Research Data Allocation Register (RADAR): informing strategic infrastructure decisions
Scott Lewis1, Jared Winton 1The University Of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
Abstract
Join us for an introduction to University of Melbourne’s RADAR: a valuable tool designed to curate infrastructure allocations – and (almost) everything that research support personnel might want to know about them.
In this presentation, we will explore the journey of RADAR’s development – tracing its roots from a time when digital resources allocations were rarely coordinated, through to today’s offering: an interoperable, mature and unified platform for researchers (and support professionals) to encapsulate KEY decision-influencing data-about-data.
Although RADAR continues to evolve alongside the ever-changing needs of research, its deployment – and mandate of its use, through procedural change – helps current and future personnel to navigate the many minefields of responsible data custodianship: ownership, sensitivity, storage & growth, analytics, retention and disposal, and more. RADAR enables managers to identify long-term data trends, informing strategic direction – whilst researchers gain an individualised insight into their research project/s.
As RADAR’s capabilities progress, we continue to explore its possibilities alongside a strategic cohort of university representatives: librarians, ethics and integrity teams, grant specialists, legal & risk advisers, and technical system administrators. Simultaneously, by politely integrating RADAR with existing systems, we create less touchpoints (portals, forms) for researchers to navigate. When concerted, additional exposure to the portal is coupled with continually fine-tuned metadata, we aim to facilitate a gradual shift in the both perceived visibility of – and importance of – the Research Data Management Lifecycle in its entirety.
Biography
Scott Lewis is a Systems Administrator with over 20x years of experience, fifteen of these with The University Of Melbourne. He is currently employed by the University’s Research Computing Services (RCS) team, as one of a small group of Senior Data Solutions Specialists, where his work wavers between researcher engagement (read: uncovering what types of data storage will work for researchers), and tinkering with systems to make that happen.
Previously, he has held IT managerial roles with Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), and with Ricoh Australia. He also holds a Bachelor of Music – and so it’s no surprise that two of his main hobbies outside of work are cello and piano.