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Name of Submitter: Gionni Di Gravio, University Archivist, University of Newcastle, Australia.
Draft 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap
Submission
The Draft 2016 National Research Infrastructure Roadmap:
• Understands that we currently have a national infrastructure system that is not well
understood, lacks cohesion, and does not meet our strategic needs. (p.15)
• Understands that National Research Infrastructure should maximise capabilities to
improve productivity, economic development, serve national interests; should focus on
areas where Australia can be world class; aligned with Government priorities; should be
collaborative, non-exclusive; should encourage co-investment; should be costed to include
“whole of life” modelling; should enhance participation of Australian researchers in an
international research system. (p.15)
• Understands that a framework to provide such infrastructure should be independent,
transparent, principles based, engaged, monitored and subject to evaluation. (p.16)
• Recognises that our people, their skills and access to training are at the heart of making it
a success (p.17)
• Recognises that ‘access' is a clear and defining characteristic that is constrained by
geographical barriers, technical skill and cost. (p.20)
• Unfortunately appears to ignore that the actual “road” or “highway” which all the
research data infrastructure relies upon is the NBN network, and its future capabilities, and
does not address the issue of the politicisation of the two networks into the "Rudd-Fibre to
the Premises (FTTP)" model and "Turnbull-Fibre to the Node (FTTN)”. This is the ‘elephant
in the room’ of the report.
• While it states that there are four research infrastructure layers (institutional, national,
landmark & global), it only appears to deal with ‘national'. The other layers are beyond its
scope or control, and wholly dependent upon whether our ‘national' broadband network is
up to international standards (which it is not1) in order to be effective.
• Focuses on nine (9) areas, pooling together scientific data sets with digital platforms,
HASS and cultural collections. While the approach of "What We Have", "What We Need"
and "Future Directions” is helpful, it confuses the container (i.e., the research data platform)
with the contents (i.e., the research data). This is where our joint GLAM (i.e. Galleries,
Libraries, Archives, Museums) Peak 2016 statement on accessibility could be helpful, as it
1
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-06-21/fact-check-australias-internet-speed-rank/7509352
provides a 7 point plan towards accessibility of cultural (as well as ‘scientific') outputs to all
communities. https://uoncc.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/glampeak-election2016.pdf
• Keeping each area of ‘focus' separated threatens continued siloing, and prevents true
collaboration across the arts and sciences, e.g., How many GLAM (i.e. Galleries, Libraries,
Archives, Museums) institutions contain Aboriginal accounts, historic weather data records,
mapping, and environmental research data that can be utilised to predict future weather
events, disaster preparation, future environmental management?
• Appears to be unaware that the GLAM sector can assist with the underlying preservation
of original formats, dealing with research databases and retrieval of data, metadata,
arrangement, description etc. of the scientific research outputs and long term storage and
format needs. This is part of the work we do already through archives and collections, so
rather than be a ‘focus’, our sector should also be seen as a ‘layer’ that can help achieve the
overall aims of the ‘roadmap’, which seeks to protect and make accessible the entire
scientific, and cultural research outputs of our researchers to the world.
• Highlights the "albatross around our neck” that government-funding models (that have
depended upon competition, not collaboration) of the past have created. We have a variety
of reinvented ‘wheels’ of research databases that aren’t really designed to talk with one
another, nor be interoperable, or widely accessible. Again, the GLAM sector is a valuable
enabler to providing global ongoing access to all our research data.
• Highlights the importance of Government as leading architect, major investor and
‘anchor’ to state & territory governments, universities and research agencies, (p.6) but does
not recognise that Government economic driven models imposed on scientific research to
be more ‘practical’ potentially hinder potential future discoveries, innovation and invention.
As Carl Sagan so eloquently states:
“Basic research is where scientists are free to pursue their curiosity and interrogate
Nature, not with any short-term practical end in view, but to seek knowledge for its
own sake. Scientists of course have a vested interest in basic research. It's what they
like to do, in many cases why they became scientists in the first place. But it is in
society's interest to support such research. This is how the major discoveries that
benefit humanity are largely made.” … “Maxwell wasn't thinking of radio, radar and
television when he first scratched out the fundamental equations of
electromagnetism; Newton wasn't dreaming of space flight or communications
satellites when he first understood the motion of the Moon; Roentgen wasn't
contemplating medical diagnosis when he investigated a penetrating radiation so
mysterious he called it 'X-rays'; Curie wasn't thinking of cancer therapy when she
painstakingly extracted minute amounts of radium from tons of pitchblende; Fleming
wasn't planning on saving the lives of millions with antibiotics when he noticed a
circle free of bacteria around a growth of mould; Watson and Crick weren't
imagining the cure of genetic diseases when they puzzled over the X-ray
diffractometry of DNA; Rowland and Molina weren't planning to implicate CFCs in
ozone depletion when they began studying the role of halogens in stratospheric
photochemistry.”… “These discoveries and a multitude of others that grace and
characterize our time, to some of which our very lives are beholden, were made
ultimately by scientists given the opportunity to explore what in their opinion, under
the scrutiny of their peers, were basic questions in Nature.”… “Fundamental research,
research into the heart of Nature, is the means by which we acquire the new
knowledge that gets applied.”
-Ref: Carl Sagan. The Demon Haunted World Science as a Candle in the Dark,
Headline, 1997 pp. 373-374)
I greatly appreciate the opportunity to be invited to comment on this draft 2016 National
Research Infrastructure Roadmap and hope that my comments are of some assistance.
Best Wishes,
MR GIONNI DI GRAVIO
University Archivist
Chair, Hunter (Living) Histories Initiative
Councillor, Australian Society of Archivists (ASA)
Australian Society of Archivists Accredited Professional (ASAAP)
Cultural Collections (Archives)
Auchmuty Library
T: +61 2 49215819
E: [email protected]
W:https://uoncc.wordpress.com/
W:https://hunterlivinghistories.com/
W:https://www.archivists.org.au/
The University of Newcastle (UON)
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