Overview
Duration: Sept 2023 – Sept 2026
Project Lead: Dipl.-Ing. Sabine Neff, MSc; Research Information Systems, TU Wien
Project Management: Dr. Alexandra Linster, Research Information Systems, TU Wien
Austrian Research Information & Service Network (ARI&Snet)
As part of the project, an institutionalised national network for infrastructure for the coordination, planning and administration of research facilities, services, research information and research data will be established. Taking into account national and international strategies and standards, ARI&Snet sustainably strengthens Austrian agendas in the field of digital research support and ensures the long-term operation of both existing and newly developed services.
These shared services act as a catalyst for Open Science and contribute to the further development of Austria as a future-oriented research location. In addition, they form the basis for an effective information and service platform for Austrian research. ARI&Snet creates sustainable synergies between digitisation projects, research institutions, the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and digitisation initiatives such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). This creates significant added value for the digital and social transformation in higher education.
STARTING POSITION
Complex initiatives have been launched and implemented in the areas of digital research infrastructure, research data management, research information and open science. Unfortunately, these results have not yet been sufficiently publicised to a broad community in order to derive services for the national research landscape on this basis.
An important impetus for anchoring a sustainable strategy was provided in the course of the call initiated by the BMBWF for “Digital and Social Transformation in Higher Education”. In order to proactively generate synergies between projects, “project clusters” were bundled. The “Cluster Research Data” (CRD) played a key role in the thematic environment of this application. In the CRD, four regionally distributed lead partners (TU Wien, Uni Wien, TU Graz and Uni Innsbruck) from the projects represented in the cluster discussed results and challenges and presented them to interested target groups.
The CRD has thus laid the foundation for coordinated planning and coordination of digital research-supporting services, which now needs to be institutionalised to ensure sustainable results, the best possible use of resources and international positioning. A centralised and neutral infrastructure that represents the interests of all research partners and formulates binding participation, rights and obligations for participants based on a sustainable set of rules is required for long-term anchoring, professional implementation of networking activities and ensuring comprehensive services.
GOALS
Establishment of a neutral infrastructure with internal and external development resources
Establishment of an association that promotes the objectives of the Cluster Research Data (CRD) on a professional level, bundles services and project results and thus coordinates the concerns of the entire national research landscape and formulates binding participation, rights and obligations of the participants based on a sustainable set of rules.
ARI&Snet enables:
- Reduction of operational risk at universities
- Pooled human resources
- Shared, secure, state-of-the-art infrastructure
- Sustainable operating models
- Agile development opportunities in a dynamic research environment
- Networking & cooperation
Connection to RIS Synergy:
- Utilisation of the RIS Synergy “Neutral Zone”
- State-of-the-art cloud application platform for the operation and further development of RIS Synergy applications and shared services
- Development and operation of a (managed) cloud infrastructure for container-based application operation
- Centralised identity and access management (human and machine)
- Initial benefit: Input tool, organisational charts, registry RIS network, forschungsdaten.at, documentation, catalogues, authentication and rights management, pilot ARI&Snet
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
WP Project Management (PM)
Professional PM from project start to final documentation:
(1) Coordination & management of the ARI&Snet project.
(2) Planning & realisation of the required milestones as well as creation and monitoring of the schedule and results.
(3) Ensuring and transparent presentation of project finances and performance.
WP Operations & Governance
The foundation of the association and the establishment of a set of rules that regulates and sustainably expands the rights, duties and tasks of the association is the first priority.
(1) Governance
(2) Operations
(3) Knowledge Transfer
(4) EOSC Mission
WP Innovation Centre
(1) Organisation and coordination of training and know-how transfer / peer-to-peer knowledge transfer
(2) Joint purchasing and coordination of external development resources
(3) Structured support for the transfer of pilot projects to regular application operation
Pilot project “ARIVO – Austrian Research Infrastructure for Controlled Vocabularies and Ontologies”
The “ARIVO” project is being carried out as a pilot project for joint knowledge creation. The results of the pilot project will be integrated into the other ARI&Snet services.
WP Public Relations
The acceptance of a new ARI&Snet infrastructure is linked to the services available through it, trust in the structure and public visibility. To achieve this, it is necessary to disseminate successes in a targeted manner, communicate competences and opportunities and actively use networks:
(1) Development of a communication concept (website, social media, etc.)
(2) Consistent corporate design
(3) Realisation of awareness campaigns, dissemination of project results
(4) Stakeholder management
(5) Establishment of an ARI&Snet seal of approval
WP Shared Services Marketplace
(1) Development and operation of a national shared services marketplace for researchers, research services, etc.
(2) Roll-out of the first services of the Research Data Cluster
(3) Gradual expansion and inclusion of further services
(4) Development of billing models and evaluation of further financing options