Kathryn Unsworth1
1Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), Caulfield East, Australia
Policy development and public investment in digital research infrastructure have enabled greater access to data. Data-intensive research and the emergence of new digital tools and methods have also increased the generation and availability of data. This has the potential to increase innovation and improve the rate, transparency, and reproducibility of research when matched with a highly skilled workforce. The barrier to realising these benefits is a globally widening digital skills gap.
After significant community consultation, the ARDC developed a national-level capabilities framework. The framework includes key components for understanding the digital research training and skills development needs of the research workforce, which are fundamental to addressing the skills gap.
The capabilities framework enables the identification of relevant roles, capabilities and skills needed to work effectively, and their requisite experience levels. The framework allows us to address the gaps in data skills by identifying areas of skills development for strategic investment, building partnerships, and improving collaboration in training design, development, and delivery.
This presentation will unpack the various components of the ARDC Digital Research Capabilities and Skills Framework. We will examine how the framework scaffolds the development and sharing of training events and materials, and how it helps identify emerging skills development needs. We will also discuss how the framework provides a common digital research skills lexicon and how it benchmarks role-related skills experience levels necessary for success. Upcoming work to mature the framework will also be outlined.
Biography:
A librarian in a previous life, Kathryn has transitioned from information to data to digital research skills. As the manager of the Skills and Workforce Development team, she works to ensure the ARDC’s leadership in the skills space provides a cohesive approach to the digital research skills agenda for the Australian research sector.