1. Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure
07/06/2017
Tamsin Burland & Catherine Grout
12/06/2018

2. Who are Jisc?
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

3. Jisc R&D (Jisc Futures)
The goal is
Developing new national shared technology services
Delivered by
Collaborating across the sector
Facilitated by
Jisc as a national body with a technology focus
Using
Jisc’s co-design innovation process
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

4. What is RIM?
Research Information Management: management of information about the research life-cycle and related entities (researchers, grants, students, outputs and impact, esteem)
Uses: management of research processes, reporting (internally and externally), business intelligence and benchmarking; showcasing, strategic planning, performance management.
Stakeholders:
Researchers
Research organisations
Research Funders
Policy makers
System vendors
Publishers
Professional and Umbrella bodies
Academic societies
Data/analytics providers
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

5. What is infrastructure?
The physical (technological) and organisational structures, services and standards that contribute to the functioning of a linked/integrated information system, including
Hardware
Software
Standards / identifiers
Data models
Protocols
RIM Systems: The IT systems that we use to manage RI (including repositories, CRIS, other HEI systems - HR,Finance,CMS)
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

6. Current UK RIM Landscape
Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
>160 research performing organisations (HEIs)
~50 % HEIs have a CRIS (mostly from commercial vendors)
Patchwork of systems provided by funders, publishers, aggregators and other public bodies (UK and overseas)
No shared national awarding or reporting infrastructure
Partial implementation of standards impedes interoperability
Changing environment (mandates, funding, research priorities)
Results: Same information stored in multiple systems, and information about the same people, organisations, research publications and other outputs described differently
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm
12/06/2018

7. Only 49% of UK HEIs use a CRIS, but these manage 91% of publications
UK CRIS market
Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
Only 49% of UK HEIs use a CRIS, but these manage 91% of publications
A similar study hasn’t yet been carried out for research data, but the HEIs producing the articles are likely to also be those that have the most data to manage!
Source credit: Johnson, R (2016) Shaping the future of Jisc OA services – A sector-wide view.
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm
12/06/2018

8. UK CRIS market
Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
Commercial CRIS vendors have 41% of UK HEI market and manage 86% of UK publications
Source credit: Johnson, R (2016) Shaping the future of Jisc OA services – A sector-wide view.
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm
12/06/2018

9. Pure is also used as a data repository in a few UK HEIs
CRIS as a repository
Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
CRIS software (Pure) acts as the institutional repository in 5% of UK HEIs, but for 11% of UK publications
Not only are we seeing the rise in the CRIS, we are also seeing the CRIS software supplanting traditional repository software.
Pure is also used as a data repository in a few UK HEIs
Source credit: Johnson, R (2016) Shaping the future of Jisc OA services – A sector-wide view.
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm
12/06/2018

10. What does Jisc do to support RIM
Jisc supports development and implementation of key standards for interoperability.
Service and infrastructure provision
UK Orcid Consortium
Scholarly communications/OA : RIOXX, Core, IRUS, Sherpa etc.
Standards development
Org ID
Casrai UK Chapter
EU metadata (Horizon 2020/OpenAIRE Guidelines)
COAR vocabularies
Eurocris and Cerif
Research Data – metadata across the RD lifecycle
Building networks and communication
RIM “network” group (Research Funders, HEI’s, Publishers, Vendors, Standards Bodies, European Initiatives and Projects)
RIM Co-ordination Group, RCUK Interoperability Steering Group, HEDIIP and others
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

11. Jisc – Standards Workflow
Research/ requirements
Identify Use case/issue
Consultation
Consensus building
Develop approach
Document
Implement
Jisc MRD programme
Orcid Implementation Group
Jisc-ARMA Orcid Pilot project
UK Orcid Consortium
Further tech/community support
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

12. RCUK-Jisc OSIP Report RCUK, Jisc and ARMA members worked together to
Identify key pain points focussing on RCUK systems and their interaction with HEI systems
Work out where standards could help
Implementation
Spearheaded by team in RCUK
Lead to implementation of Orcid within J-eS
Work developing Organisational Identifiers
Set up of RIM Co-ordination Group with Jisc
Report is online at:
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

13. RIM infrastructure overseas
Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
Uniform – centralised (Eg Norway)
Single centrally maintained CRIS.
Used by all HEIs, research institutes and research hospitals in Norway.
Information added via web interface.
Used locally by institutions to manage their publications
Information used by central ministries for funding alllocation
CRIStin. Centralised system used by all of Norway’s higher education institutions, research hospitals and independent research institutes as a tool for managing their research information internally and for reporting their research publications to government ministries. Information is added via a web interface. Can share metadata with other systems which will allow. interoperability across the research landscape
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm
12/06/2018

14. RIM infrastructure overseas
Uniform – Federated (Eg Greece, Italy, Portugal, Finland)
All Institutions operate their own institutional CRIS based on the same software, using the same standards and data model
Central (government) departments / ministries harvest information and compile a national registry of publications and projects
Maintain a central repository of articles which aids reporting, compliance to OA requirements and enables the aggregation and showcasing of research outputs at the national level.
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

15. RIM infrastructure overseas
Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
Dispersed – (Eg Netherlands, Germany, Australia)
Institutions choose their own research information systems (often commercial, closed systems), or have no system at all
Systems may or may not interoperate with other funders/government systems
High risk of
Patchy RIM landscape
Same information stored in multiple places and/or described differently
Manual re-entry of information
Manual reporting
Poor quality information
Why does this matter
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm
12/06/2018

16. Standards and interoperability facilitate
Why does this matter?
Standards and interoperability facilitate
Tracking and sharing information between systems
De-duplication within systems
Robust aggregation and interrogation of research outputs
Robust statistics and better business intelligence
Transparency and trust in services
Easier compliance and reporting
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

17. The Metric Tide “Indicators can only meet their potential if they are
Title of presentation (Insert > Header & Footer > Notes and Handouts > Header > Apply to all)
“Indicators can only meet their potential if they are
underpinned by an open and interoperable data [information] infrastructure”
The systems used by higher education institutions (HEIs), funders and publishers need to interoperate better, and definitions need to be harmonised. Information about research remains fragmented.
Why bother trying to work in this space.
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm
12/06/2018

18. Science Europe
“decision makers and research organisation managers… increasingly depend on indicators, reports and studies that draw data from research information systems. Powerful analyses can be derived when different datasets are linked. The reliability, reach and comprehensiveness of these analyses is a function of the quality of the underlying data, their mutual compatibility and their interoperability. “
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

19. Stern Review
“Data and metrics are increasingly used by HEIs and funders to manage and assess research. Yet the data infrastructure systems that HEIs depend on are typically not interoperable, research funders’ data collection processes require HEIs and researchers to gather and supply different and often incompatible information, and the data sources themselves are typically not open, standardised or easily combined.”
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

20. A Vision of National Research Information Infrastructure
Where do we go from here?
A Vision of National Research Information Infrastructure
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

21. What does an NRII offer Government-related/ Research funders HEIs
Researchers
Advantages
Scalable, flexible research reporting/ management
Richer and more reliable source of information
Record and analyse research across the research base
Improved quality and reliability of information
Better benchmarking and BI
Simpler submission of reporting and REF return
CRIS for small HEIs
Reduced administration
Improved business intelligence to inform career development
Challenges
Effort to secure mandate
Investment to build the infrastructure
Interface local and central systems
Procedures for data exchange and governance
Potential greater scrutiny from University
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

22. How do we get there?
What do you find it hard to do it at the moment in terms of managing research information?
What do you think needs standardising?
What ideas do you have for making that happen – who needs to be involved?
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

23. Improvements: short, medium, long term
Short term (now)
Medium term
(next steps)
Long term
(NRII vision)
Individual Identifiers
Help researchers sign up to ORCiD
Join the Jisc ORCiD consortium to use the information in your CRIS/repository
Information in ORCiD pushed / pulled into all relevant CRIS, funder and publisher systems
Organisation IDs
Thor work
Grant identifiers / attributions
Promote correct attribution of funder (including funder and grant reference ID) in article acknowledgements
All grant / funders identifiers are added to publication and research data metadata in CRIS / Repositories
Standardised acknowledgements using (globally) unique funder and grant IDs. TDM harvests to all relevant reporting systems
Outputs - DOIs
Assign at acceptance. Use Jisc Router to import metadata into repository/CRIS
DOIs for wider text based outputs, such as book chapters etc.
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

24. Improvements: short, medium, long term
Short term (now)
Medium term
(next steps)
Long term
(NRII vision)
Common Definitions
 CASRAI approach
Data models
Mapping across systems
Agreements
Mandates
Interoperability of vendor systems
Use of open protocols and standards
Research reporting of outputs
Use of Common question
Standard reporting requirements
 Mandated stand
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

25. Thank you Dr Tamsin Burland Tamsin.Burland@jisc.ac.uk Catherine Grout
Digital Futures
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

26. Science Europe core principles
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm

27. CASRAI’s work 1. Combining Data
Strive to make data on publicly-funded research activity publicly available, ensuring that there are no legal, confidentiality, intellectual property or privacy issues.
Promote the adoption of research information systems with the following characteristics:
Economic value-creation for service providers that does not depend on siloing and closing data;
No pay-walling of research activity data, given that dataset combination is a basic requirement to understand the research landscape;
Interoperability based on a common exchange format and open standards for the definitions of the entities (such as researchers, organisations, grants, activities, and outputs) and attributes in the research information domain, and for the identification of these entities with unique and persistent identifiers.
Support efforts to develop infrastructures that enable and facilitate the connection of datasets (including open standards such as CERIF3 and CASRAI4 ), and other policy initiatives that move in a similar direction to what is advocated here.
2. Identifiers and metadata
Funding acknowledgement policies :
A standardised format of preferred acknowledgement text;
An intelligent standard format for grant IDs, and providing a shared database and metadata for these;
Engaging with CrossRef to complete and enrich the Funding data; and
Engaging with publishers to use the CrossRef Open Funder Registry during the article submission process and provide funding information via CrossRef or DataCite metadata.
ORCiD for researcher identification to support interoperability.
Org_IDs
4. Definitions
Provide full documentation on classification systems, including subject definitions and categorisation methodologies, in order to:
HESA definitions
Support comparisons across datasets held by different organisations, for instance in order to compare data on different research disciplines
CASRAI’s work
07/06/2017
Joining the dots: getting the most out of our Research Information Infrastructure #jiscrdm