Abstract

In early 2019, Korea passed the law that introduced data management plan policy similar to those adopted by national funding agencies in other countries. In anticipation of developing research data infrastructure and support services, this study analyzed Australia’s relevant policies and policy instruments. A number of face-to-face interviews with the experts at the national funding agency, a national research data agency and a number of research libraries, along with focused literature analysis. In Australia, the 2015 Public Data Policy is applied to research data from publicly funded research. Research data management and sharing is recommended but not required by the national funding agency it its policy documents. Australian National Data Service(ANDS), Australia’s national research data agency, is an important component of the national research infrastructure. ANDS plays a wide range of roles including research data platform development, education and training, policy support, and funding agency for small-scale R&D. Some of the Australian research libraries have developed in-house systems for research data storage and publishing. However, there is no significant demand for research data service as yet. Lessons learned include the following: ensuring transparency and predictability of research data policies, establishing a dedicated agency responsible for research data platform development and training, and cultivating data capabilities at research libraries.