The Australian Open Research Data Showcase emphasised the many benefits from sharing and reusing research data and was hosted by the Australian National Data Service, and National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) facility.

“Securing the greatest benefit from our investment in research is a high priority for universities and for the Australian Government,” said Ms Anne-Marie Lansdown, Deputy Chief Executive.

“A recently released national study showed that sharing and reusing data generated by publicly-funded research activities could boost Australian research output by between $1.4 billion and $4.9 billion.

“The report shows that a relatively small investment in data policy and infrastructure can lead to a significant increase in value to Australian innovation, research, and the broader economy.”

Australia’s position as a leader in open data has been made possible by investments under NCRIS.

“Research infrastructure provides the foundation for world-leading research in Australia’s universities. Today’s showcase once again highlights the clear benefits from a strategic and collaborative approach to investment,” Ms Lansdown said.

As Senator the Hon Scott Ryan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Training said in his opening speech: “Today’s showcase is a great demonstration of the role of the NCRIS investment in building Australia’s research data collections into a world-class asset.”

Open data enables researchers to make connections never before possible to tackle the complex challenges being faced by Australia and the world.

Amongst the data collections being released are:

• Lifestyles of mosquitos – the Vector-Borne Disease Network Digital Library at James Cook University supporting malaria eradication.
• Tracking floods with tweets – PetaJakarta.org Major Open Data Collection – Hydrological Infrastructure Network for Jakarta, Indonesia, made available by the University of Wollongong, which is enabling an effective response to floods.
• Mineralogical and geochemical data – Curtin University has collaborated with the Geological Survey of Western Australia, which is leading to new exploration and activity in Western Australia.

Posters showcasing the rich open data collections presented at the Australian Open Data Showcase on 19 June 2015 are available at: http://www.ands.org.au/partner/open2015posters/