Consultation Report Released for the Planet Research Data Commons

The ARDC is pleased to release the report on the feedback from consultations for the Planet Research Data Commons (Planet RDC).

The Planet RDC is being developed collaboratively by the ARDC with national partners to deliver sustainable digital research infrastructure on a national scale. 

The Planet RDC will support earth and environmental science researchers to develop cross-sector and multi-disciplinary data collaborations on a national scale. It will integrate underpinning compute, storage infrastructure and services with analysis platforms and tools that are supported by expertise, standards and best practices. It will also bring together data from a range of sources to tackle the big questions.

As part of the co-design approach to developing the Planet RDC, the ARDC held consultations in 2022 with national stakeholders in the earth and environmental research sector. The purpose of these consultations was to:

• identify the key data challenges in earth and environmental research, as well as the associated priorities
• help define the value proposition of the Planet RDC
• learn where initial efforts need to be focused in establishing the Planet RDC.

Hamish Holewa, Director of the Planet Research Data Commons, said, “We’re pleased that our consultations with the sector confirmed that the Planet RDC is needed to address the complex challenges facing our planet, like  adapting to climate change, saving threatened species, and reversing ecosystem deterioration.”

“We’re looking forward to the next stage of developing the Planet RDC, where we’ll have focused consultations with NCRIS facilities, research infrastructure providers, government, industry and research institutions to ask ‘How can the Planet RDC deliver infrastructure, services and capability to address identified challenges by extending existing capabilities, both within the ARDC and across the sector?’”

The report summarises the insights gained from the initial discussions with stakeholders and the roundtables. It includes: 

1. the data challenges identified by the ARDC through an analysis of the national research and research infrastructure priorities related to earth and environmental research and management
2. feedback from consultations with the ARDC Research and Technical Advisory Committee, and the National Earth and Environmental Sciences Facilities Forum (NEESFF)
3. feedback from consultations held with researchers, research infrastructure providers, industry, government, and non-government organisations from the earth and environmental sciences
4. the revised data challenges, which are based on the findings from the consultations.

Read the report. Stay up to date with the Planet Research Data Commons by subscribing to the ARDC Connect newsletter and registering your interest below.

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