Presentation Summary
Managing the ever increasing amount and complexity of data about research and data stemming from research is essential to Australian research and innovation and to our ability to understand and improve the ecosystem. Currently a large portion of the data elements which are integral to research are siloed, difficult to find or access, often leading to replication and duplication of data collection efforts and, even more importantly, reducing the opportunity for cross-disciplinary research to address the complex challenges we face. Deriving insights from this data will increasingly require use of compute tools, requiring that data is FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable) and is consistent with the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Sovereignty (Collective benefit, Authority to control, responsibility, Ethics).
An Australian National Persistent Identifier (PIDs) Strategy has been led by the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and co-designed with the research sector to help us to manage the fragmented, complex, distributed and federated research and innovation ecosystem by providing a universal, machine-readable, interoperable method to uniquely identify and connect entities such as researchers and innovators, funders, organisations, articles, datasets, projects, software, instruments and samples. These connections allow us to derive insights which will accelerate Australia’s research and innovation ecosystem.
The Strategy follows on from a 2022 study that found investing in PIDs offers significant time and cost savings for the Australian research sector and contributes to research integrity by precisely identifying the resources used to conduct research and the outputs that result from it. The linking of PIDs to each other supports identification of scientific concepts across the system, driving research innovation and providing the evidence base for informed strategic decision-making at the institutional and national levels.
Meet the Speaker
Natasha Simons
Director, National Coordination, Australian Research Data Commons
Natasha Simons is Director, National Coordination, for the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) and plays a leading role in the persistent identifiers landscape internationally. In 2024 she was co-chair, eResearch Australasia.
