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FAIR and Open NTRO Framework

 

Pre-production

 

Research lifecycle stage: Plan 

The plan phase lists broader and general considerations in support of FAIR and Open NTROs, along with some early decisions around key issues that should be part of thinking about NTROs from the outset.. 

Focus areas:  

FAIR, CARE and Open | Library services | Diversity of NTROs | institutional policies, guidance and coordination | Recognition | IP and copyright | Sensitive material | Research management plans | Storage

Focus areas are presented under maturity levels (described below) within categories of 'aims', 'advocacy/enablement', and 'tiered services'. The Framework's advice for focus areas is presented in maturity brackets, but the advice within each maturity-level bracket is not necessarily interdependent, e.g. the 'tiered services' for an advanced-level bracket will sometimes not be a reflection of that bracket's 'aims', and instead be a very mature service stemming from an introductory-level 'aim'.

Pre-Production Maturity Levels

Maturity levels:

 

An introductory-level institution supports NTROs in the pre-production phase by providing definitions for types of research outputs and acknowledges NTROs as a type of publication in their existing research support services and materials.

  • Resources - Guides provide a description for research output types that delineates between traditional research outputs and NTROs. Self-help materials for copyright considerations for creating NTROs should be available.
  • Services - NTROs should be understood as a research output type for Copyright, repository submission, and strategic publication/research support advice services. Events surrounding the promotion of open research (such as International Open Access Week) should include basic advice and/or encouragement on making all research output types open.
  • Specialist Staff / Committees - Copyright Officers should be available for consultancy on NTROs.
  • Policy / Procedure - NTROs should have a place in sensitive materials advice from the university, inclusive of cultural practice/collaboration/sourcing/creation planning relating to traditional knowledge. University ethics review procedures should have coverage on NTROs as a type of research product and provide advice that covers NTROs as a format.
 

Intermediate level support would provide specialist advisory services ( both consultation and research skills classes) for research planning. Intermediate support doesn't just include mentions of NTROs in existing sessions and materials, but includes standalone resources and sessions for NTROs.

  • Resources - Guides provide dedicated self-help resources for considerations in generating NTROs, including licensing; presentation of sensitive content; and collaborative, commercial, and/or cultural agreements that may apply to them.
  • Services - Library and Research Office services offer training and consultancy sessions where the primary focus is on NTROs.
  • Specialist Staff  / Committee - Copyright Officers and institutional repository librarians are trained and knowledgeable in NTROs, including copyright and licensing considerations, and the methods/checklists for necessary inclusions/supporting materials that should be included in project planning.
  • Policy / Procedure - Repository collection statements, authorship policies, research integrity, ethics review, research data management planning, and other publication-related policies and procedures should mention guidance for NTROs as separate from traditional research outputs.
 

Advanced level support would provide resources specific to the types of NTROs, rather than NTROs in general. They would establish specialist roles with remits dedicated to supporting NTROs. Most importantly, they would establish committees and/or connect researchers to specialist advice groups in support of NTRO creation and cultural considerations, especially for Traditional Knowledge matters.

  • Resources - Guides and self-help materials are specific to sub-types of NTROs.
  • Services - Librarians or other research support / professional services requests are available specifically for NTRO planning.
  • Specialist Staff  / Committee - Librarian roles with a primary remit for NTROs and/or advisory committees (adjacent to or within Ethics Review) process are established to review and offer advice/provisioning for projects generating NTROs. Advisory committee/s are connected to or empowered to provide cultural advice from Traditional Knowledge experts.
  • Policy / Procedure - Publication-related and research integrity-related policies and procedures document guidance for NTRO sub-types, not just NTROs in general.
 

FAIR, CARE and Open

FAIR, CARE and Open:

 

Referring to the expansion of Open Access and Open Research themes into the FAIR data principles and the CARE principles for Indigenous Data Governance. This focus area's foundations can be viewed from the following sources: FAIR data principles, CARE data principles, and Open Access.

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Outline for researcher clear path to “open” for NTROs.
  • Raise awareness of funder mandates with regard to Open issues.
  • Participate in FAIR and Open national and international communities to keep up-to-date with practices, development, promotion toward NTROs, sharing knowledge within the library.
  • Recognition that application of FAIR and Open is sometimes complicated by issues of re-usability and interoperability, layers of IP etc.
  • Self service: Broaden out usage of FAIR to include NTROs in research guides, videos etc.
  • Self service: Library services in support of open NTROs made explicit in open section of library website (eg. copyright, publishing, access, licensing, preservation).
  • Self service: Guidance on the path to open that includes negotiation of key issues, eg copyright, ethics, indigenous knowledge.
  • Research support: Promotional activities and training sessions eg International Open Access Week to include NTROs.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Establish FAIR and CARE publication support services for NTROs.
  • Equip researchers with the knowledge and tools to think about FAIR and the CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance at the beginning of the research.
  • Capture appropriate project and participant information, especially knowledge contributions etc.
  • Specialist assistance: Advice on included files, references, materials, and methodology/tools metadata for assisting in use/reuse of NTROs by citing research.
  • Specialist assistance: Advice and guides on use, permissions, and licensing for NTROs that include 3rd party materials and/or shared ownership.
  • Specialist assistance: Advice on licensing for NTROs that aren’t covered well by the Creative Commons Framework (software, creative works).
  • Self Service: Guides, website, presentation and training materials incorporate FAIR and open NTRO examples and benefits.
  • Research support: Education, promotion, outreach on FAIR and Open as applied to NTROs for all researchers, including onboarding activities, research committees.
 

Library Services

Library Services:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Raise awareness of Library services in support of NTROs.
  • Enlist library outreach and engagement roles in advocacy work in promotion of library services in support of FAIR and Open NTROs.
  • Self service: Library website gives information on Library services for NTROs.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Connect researcher with library services.
  • Engage research managers and research portfolio areas with regard to library support for NTROs.
  • Library staff develop a good understanding of the relevant researchers,disciplines, activities and projects producing NTROS.
  • Research support: Support for researchers, including, onboarding for new researchers, includes library services for NTROs through the research lifecycle.
  • Research support: Promote library services among all researchers and library staff and delivery of appropriate training.
  • Specialist assistance: Include focus on NTROs into enquiries and consultation services.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Resource allocation for individual consultation to help researchers determine when and how to apply FAIR and Open (and CARE) and consideration of NTRO-dedicated specialist roles.
 

Diversity of NTROs

Diversity of NTROs:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Support approaches that recognise diversity of NTROs across different disciplines.
  • Training for staff recognises diversity of NTRO forms and formats across different disciplines.
  • Sector engagement with indigenous practitioners around definitions of NTROs.
  • Recognition that for something to be regarded as a NTRO it needs to make a new and substantial contribution to knowledge.
  • Work with the definition of NTROs as determined by your institution.
  • Self service: Refer to a variety of different types of research outputs across the disciplines in guides, repository and library website.
  • Specialist assistance: specialist workshops for particular discipline areas, e.g. HASS.
 

Institutional policies, guidance and coordination

Institutional policies, guidance and coordination:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Library support for and contribution to policy development.
  • Advocate for Creative Commons licensing, open software licensing, FAIR principles etc in relevant institutional policies.
  • Research support: Refer to appropriate areas in support of NTROs.
  • Specialist assistance: Refer researchers to institutional policies and procedures, eg Open Access Policy, Research Data Management Policy, Data Handling Policy, Data Governance Frameworks.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Library advocacy for recognition of NTROs, in development of a range of policies related to Intellectual Property, Authorship, Dissemination of Research, Open scholarship.
  • Forge collaborative relationships with different areas in support of NTROs, eg digital preservation, archives, research office, ethics and IT.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Cross-institutional coordination.
  • Establish NTRO advisory group within your institution with broad representation to enable consultation and engagement with faculties, schools, etc. supporting researchers.
 

Recognition

Recognition:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Enhance recognition of the variety of publication modes.
  • Enhance recognition and support of a range of research outputs.
  • Advocacy for NTROs in all relevant contexts, incl policy and procedures, incentives.
  • Self service: Library website and repository information include NTROs.
  • Self service: Library collection statements specify types of NTROs.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Promotion of Open and FAIR NTROs at university level.
  • Advocacy for inclusion in academic promotion.
  • Contribute to an institutional network of roles that focus on outreach to faculties that produce NTROs, covering areas such as FAIR, CARE, IP and Copyright, metadata, quality and impact.
  • Research support: Incorporate models/examples of good practice in training, workshops and onboarding opportunities, including appropriate citation of NTROs.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Promote and celebrate good practice, eg champions program, creative residence program.
  • Specialist assistance: Collaborate with other university sectors to establish and develop champion programs to promote and celebrate good practice.
 

Sensitive material

Sensitive Material:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Manage material that raises issues of confidentiality, commercialisation, cultural sensitivity and security.
  • Raise awareness and provide practical advice on managing Indigenous knowledge.
  • Upskilling staff in range of issues to do with sensitive material, including Indigenous knowledge issues.
  • Close consultation with Indigenous research leaders and key Indigenous bodies about the handling of indigenous knowledge and NTROs.
  • Self service: Guides and online information make reference to university and external guidelines, policies, sensitive data handling, and resources on Indigenous knowledge (eg AIATSIS, CARE).
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Utilise FAIR and CARE principles negotiate accessibility of sensitive material.
  • Support management of third-party materials.
  • Guidance on the application of CARE and the traditional knowledge (TK) and biocultural (BC) labels.
  • Engage other areas of the university - eg., cyber security team, research integrity, legal, information policy, and ethics areas, research committees, Indigenous units and researchers - on sensitivity issues to discuss management, copyright, authorship, labelling, access, acknowledgement, licensing and Indigenous data sovereignty.
  • Recruit Indigenous library staff and utilise their perspectives in working groups addressing NTRO issues.
  • Self service: Indigenous knowledge given prominence on research webpages.
  • Self service: Develop checklist for appropriate handling of Indigenous knowledge NTROs.
  • Research support: Advice on ownership, management, use, access, and distribution of research results with Indigenous knowledge components is reflected in a written research agreement.
  • Specialist assistance: Refer and connect researchers with institutional experts in sensitive material and Indigenous knowledge.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • In liaison with key Indigenous bodies, plan and implement of cultural protocols in library management of indigenous issues.
 

IP and Copyright

IP and Copyright:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Copyright management.
  • Raise awareness of library and other specialist assistance.
  • Copyright considerations with regard to NTROs.
  • Engage Indigenous knowledge centres and research committees in applying ownership, copyright, authorship, licensing to NTROs.
  • Work with the area with responsibility for copyright.
  • Self service: Planning aspects on managing copyright for NTROs included in copyright guides.
  • Self service: Copyright guides include information on third-party copyright, multiple copyright owners and NTROs.
  • Research support: Sessions on copyright issues, multiple copyright owners, documentation as related to NTROs.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Managing layers of copyright, multiple copyright ownership and competing ownership.
  • Deal with copyright issues resulting from documentation of works.
  • Deal with complications and third-party aspects in making open.
  • Engage other areas of the university - research integrity, legal, information policy - on ownership, copyright, authorship, licensing for NTROs.
  • Self service: Copyright guidance deals with documentation of works, eg photographs of NTROs.
  • Self service: Copyright guidance covers issues from different resource types.
  • Research support: Guides on sharing of copyright and IP with Indigenous communities.
  • Research support: Sessions on managing copyright for NTRO, including maintenance of IP under FAIR.
  • Specialist assistance: Provide advice or referral on managing copyright and IP for NTROs, including copyright clearance.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Manage multiple copyright owners.
  • Specialist assistance: Advice and review of copyright and IP agreements with Indigenous communities.
  • Specialist assistance: Advice and support managing multiple copyright owners.
 

Research Management Plans

Research Management Plans:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Support planning for management of open NTROs.
  • Include NTROs in advocacy on the value of open research outputs.
  • Self service: Promote idea of research output management plans that include planning for open, indigenous knowledge, collection of supporting documentation, digital capture, research statements, persistent identifiers, impact etc. Provide examples and templates. Incorporate into online guidance.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Advocacy and assistance in the establishment of incentives for researchers to make NTROs open such as internal grants, value and metrics for promotion etc.
  • Research support: Sessions on management of NTROs for researchers, and HDRs in particular.
  • Specialist assistance: Assist researchers to ensure sensitive issues reflected in ownership agreements.
 
 

Storage

Storage:

 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Address specific storage needs of NTROs.
  • Management of physical items.
  • Address storage capabilities of institutional repositories to handle NTROs, including issues of file sizes for visual or audio files.
  • Implement tools and methods for storage.
  • Self service: Adequate knowledge and resources available for storage of NTROs in repository or other device.
  • Research support: Repository support for storage.
 

Aims

Advocacy/enablement

Tiered service

  • Ensure adequate file storage is available or options are available for external storage.
  • Storage protocols are in place.
  • Specialist assistance: Advice and guidance on management of items with larger file sizes, including tools and process.
  • Specialist assistance: Digital record for physical items.
 
 

Section heading

Resources

 

Resources and examples

Indigenous knowledge - general information

University of Adelaide Library webpages ‘Indigenous Knowledge - the right way” https://www.adelaide.edu.au/library/library-services/services-for-researchers/indigenous-research

 

Paths to Open

UTAS guide with paths to Open for NTROs https://utas.libguides.com/OpenAccess/NTROs

 

Non-Library

ARDC resource hub material on FAIR

https://ardc.edu.au/resource-hub/?_keyword=FAIR