With the looming financial impacts of international student caps, universities and Australia’s research workforce will be looking for ways to do more with less.
This is something that Australia excels at.
We’re home to 0.3% of the world’s population, but we’re responsible for 4% of global research – at a higher quality than other countries with similar population size – and we achieve this with significantly lower expenditure than other OECD countries.
One reason for this is a focus on efficiency – getting the most bang for our buck – and this is where NCRIS has a significant impact.
Australia’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) ensures the best coverage for Australia by strategically investing in cutting-edge infrastructure across the country, reducing duplication and reducing capital and operational costs. In the new financial climate, universities may reduce their own costs by encouraging staff to take advantage of these national resources.
NCRIS funds a network of 28 RI Providers that covers everything from telescopes to microscopes, supercomputers to ion accelerators, data collections to software platforms, and these are just the start. Their applications are valuable across a broad range of research fields from archaeology to astrophysics, medicine to climate science, indigenous studies to quantum computing. The research infrastructure (RI) is open to anyone – academics, industry, government and the general public – and staffed by resident experts to ensure it is always ready and in top condition.
The capabilities available through the NCRIS network are vast. The new Research Infrastructure Connected (RIC) service helps you to find the tools and data you need as well as the experts who can train and advise you on how to get the most out of these resources.
To help you find the RI that can address your research challenges, the RIC website includes an advanced search page to find relevant case studies and NCRIS Providers. Results can be filtered by sector of application, infrastructure type and user type. If you’re not sure where to begin or can’t find what you’re looking for, you can discuss your project with RIC staff and they will connect you with the Providers who can help.
As universities and research groups start to feel the pressure, they may be reaching out to RIC and NCRIS to find more cost-effective options for accessing the tools they need to continue their purpose in society as centres of new knowledge and understanding through research, learning and teaching.
Anita Gibson is RIC Project Manager with the Australian National Fabrication Facility.
