Institutional Underpinnings Research Data Management Network

Establishing a collaborative approach to university research data management
satellite image of Australia
Who will benefit
Australia’s university sector

The Challenge

Launched in 2021, the Institutional Underpinning program brought together 25 of Australia’s 42 universities to develop a framework to bring consistency to the management of research data across the university sector. 

The collaboration, the first of its kind in Australia, created a Research Data Management Framework for Australian universities, which was launched in February 2023. 

The Framework provides expert guidance on the elements essential to university research data management. It also identified gaps where best practice is still unclear, or shared solutions need to be developed to move forward. 

There was a strong appetite from the universities participating in Institutional Underpinnings to continue to work collaboratively to solve these problems and collectively uplift university research data management.

The Approach

To extend the Institutional Underpinnings program, the ARDC has established the Institutional Underpinnings Research Data Management Network (IU RDM Network). The Network will shape and deliver IU Extension activities, which include:

  1. extending the guidance provided in the Research Data Management Framework
  2. continuing the sharing, collaboration and discussion between universities on research data management
  3. designing and delivering 4 collaborative projects to solve shared research data management problems.

Collaborative Projects

The ARDC is working with the IU RDM Network to run 4 collaborative projects. Selected based on 7 key problem areas identified by the Network, these projects were co-designed and will be delivered by groups of universities that are members of Network. Each project is receiving $200,000 in co-investment from the ARDC.

Universities participate in the projects in one of 2 roles: co-developers and adopters. Co-developers are the core team of universities who are conducting the work of the project. Adopters are universities that have a particular interest in the output and provide regular review and input for its development. To take advantage of the breadth of expertise present in the sector, periodic workshops or reviews with the entire Network will also be conducted.

In 2022, the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney and Bond University developed the PAI-C baseline RDM training for HDR students based on the minimum RDM competencies identified in the RDM Framework for Institutions. This training was designed as a generic set of core materials which can be contextualised to a specific university. 

The current project will test PAI-C in the context of 5 new universities and review and improve the core training materials based on their input. The project will also investigate a model for maintaining the PAI-C training over time. This project will produce well-tested training materials that can be adopted by other universities, and help the sector to move towards more consistent baseline RDM training. 

Co-developers
  • University of New South Wales 
  • University of Sydney
  • Curtin University
  • University of Canberra
  • Deakin University 
  • Griffith University 
  • Charles Darwin University
Adopters
  • Edith Cowan University
  • Swinburne University of Technology
  • University of Notre Dame Australia
  • University of Technology Sydney

Recent work presented at the 2022 eResearch Australasia Conference suggests that over 300PB of digital research content is held by Australian institutions for future access. Institutions need to be able to make informed decisions about how to manage this digital research content, but they currently have difficulty assessing their holdings to make the necessary insights. Part of the challenge is getting a clear picture of what we need to know about these holdings, and part is extracting this information from university systems.

This project aims to develop an agreed taxonomy for research data and a baseline reporting format that can be used within and across institutions. Using this taxonomy and reporting format will help institutions collect the information for more informed decisions about how they manage research data. This information can be collected across the sector to give a picture of national research data holdings (including trends over time) and identify sector-wide needs and challenges. 

Co-developers
  • University of New South Wales 
  • University of Sydney
  • University of Technology Sydney

Universities are currently grappling with significant data growth and the risks of managing research data of varying sensitivity at scale. Institutions find themselves managing a corpus of digital content generated by research projects, only some of which is research data and has reuse value. Researchers and institutions are therefore questioning which research data need to be retained and which can be disposed throughout the project lifecycle.

The goal of this project is to develop agreed core principles and good practice examples for the retention and disposal of research data, and identify operational opportunities for collecting information and taking actions that support the retention and disposal of research data. The outcomes of this project will help universities to better manage the costs and risks associated with holding data, and focus resources on the data that needs to be retained.

Co-developers
  • University of New South Wales
  • University of Sydney
  • University of Melbourne
  • University of Technology Sydney

Mismanagement of sensitive research data presents high levels of risk to researchers and institutions. Determining how to safely manage sensitive research data requires navigation of complex and interacting regulation, cybersecurity standards and technology solutions. To support researchers and lower institutional risks, institutions have been separately investing in interpreting the complex regulatory and technical environment to advise on appropriate management of research data of different sensitivities. Resulting guidance varies significantly between institutions, raising questions on the methodologies and rigour of individual classification schemes, as well as the transferability of research data between institutions (during collaborations or as researchers move between institutions).

This project aims to map alignments between institutional classifications and develop a guiding framework of institutional levers available to support appropriate responses to sensitive research data management. This will act as a ‘Rosetta stone’ between institutions, allowing universities with established frameworks to clearly articulate, benchmark and reassess their approach relative to other Universities. It will provide Universities looking to build their sensitive data capabilities with guidance to direct their efforts.

Co-developers
  • University of Tasmania
  • University of Melbourne
  • University of New South Wales
  • Monash University
Adopter
  • Central Queensland University

Network Membership

The Network is still open for new member universities. Members can participate in the discussion and design activities of the Network, and have the opportunity to be involved in delivering co-investment projects (although they are not obliged to do so). To enquire about joining, please contact us via the form below.

Who Will Benefit?

Australia’s university sector will benefit from enhanced guidance on research data management, collaboratively-developed resources to address shared problems, and a forum to openly discuss opportunities and challenges and learn from one another.

The Partners

All Australian universities have been invited to join the Institutional Underpinnings Research Data Management Network. Membership is free and requires participation in group discussion. Member universities must nominate a representative who is able to consult with key stakeholders within their institution and represent their views to the Network. 

If your University would like to join the Network, please contact us via the form below.

The 32 current members of the network are:

  • Central Queensland University
  • Charles Darwin University
  • Curtin University
  • Deakin University
  • Edith Cowan University
  • Federation University Australia
  • Griffith University
  • James Cook University
  • La Trobe University
  • Macquarie University
  • Monash University
  • Murdoch University
  • Queensland University of Technology
  • RMIT
  • Southern Cross University
  • Swinburne University of Technology
  • The Australian National University
  • The University of Notre Dame Australia
  • Torrens University
  • The University of Queensland
  • University of Adelaide
  • University of Canberra
  • University of Melbourne
  • University of New England
  • University of Southern Queensland
  • University of Sydney
  • University of Tasmania
  • University of Western Australia
  • University of Wollongong
  • University of New South Wales
  • University of Technology Sydney
  • Western Sydney University.

Target Outcomes

The IU RDM Network will shape and deliver IU Extension activities, which include:

  1. extending the guidance provided in the Research Data Management Framework
  2. continuing the sharing, collaboration and discussion between universities on research data management
  3. designing and delivering 4 collaborative projects to solve shared research data management problems.

Contact the ARDC

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