Transcript Document

Dr Birgit Plietzsch, Research Computing Team Leader
RDM within Research Computing support
SALCTG, 18 June 2013
RDM: The destination
“As a first step towards this
intelligent openness, data
that underpin a journal
article should be made
concurrently available in an
accessible database. We are
now on the brink of an
achievable aim: for all
science literature to be
online, for all of the data to
be online and for the two to
be interoperable.”
(The Royal Society. Science as an Open
Enterprise: The Royal Society Science Policy
Centre Report 02/12 (June 2012), p. 7)
“The next generation of scientific discovery will be data-driven
discovery. ... We need to make sure we capture value from
this mass of data – both for economic growth and for social
advances, such as better health. ... This requires a
transformation in data management.”
(Speech by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon George Osborne MP, to the Royal Society
(9 November 2012))
RDM: The journey
•
National / international effort:
–
–
•
Economic benefits
Subject-specific, not institutional
RDM affects the entire University:
–
Training and advice:
•
•
•
•
–
–
–
Storage and technical maintenance
Cataloguing
Physical space:
•
•
–
Finance Advice and Support team
Requirement for processes:
–
RDM planning:
•
•
•
University-level
HR
Service-level
Cost recovery
•
•
ICT infrastructure
Paper records
Strategies, policies and procedures:
•
•
•
–
Creation
Access & Sharing
Metadata
Appraisal and selection
Project
Service providers
Long-term access:
–
Digital preservation
Research Computing Service interfaces
with RDM
• Training & advice: data creation, longterm storage, technical standards
• Storage and technical maintenance
• Service-level strategy & procedures
• Cost recovery
• RDM planning (at project and service
level)
• Technical solutions for RDM and digital
preservation
Research Computing Service
2003
Arts Computing Advisor
2008
Developer for Arts and Humanities projects
2011
Research Computing Service
2013
University approval for 2 new posts:
- Research Computing Advisor
- Applications Developer (Research Computing)
Vision
To provide innovative and advanced digital technologies and research
computing services of nationally and internationally recognised quality and
standards, which will facilitate research excellence at the University of St
Andrews.
(Research Computing Strategy, http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/itsupport/academic/research/about/strategy/ )
Research projects
University / service view
(pre-)
application
stage
Project
stage
Postproject
stage
• Development of ideas
Technical requirements gathering (software, hardware, technical development and data requirements)
• Planning the Research Computing Service
• Cost recovery
• Confirmation of requirements
• Technical development work
• Storage and backup
• Enabling access & sharing
• Training
• Hosting of research outcomes
 enabling access & sharing
 enabling use & re-use
• Technical maintenance
• [long-term preservation]
Research projects
Funder perspective
Quality of applications
•“This is an exceptionally well written proposal, setting out its general goals with clarity.
The applicant gives confidence at every level, presenting few issues for thought or
clarification. The digital outcomes are well defined, and supported by relevant
resources and management. This is likely to produce a very successful resource, with
usefulness to scholars and the general public alike.”
Technical support / skill
available to the project
team
•“The IT people will be very important in this project, and I don't know them, but
certainly the on-line databases provided by St Andrews which I have used are reliable
both technically and intellectually. It seems safe to assume, therefore, that this side of
things will also be successful.”
Institutional
commitment /
sustainability of project
outcomes
•“It is good to see the technical work being carried out in the context of an institutional
commitment to the digital humanities, as evidenced by the University's Arts Research
and Teaching Server and the support of the university's Research Computing Team.”
Research Computing Service
Repository-type solutions
Generic needs
Image database
(http://imagedatabase.st-andrews.ac.uk/)
School 1
Shared
solution
• Project 1a
• Project 1b
School 2
School 3
• Project 2a
• Project 2b
• Project 3a
• Project 3b
Digital Archive
Digital Collections Repository
(http://arts.st-andrews.ac.uk/digitalhumanities/)
reduction of resource required for
development and technical
maintenance
speed of service
subject & project-specific
description needs
Impact of RDM on the service
• Formalisation of procedures
– RDM planning (DMPonline?)
– Service review (Data Asset Framework, CARDIO)
• Increase in scale and volume of activities
• Increased co-operation with other parts of the
University
• Technically accommodate better use and re-use of data
• Long-term storage requirement
– Digital preservation starts at the point of data creation!
• Cost recovery
Data Asset Framework
(DAF)
• Framework for auditing of departmental data
collections, awareness, policies and practice for data
curation and preservation
– Online tool: http://www.data-audit.eu/tool2/
• Get an idea of current RDM practices within academic
Schools
• Interviews using open questions:
–
–
–
–
–
Managing Data
Access and Sharing
Preservation and Archiving
Existing RDM support provision
RDM policy
DAF Action Points
(Science Schools)
• Provide training in RDM
• Produce a comprehensive list of services offered centrally
• Improve the responsiveness and flexibility of central services
to better meet the needs of researchers
• Undertake extensive outreach and advocacy work to build
awareness of and trust in central services
DAF Action Points
(Arts Schools)
• Confirmation of existing central research computing support
service provision:
– Applications for funding / RDM planning
– Technical development work
– Training
• Long-term storage / digital preservation
• Requests for support of unfunded research
Collaborative Assessment of
Research Data Infrastructure and
Objectives (CARDIO)
• Benchmarking tool for data management strategy
development, typically applied at the department
or research group level
– Online tool: http://cardio.dcc.ac.uk/
• Involvement:
– Data creators (DAF)
– Information managers
– Service providers
• Monitor service provision
– Alignment with institutional goals and academic
requirements
Use and re-use of data
• Technology can accommodate some of this
• Development of flexible solutions
– APIs
• Programming code is data!
– Open Source / Open Standard solutions
• Economics
• Active developer community
• Long-term commitment
• Visualisation / Analysis tools
Long-term access
• Need for digital preservation:
– What?
– How?
– How long for?
• Technical and procedural components
– Digital archiving project
Open Archival Information
System (OAIS)
ISO 14721:2003
Functional Overview
OAIS procedural overview
Cost of RDM
• For example:
– Hardware
– Software
– Storage & backup
• Rule of thumb: 1TB = £30k over 25 years
– Staff:
• Hardware implementation and maintenance
• Technical development
• preparation of the data for access and curation (incl. the addition
of metadata)
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Sharing
Cost of RDM: Funder perspective
• RCUK Common Principles on Data Policy
(http://www.rcuk.ac.uk/research/Pages/DataPolicy.aspx):
– Principle 7: “It is appropriate to use public funds to support the management
and sharing of publicly-funded research data. To maximise the research
benefit which can be gained from limited budgets, the mechanisms for these
activities should be both efficient and cost-effective in the use of public
funds.”
• Efficient use of such money
• Funders are looking for research benefits where money is spent.
– Principle 2: “Institutional and project specific data management policies and
plans should be in accordance with relevant standards and community best
practice. Data with acknowledged long-term value should be preserved and
remain accessible and usable for future research.”
• Not all data should remain accessible or be preserved.
• Retention of data is the decision of the researcher. If data is kept, it should be kept in
accordance with funder policies.
Cost of RDM: Funder perspective
• DMP: principles under which the data is going to be made
available
• Institutional plan, policy or operational document:
institutional infrastructure that is provided for making data
available
• Justification of Resources of applications for funding:
– What exactly it is that they expect funders to pay?
•
•
•
•
the cost of collecting data
the cost of curating data
the cost of analysing data
the cost of preservation and sharing
• Further detail:
http://research-computing.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/2013/05/01/funding-rdm/
Further resources
• DCC web site: http://www.dcc.ac.uk
• JISC MRD
– Some projects to look at via:
http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/mrd.aspx
• Books
– Graham Pryor (ed.) Managing Research Data (2012)
– Adrian Brown. Practical Digital Preservation (2013)
Summary
• RDM requires co-operation across institutions
• Research Computing:
– Contribute towards RDM planning
– Provide and maintain technical solutions
– Contribute towards costings / institutional cost
recovery
– Contribute towards RDM training
• RDM is bigger than that!
Any questions ?
Dr Birgit Plietzsch, Research Computing Team Leader
[email protected]
01334 462315
@birgitplietzsch
blog: http://research-computing.wp.st-andrews.ac.uk/