The Journey to Becoming the Australian Research Data Commons Ltd

On Thursday 30 May 2019, The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) registered as a company limited by guarantee.

The ARDC’s journey began when the Commonwealth Government identified, in their 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap, the need to align the Australian National Data Service (ANDS), National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources (Nectar) and the Research Data Services (RDS). On 1 July 2018 ANDS, Nectar and RDS united to form the ARDC, operating through three lead agents – Monash University, The University of Melbourne and The University of Queensland. Nearly one year on, the ARDC is now a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee.

Becoming a company limited by guarantee is one of many steps that enables the ARDC to work towards its vision of transforming digital infrastructure that supports leading edge research and innovation. To achieve this transformation, we work with the research sector and government to build a national research data commons that provides the research community and industry access to nationally significant, state of the art data intensive infrastructure, platforms, skills and high quality collections of data. Our 5 strategic themes support the development of a nationally coordinated resource for Australian researchers. Read our strategy for more information about our strategic themes.

The ARDC would like to acknowledge and welcome Monash University as its initial member and thank the university for their support through the company establishment process. Over the coming months, we will provide more information about how you can become a member of the ARDC. In the meantime if you have any questions please email [email protected].