Every five years, the Australian Government consolidates and renews its policy approach to national research infrastructure investment by engaging the research community in the development of a strategic roadmap. In 2021, it was decided that all consultations should take place online, pre-empting issues with pandemic-related restrictions and border closures.

 

The Friday Collective worked with the Department of Education, Skills and Employment to engage stakeholders across a range of formats including surveys, panel discussions and online brainstorms, centred around a central hub (2021nriroadmap.dese.gov.au). A feature of the consultations was the delivery of the 2021 National Research Infrastructure Survey, with 90,000+ open-ended responses coded and categorised with AI support.

 

Insights collected through the consultations informed the development of the policy document that will guide the Research Infrastructure Plans of 2022 and 2024.