Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities Phase One

Chief Investigators

Project Lead: Professor Marcia Langton AO (Indigenous Studies Unit, University of Melbourne)
Dr Kristen Smith (Indigenous Studies Unit, University of Melbourne)
Dr Vanessa Russ (University of Melbourne)
Professor Aaron Corn (Indigenous Knowledge Institute, University of Melbourne)
Mr Sam Provost (Australian National University)
Dr Kalinda Griffiths (IDN/University of New South Wales)
Kate Thomann (AIATSIS)
Anthony McLaughlin (AIATSIS)
Tamsin Porter (AIATSIS)
Isaac Torres (Kimberley Aboriginal Health Research Alliance)
Dr Steven McEachern (Australian National University)
Stephanie von Gavel (CSIRO)
Cas Price (CSIRO)
A/Prof Rachel Ankeny (University of Adelaide)
Professor Kerrie Mengerson (Queensland University of Technology)
Professor Matt Bellgard (Queensland University of Technology)
Becki Cook (Queensland University of Technology)

ARDC Indigenous Interns hosted by the IDN

Lisa Rigney and Liam Jensen

Lead Organisation

Indigenous Data Network, Indigenous Studies Unit, Onemda, University of Melbourne.

Project Partners and Collaborators

Australian National University
Australian Research Data Commons
University of Queensland
Queensland University of Technology
Griffith University
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
Empowered Communities

Project Description

The IDN IIRC project is a groundbreaking and internationally leading initiative that is transforming the landscape of Indigenous research data governance and infrastructure. Led by the Indigenous Data Network (IDN) at the University of Melbourne, the project developed the foundations of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Data Commons that integrates Indigenous knowledge systems with cutting-edge data science.

This initiative was pioneering in its approach to Indigenous Data Governance (IDG), setting new standards both nationally and globally. It developed culturally appropriate frameworks, tools, and catalogues—including spatial data, vocabularies, and FAIR/CARE scoring systems—that empower Indigenous communities to control and benefit from their data. The project also fostered strong international partnerships, ensuring that Indigenous perspectives are embedded in global data governance conversations. The project work included three streams of activities, building:

• Social architecture: empowering Indigenous data governance and sovereignty
• Technical architecture: building the foundations for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Data Commons
• Core national Indigenous data assets: building an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander spatio-temporal framework

Project outputs included:

Improving Indigenous Research Capabilities is a co-investment partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons (DOI: 10.3565/pr3g-s109). The ARDC is enabled by the Australian Government’s National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).