Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC)

Abstract

The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is Australia’s leading research data infrastructure facility. The ARDC was formed in 2018 through the merger of 3 existing digital research infrastructure facilities: the Australian National Data Service (ANDS), National eResearch Collaboration Tools and Resources (Nectar) and Research Data Services (RDS). The ARDC aims to drive the development of national digital research infrastructure, providing Australian researchers with competitive advantage through data. It supports researchers and their organisations with digital research services. It facilitates programs and partnerships that provide the research community and industry access to nationally significant, data-intensive digital research infrastructure, platforms, skills and collections of high-quality data.

The Australian National Persistent Identifier (PID) Strategy 2024, coordinated by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), encourages organizations within the Australian research and innovation sector to develop and share action plans for implementing PIDs. These plans often encompass training components tailored to the specific needs of their stakeholders, facilitating the adoption and effective use of PIDs.

The ARDC already offers a variety of training courses, designed to align with the objectives of the National PID Strategy:

- 23 (Research Data) Things: An updated, self-paced online course designed to enhance research data management skills. This resource is openly available for reuse and adaptation under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence.

- FAIR Data 101: A comprehensive training course that introduces the principles of making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable (FAIR). It includes videos, activities, and quizzes to facilitate practical understanding.

- Good Data Practices Guide: A resource offering best-practice guidance on various aspects of research data management, including data reuse, licensing, and copyright considerations.

- FAIR Data Self-Assessment Tool: An interactive tool that allows researchers to evaluate the FAIRness of their datasets and receive practical recommendations for improvement.

Overview

Country	Australia
Start date	2018
Annual Budget	n/a
Responsible organisation(s)	Government agency
Target group(s)	Researchers, higher education institutions, and research support staff.
Policy instrument type	Training and development programme.

Background

The ARDC led a coordinated, comprehensive and collaborative process to develop the National PID strategy for Australia. Guided by a National PID Strategy Taskforce of key sector stakeholders, the process involved extensive consultation through national workshops, working groups, webinars and an open call for individual and group submissions. A draft Strategy was released in July 2023 and refined through extensive and open co-design, consultation and engagement with the sector. It was was officially adopted in February 2024.

Objective(s)

To build the skills and knowledge necessary for researchers, data managers, policymakers, and other stakeholders to effectively manage, share, and reuse research data.

Public access URL

https://ardc.edu.au/researcher/upskill-in-digital-research/

https://ardc.edu.au/resource/australian-national-persistent-identifier-pid-strategy-2024/

All tags

• Human Capital
• Australia
• 2018
• Government agency
• Established researchers
• Higher education institutes
• Public research institutes
• Research support staff
• Private R&D
• Academic societies academics
• Fellowships and postgraduate loans and scholarships
• Appropriate Training programs

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