Research Data Management and Storage Project

Project Paused until Q4 2020

The Research Storage & Archiving Project - to be known as the Research Data Management & Storage (RDMS) Project going forward (per the R&I April Newsletter update) - has been put on hold as part of a prioritisation exercise across the University. The University is prioritising key business functions and balancing that with a need for this Project to have adequate resourcing and access to researchers, to deliver the intended outcomes. The University will look to reinvigorate the Project as soon as practicable,  likely in Q4 2020.

The Project Steering Committee recognises that for the University to meet its strategic vision of being amongst the leading research Universities in the world, there needs to be investment in research data management and an appropriate level of storage support. The University remains committed to this project and its intended outcomes..

The key output of the Discovery Phase of the Project was the detailed set of Research Storage Business Requirements. These will enable a fit-for-purpose storage management solution to be implemented when the RDMS Project recommences. The Summary Report of the Business Requirements has been uploaded to this website.

Short-Term Storage Solution Project - Underway

In the immediate term, we are pursuing a short-term solution to the current storage shortfall. An initiative has been established to undertake this, with Phase 1- Requirements and Planning, to be completed by the end of May.

The intended Outcomes of the Initiative are as follows:

1. Awareness of the current storage demand, level of investment and storage options in use (as-is)
2. Awareness of future storage demand (based on estimated growth), possible storage options and estimated costs
3. Awareness and optimization of existing NCI and Azure storage options  
4. Agreed procurement approach to address short-term on-premise storage requirements
5. Agreed funding approach to allow initiation of procurement activities.

We will provide periodic updates on the progress of this initiative on this website. Please let the Project Team know if you would like to be advised when there are updates - RSAProject.PDE@anu.edu.au

2019 saw the planning of the Research Storage and Archiving (RSA) project to address the identified gaps in the University’s ability to provide sufficient storage capabilities for research data. The Project kicked off with a Project Team in November last year and will run through to 2021, starting off with a Discovery Phase to ensure that it delivers a fit-for-purpose solution for our needs. This project will deliver two key elements:

University-wide Data Storage approach, including:

• Overarching storage architecture describing a comprehensive and cohesive approach to the different types of storage required to support end users.
• Provisioning capability (user portal) for managing research storage (e.g. requesting, reporting) in a timely and more automated way.
• Storage solution, archiving, and backup policies and procedures, including the consideration of cost models.

Foundational Research Data Management Capability:

• Functions to be determined through Stage 1 – Discovery.

The project team is currently building on user stories and technical requirements gathered from preliminary working groups, and is engaging across all Colleges and Schools.