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Dear colleagues - please find below a statement on the release of our Strategy and Strategic Plan 2012-2015. If you have any question about, or feedback on, the document, please contact the authors on [log in to unmask] The document is released under a CC-BY licence and we would love to hear from you if you find it useful in your institution. Regards Sam Sam Searle Data Management Coordinator Monash University Library [log in to unmask] www.researchdata.monash.edu ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Monash University releases Research Data Management Strategy 2012-2015* Monash University is the first university in Australia, and possibly the world, to have released a strategy for managing the data generated by and used for research. The Monash University Research Data Management Strategy and Strategic Plan 2012-2015 is now available at: https://confluence-vre.its.monash.edu.au/display/rdmstrategy/Research+Data+Management+Strategy+and+Strategic+Plan+2012-2015 The University Librarian, Cathrine Harboe-Ree said that the strategy would enable Monash University to build on its successful track record in developing infrastructure and services that help researchers store, organise and disseminate their research data more effectively. “Research data management is an essential part of effective and responsible research. Over the past five years, Monash University has invested substantial effort in developing policy frameworks, technical solutions, training programs and advisory services that make it easier for our research staff and higher degree by research students to manage their data well. The strategy suggests areas in which action is now required for Monash to move to the next stage of managing research data more effectively.” The strategy was jointly developed by the University Library, the Monash e-Research Centre and the university’s enterprise IT group, eSolutions. Ms Harboe-Ree said that the distributed responsibility for research data management at Monash University had worked well. “Researchers need technical infrastructure to support their data, as well as data capture and workflow tools to allow them to work with their data. They also need a good understanding of policy requirements and the skills to deal with complex data-related issues, such as intellectual property and ethics. The strategy also suggests that the active dissemination of research data should be seen as a way to increase the impact of Monash research.” The strategy outlines a number of goals and initiatives, which will be prioritised and scoped in consultation with internal and external stakeholders. Many smaller initiatives are already underway, while larger and more complex areas of work would require more detailed plans and costings. Ms Harboe-Ree emphasised the availability of the strategy to other organisations, which could be interested a and use it as a basis for their own strategies. “We are committed to improving research data management at our own institution, and also across the research sector as a whole. Most research is now undertaken collaboratively, and Australia is leading the world in terms of developing a national approach through the Australian National Data Service. We hope that the public release of the Monash University strategy under an open licence will prompt other organisations to develop holistic and sustainable institutional approaches to research data management. We also look forward to working with other organisations to address collaboratively many of the broader national and international issues such as research data skills development and emerging requirements for measuring the social and economic value of data re-use."