New innovative platform to transform access to Victorian R&D facilities
The Victorian Coalition Government has provided $1.3 million for a new initiative that brings together Victorian research and development (R&D) facilities in a single web-based access point for Victoria’s biotechnology industry and academic researchers.
Minister for Technology Gordon Rich-Phillips said the Australian Research Infrastructure Network (ARIN) software system would link research facilities across institutions in a virtual network and enable access by both research and industrial scientists through a single website.
Mr Rich-Phillips said ARIN was a collaboration between government and researchers that would deliver widespread benefits for industry through the convergence of information and communication technology and biotechnology.
“This new network will enable specialist research services to be shared more widely and accessed more easily,” Mr Rich-Phillips said.
“It will position Victoria as a global leader in research, boosting productivity and efficiency.”
The Coalition Government is working with Monash University, Bio21 Cluster, the Victorian Platform Technologies Network, key Victorian organisations and academic and industry end-users to connect R&D facilities.
Monash University Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Research Infrastructure) Professor Ian Smith said the ARIN initiative would boost the utilisation of Victorian research infrastructure by academic and industry researchers.
“By making our world-class infrastructure more visible and easier to access, we’ll boost usage, particularly by industry. That means more quality research being undertaken in Victoria,” Professor Smith said.
CEO of the Bio21 Cluster Associate Professor Jan Tennent said that one of ARIN’s strengths is that it will be highly customisable, so it will cater to the diverse range of world-class research platforms in Victoria.
“In addition to streamlining researcher access to facilities located across the State, ARIN will enable reporting on the utilisation of research infrastructure to support strategic and investment planning,” Professor Tennent said.
ARIN will improve productivity in terms of supply and demand, providing capability for facility managers to better manage user access, work flows and invoicing, and provide a simple point of access for industry.
ARIN will deliver greater cost recovery for facilities – through actual-use monitoring and real time analysis of demand for instruments and services allowing for identification of capacity restraints and more informed decisions on procurement and services.
The Coalition Government has committed around $1.3 million to support implementation of the $2.7 million project.
