Mrs. Philippa Frame1, Ms Yvette Wyborn2, Mr Marvin van Prooijen1, Mr Ryan Bennett2 ,Ms Paola Pettit2
1Office for Scholarly Communication, QUT Library, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, 2eResearch, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Biography:
Philippa Frame is a Research Data Librarian in the Office for Scholarly Communication at QUT, where she leads the Library’s research data management service to support staff and Higher Degree Research students to manage their data across the entire research lifecycle, ensuring its usability for current and future research. Her responsibilities include providing training and advice on the creation and completion of data management plans, facilitating access to purchased and secondary research datasets, and recommending suitable data storage solutions tailored to individual needs. Philippa also assists researchers to publish their research data through Research Data Finder, QUT’s research data repository.
Abstract:
Data Management Plans (DMPs) are often perceived as compliance checkboxes—onerous, misunderstood, and underutilised. At QUT, we are shifting this narrative. Recognising that robust data management practices are foundational to impactful research, we embarked on a strategic transformation to position DMPs as research-enabling tools that improve efficiency, integrity, and institutional data governance.
The DMPonline Replacement Project was a critical initiative within a cross-departmental program aimed at strengthening infrastructure and support systems for high-quality research. It addressed longstanding challenges with the legacy system, which was an unsupported, high-risk platform with low user engagement. A fragmented experience with unclear processes and duplicate efforts between the existing application and a Research Data Management + Primary Materials (RDM+PM) Checklist led to researcher confusion and poor-quality outputs that risked non-compliance with institutional policy and funding body requirements.
To address these issues, QUT developed an integrated platform that combines the functions of both tools, enhances accessibility, and introduces automated provisioning of data storage at the point of plan creation. This solution reduces technical risk and administrative burden while empowering researchers with the right tools. By investing in purpose-built infrastructure and user-centric design, this project re-framed DMPs as more than administrative overhead. The new solution simplifies planning, improves accessibility, and introduces a Research Project ID (RPID) to support data management best practice.
This presentation shares insights from the redesign and implementation process, highlights outcomes aligned with strategic research goals, and offers a practical, replicable model for other institutions.