance CEO George Ross says, “We’re proud to be in Australia to share knowledge and technological expertise. Australia and Canada are strong allies who share many similar values and goals. We know serving our country’s researchers and their computing needs requires continual improvement and strategic knowledge exchange.” 

“The ARDC is a leading organisation in Australia dedicated to the management and promotion of research data and digital research infrastructure. We’re confident this partnership will enhance our efforts to attract the best talent, upskill our technical workforce and bolster innovation across the country.” 

“We are excited to be partnering with the Alliance to share national approaches, experience and expertise in building cutting edge data infrastructure. Research is a global endeavour, straddling international boundaries, and we want to ensure Australian researchers have opportunities to collaborate internationally and benefit from globally agreed standards and approaches,” says Dr Adrian Burton, Deputy CEO of the ARDC. 

“For the ARDC, this provides an amazing opportunity to exchange strategies and approaches for developing data infrastructure and ensuring researchers are skilled to make optimum use of the tools, data and services.”

The skills development and knowledge exchange program will progress over the next two years. At the end of this period, both the Alliance and ARDC will produce a strategic report on the application of lessons learned throughout the exchange. 

Both organisations will leverage the acquired knowledge to implement more robust learning pathways and frameworks for researchers using their cutting edge digital infrastructure.

About the Digital Alliance of Canada 

The Digital Research Alliance of Canada (The Alliance) advances and maintains digital research infrastructure (DRI) to support the management, storage and use of national research computing, data and research software. A non-profit organisation funded by the Government of Canada, the Alliance serves researchers by improving data access, collaborating with DRI partners, nurturing the DRI workforce, integrating services and enhancing security. DRI is a critical national asset, and the Alliance leverages its capacities to support cutting-edge research and innovation across all disciplines — propelling Canadian research forward now and into the future. Visit alliancecan.ca/en 

Read more about the ARDC’s international partnerships.

This media release was originally published by the Digital Alliance of Canada.

The ARDC is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) to support national digital research infrastructure for Australian researchers.