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Strategic Directions for Australia's Research Information Infrastructure

by
Neil McLean
Macquarie University, Sydney
Email:mclean@library.mq.edu.au

Introduction

This paper contains a summary of the main themes from the presentations and opinions arising out of a Project Workshop entitled: Australia's Information Future: Innovation and Knowledge Management for the 21st Century, which was held at the Australian National University, Canberra on 3-4 March 1999.

It also identifies a number of areas where strategic direction is required, together with a potential framework for action. The broad thrust of the proposals presented in this paper was subsequently endorsed by the membership of the Workshop, subject to formal approval by the Department of Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DETYA), the Australian Research Council (ARC) and the Australian Vice Chancellors' Committee (AVCC).

The Project Workshop

The Project Workshop was sponsored by nine universities with a strong interest in research, together with the CSIRO. In the latter half of 1998, Colin Steele, the University Librarian at the Australian National University, canvassed opinion at various levels within the university research community, within CSIRO and with the primary funding agencies DETYA and the ARC, concerning the impending crisis facing Australia in terms of library and information support for research.

The main symptoms of this perceived crisis are:

all the main players in the research enterprise including, researchers, librarians, university managers, publishers and database producers, feel variously threatened by the implications of moving from the print regime to an electronic networked service environment
the competition for scarce economic resources has become fierce at the institutional level and in terms of competing for research grants
the costs of maintaining information infrastructure, particularly journals, are escalating of an alarming rate
libraries, being the main providers of access to information and knowledge, are under particular pressure as they try to maintain both traditional print-based services and a plethora of new electronic information services
there is no consensus at the national or international level on how best to deal with the perceived crisis.

Underlying all the unease and uncertainty are some serious issues which need to be addressed by all parties involved in creating and supporting the research information infrastructure. These issues can be characterised in the following manner:

Australia's information future appears to be increasingly at risk because of market forces associated with the globalisation of information infrastructure
the present problems facing academic research libraries epitomise the risks associated with having to compete in a world where information is now regarded as a highly tradeable commodity
there appears to be strong links between the ability of the Australian research enterprise to succeed in a competitive global environment and the strength of the scholarly information infrastructure being provided through libraries and through electronic information networks
an acknowledgement that there are inextricable links between the development of information infrastructure and the technological infrastructure needed to support information exchange in a global networked environment
Government agencies which can offer assistance, such as DETYA, the ARC and the universities' own agency, the AVCC, are frequently at a loss as to how to help because of the lack of any coherent strategic framework covering libraries and related information infrastructure
the capacity to address the complex links between the research enterprise and its associated information infrastructure is constrained by the lack of appropriate forums to discuss the issues involved.

Having articulated the concerns in these terms, it seemed appropriate to sponsor a Project Workshop with widespread representation from those institutions and agencies which support the research enterprise in Australia. The principal aims of the Workshop can be summarised in the following form:

to reach agreement on the scope and nature of the problems associated with the development of research information infrastructure
to agree an action plan which can be promoted and supported by appropriate government agencies and by the research community

The Workshop was sponsored by the Australian National University, Macquarie University, Monash University, the University of Adelaide, the University of Melbourne, the University of New South Wales, the University of Sydney, the University of Queensland and the University of Western Australia, together with the CSIRO.

Financial assistance was also made available from DETYA, who strongly supported the rationale for the Workshop.

The actual program was arranged under four main themes: overseas experiences, the extent of the scholarly information crisis in Australia, the creation and management of scholarly information and knowledge, and the research information needs within the various discipline areas.

There were many distinguished presentations and the details of the actual program are contained in Appendix 1 of this paper.

Restructuring of the Scholarly Publishing Information Industry

In listening to the wide range of papers delivered at the Workshop, it was impossible to escape the conclusion that the scholarly publishing information industry, and perhaps the research enterprise itself, is going through the classic phases of an industry being restructured primarily driven by the irresistible forces of information technology. Irrespective of the industry involved, there are a number recognisable symptoms which accompany this often painful and protracted restructuring process, namely:

the economic forces are global in nature and, therefore, often lead to a feeling of impotence at the national or regional level
every part of the supply and demand chain becomes destabilised
old and new economic models are maintained for a protracted period, thus militating against a smooth transition to new operating environments
the concept of value-adding becomes blurred and the threat of disintermediation (as described by Professor Ron Johnston)(1)becomes a threat to all members of the value-adding chain
traditional trading relationships become strained and the tendency to blame others becomes a "way-of-life"
government agencies come under increasing pressure to "save" the industry by protectionist measures, or through increased subsidy
repositioning becomes a key to success and this is often dependent on finding new ways of doing business
successful restructuring is ultimately dependent on two fundamental concepts, transformation and sustainability.

It may come as a somewhat unwelcome surprise to many in the academic research community and to many librarians to find their professional endeavours being characterised as an "industry" with all the inherent economic and market assumptions accompanying that term. As Ron Johnston(1)pointed out, there are inevitable tensions in the university community in terms of accommodating the assumptions underpinning the emergence of a knowledge-based economy. The twin pillars of academic freedom and the public good, which are integral to the academic research enterprise, often appear to be in conflict with the apparent economic rationalism which informs much of the debate on the global knowledge economy. These same tensions are readily evident in academic libraries and they lead to difficulties in terms of policy formulation and in terms of responding to the market forces of the scholarly publishing industry.

Research Information Infrastructure

For the time being, libraries remain the principal providers of information infrastructure to the research community. They face a complex array of problems, which are increasingly impossible to resolve without help from the research community itself. In other words, partnership between librarians and researchers will be an essential element in the struggle for survival. It is, however, all too easy to generalise about the nature of the problems facing libraries and, as illustrated by the responses from the various research user communities represented at the Workshop, there are diverse, and sometimes conflicting, demands being made by the respective discipline areas. (2)

It is understandable that most attention has been devoted to the science and technology discipline areas in recent years, because these areas are highly dependent on the scholarly journal publishing industry, which is undergoing profound changes through the impact of information technology. It is also true that the proportion of library material budgets being absorbed by journals in the science and technology areas is still increasing at an alarming rate, which explains why this problem is now regarded as critical in the world-wide scientific research community. This particular part of the scholarly information industry is in a relatively advanced stage of restructuring, however, libraries are faced with supporting the old and new service paradigms with, as yet, no visible reduction in costs.

At the other end of the service spectrum, the humanities and social sciences have equally demanding, but different, requirements. There is a far greater reliance on monograph material and on primary sources of knowledge deeply embedded in cultural heritages. The solutions, therefore, to effective provision and support for research in these "soft" discipline areas are much more diverse and, in many respects, much more difficult to resolve than those in the science and technology areas. In their own way, the humanities and social science areas are becoming heavily reliant on technology to solve their information problems, however, unlike the science and technology disciplines, the solutions are very often aimed at providing better access management mechanisms for print materials, or at digitising key primary source materials.

Having identified these fundamental differences at the discipline level, there are a series of underlying tensions which need to be addressed in terms of reshaping the information infrastructure. These issues can be summarised in the following form:

an emerging difference between the needs of high level senior researchers, who very often communicate within small groups via electronic means, and the mass of postgraduate researchers who require a much more "harnessed" view of the research literature output, in order to sustain their lines of enquiry
a continuing tension between the acquisition and maintenance of print and electronic resources which, in the case of journals, often relates to the same body of information
a lack of resolution to the now well known struggle between the two management concepts of "ownership" and "access"
genuine difficulties in understanding and creating access management mechanisms, or resource discovery tools, to cover "known" items as against those necessary to cover "unknown" items
the service tension, which has arisen primarily in the electronic environment, where convenience has become the paramount requirement at the expense of quality
the conflict between the political and economic necessity to compete within the university sector and yet collaborate in terms of common information infrastructure
the challenges inherent in understanding the inextricable links between information infrastructure and the technological infrastructure required to support information exchange.

This brief summary suggests a highly differentiated and highly volatile service sector requiring very careful segmentation of customer groups and requiring concerted national and international effort in terms of building cost effective and affordable information infrastructure.

Economics of Scholarly Information

It is readily apparent that the economic models underpinning the scholarly information industry are under stress, this being one of the primary symptoms of an industry undergoing restructuring. Most of the recent analysis has been focussed on the costing and pricing issues associated with science and technology journals which have increased in price by approximately 10% per annum for the last decade, or so.

Philip Kent(3)presented an excellent summary at the Workshop, based on a recent paper presented to the Australasian Online and On Disc Conference in Sydney in January, and it is a useful addition to the current debate.

Central to this debate are the following points:

the science/technology journal market is dominated by high fixed costs and relatively low marginal costs
the market is increasingly dominated by a few very large commercial players
price does not seem to be the primary determining factor in the market
value is the most important differentiator in determining price, however, it remains a somewhat obscure concept because of the lack of in-depth economic analysis of the market
libraries are the principal market for the journals and this in itself may be a problem, because it shields the academic researchers, the main creators and consumers of the information, from the economic realities of the market
although the ability of libraries to pay for these journals has diminished steadily, this has had no apparent impact on the number of journals being published
the introduction of parallel print and electronic versions of the same journal has not helped resolve the problems of cost to libraries, who find themselves having to pay more, not less, for the information
the research community finds it ironic that they are buying back at a premium, information and knowledge which they created in the first place
there are still strong links between promotion procedures in universities and the number of publications produced
the desire to publish in prestigious journals may well be the chief determinant of value, hence the often exorbitant pricing structures
the so-called "electronic" journals are growing in number, however, in most cases they are not a substitute for conventional commercially produced journals
libraries and the research community are struggling to find new models for cost apportionment at the institutional level.

At the heart of this economic problem is the trade of intellectual property, being in this context, scholarly information and knowledge. Peter Lyman(4), at the Australasian Online and On Disc Conference in Sydney, pointed out with considerable insight the importance of intellectual property as a market force in the knowledge economy. He identified three categories of intellectual property, namely:

Copyright: Libraries (individually or collectively) are creating digital collections on the Internet É Copyright is retained for the added value that has been created and educational use is permitted, subsidised by library budgets or paid by subscriptions
Gift exchange: the World Wide Web allows authors to place their own intellectual property directly into a new global public domain...
Contract: Publishers are creating an e-commerce library, online fee-for-service information on the private part of the Net.

The intellectual output of the research community is intimately related to all three categories of intellectual property, as depicted by Lyman, and this in itself leads to considerable confusion, both in marketing terms and in terms of revising the legal and regulatory framework relating to the trade of scholarly information.

It is probably too early to resolve these complex issues, because there needs to be a fundamental rethink of the ways in which intellectual property is to be traded in the electronic environment. This, of course, implies a rethink of the way university research communities do business and this is unlikely to be addressed, or resolved, very quickly. As Ron Johnston(1)pointed out, universities, perhaps surprisingly, have been slow to adopt the tenets of the knowledge economy, which place a premium on the ability to find new ways of creating effective information and knowledge exchange.

Given the complexity of the current debate on the economics of scholarly information, it is easy to lose sight of the most fundamental requirement: to provide cost-effective access to information and knowledge to support the research enterprise.

A Framework for Action

As a result of this analysis, it is possible to identify a number of strategic areas where the research community, in concert with relevant government agencies, can take positive action.

The five areas identified can be summarised as follows:

trade in intellectual property
tactical responses to existing market forces
innovation as a change agent
efficiencies in the library network
fitness to compete:

technological infrastructure
networked information and knowledge content
transformation of organisations, professions and individuals.

This may seem an ambitious agenda for action and success in responding to the challenges inherent in each of these areas will depend on the ability to articulate clear action plans, to seek ownership of strategies within the research community and to satisfy funding agencies that they will get value for money in terms of projected outcomes.

Overseas Initiatives

One of the basic strategic assumptions underlying the organisation of this Project Workshop was that Australia should learn and leverage off developments overseas, particularly in the UK, the US, and Canada. Hence the importance of the papers presented at the Workshop by Professor Bahram Bekhradnia(5)and Professor Michael Anderson(6)on the UK experiences and Ken Frazier's presentation(7)on scholarly information issues in the US. It is important to look, also, at initiatives being undertaken in Canada through the Canada Foundation for Innovation and in Europe through the European Commission.

These international developments can be briefly summarised as follows:

(1) United Kingdom

The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) runs, or oversees, a number of programmes aimed at furthering the development and exploitation of communications and information technologies for the benefit of the UK higher education and research communities.

The current programmes are:

the Electronic Libraries Programme - eLib

the JISC Technology Applications Programme - JTAP

Information Strategies

Non-Formula Funding of Specialized Research Collections in the Humanities

the Pilot Site Licensing Initiative

development of Networked Efficiency Mechanisms

(2) United States

The US scholarly information market is much more diffuse and, because of its sheer size, lacks any visible central direction.

The Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) represents an interesting attempt by an influential group of libraries to increase competition in scholarly publishing.

It was launched with support from member of the Association of Research Libraries (ARL). SPARC creates partnerships with publishers who are developing high-quality, economical alternatives to existing high-price publications.

By partnering with publishers, SPARC aims to:

create a more competitive marketplace where the cost of journal acquisition and use is reduced, and publishers who are responsible to customer needs are rewarded

ensure fair use of electronic resources, while strengthening the proprietary rights and privileges of authorship

apply technology to improve the process of scholarly communication and to reduce the costs of production and distribution

At a much broader level the Coalition of Networked Information (CNI) is an organisation "to advance the transformative promise of networked information technology for the advancement of scholarly communication and the enrichment of intellectual productivity."

The Coalition was founded in 1990 by the ARL, CAUSE and Educom. It is supported by a taskforce of about 200 fee-paying member institutions representing higher education, publishing, network and telecommunications, information technology, and libraries and library organisations. In essence, it is a facilitating agent working at a relatively high level of strategic development.

(3) Canada

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) is an independent not-for-profit corporation established in 1997 with an $800 million grant from Government of Canada, which aims:

to support economic growth and job creation as well as health and environmental quality through innovation

to increase Canada's capability to carry out important world class scientific research and technology development

to expand research and job opportunities for Canadians

to promote productive networks and collaboration among Canadian post-secondary educational institutions, research, hospitals and the private sector

to promote national objectives in a regionally sensitive way.

The Foundation has funded infrastructure projects to the sum of $66 million (Canadian), representing 345 awards in 43 universities and research institutions. CFI provides 40% of funding and the public/private sector 60%.

(4) European Commission, Fifth Framework Programme

There is an extensive series of programmes relating to information and technological infrastructure within the European Commission with the most relevant being:

First Action, Second Specific Programme: creating a user friendly information society, 1999-2002 inclusive

Key actions with this programme are:

systems and services for citizens

new methods of work and electronic commerce

multimedia content.

Conclusions from Overseas Experience

Whilst much closer analysis is required of the programs and initiatives being undertaken in these countries, some tentative conclusions can be drawn in terms of formulating appropriate strategic responses in Australia. These conclusions can be summarised in the following form:

none of the overseas models necessarily fit the Australian service and organisational contexts
the common key to success seems to be the presence of a coherent high level strategic framework which informs those funding the programs and which provides a unifying force for practitioners trying to realign their services
most programs contain a mixture of research and development
there is general acknowledgement that some form of "top-slicing" is necessary because the sheer size of the problems is beyond the capacity of individual institutions, even acting in concert, to tackle effectively
programs require ownership across the entire constituencies to whom they are directed
there is general acknowledgement that many of the infrastructure development programs need international collaboration to ensure success, however, mechanisms to achieve this objective are relatively weak
private sector involvement is highly desirable, both as a potential source of funding and because such involvement is essential to resolve market related issues
strategic partnerships are a key element in dealing with the complex responses necessary to develop information and technological infrastructure.

The Way Forward

There appears to be a growing consensus between the research community, librarians, DETYA, the ARC and the AVCC that the problems outlined in this paper need to be addressed. The emerging consensus is based on the following factors:

Australian research may well be at risk, in terms of being globally competitive, unless there is a concerted response to develop sustainable information infrastructure
too little information exists on a range of issues requiring strategic responses
funding agencies dispense a considerable amount of money for projects without having sufficient strategic context for judging the relative merits of applications
a great deal of time is wasted through the repetition of investigative work in various committees
many of the technical infrastructure issues require inter-departmental government support
guidance is necessary on which areas can be addressed at a national (or even regional basis) and those which require international collaboration.

Of primary importance, is the development of a high level strategic framework which can act as a guide to policy makers and funding agencies concerned with the information infrastructure supporting the Australian research community. This framework needs to be developed with some urgency, given the serious nature of the problems facing the research community. This probably precludes a UK Follett-type report(8)which generally requires a long period of gestation and consultation. Moreover, it is readily apparent from the Project Workshop, that there is already a great deal to be learnt from our overseas colleagues in term of developing such a strategic framework and there appears to be sufficient good will between all the parties involved to seek a quick resolution to this lack of strategic direction.

Proposed Outcomes

Bearing in mind the sense of urgency and the strong indications of political goodwill, it would seem an opportune time to develop a draft high level strategic directions paper which would then be subject to extensive consultation within the research and library communities, prior to being adopted by DETYA, the ARC and the AVCC.

This strategic planning exercise should take as its terms of reference the action areas already outlined in this paper, namely:

intellectual property matters relating to the trade of scholarly research information and knowledge
innovative means of changing the present processes associated with creating, publishing disseminating and preserving research information and knowledge
tactical responses to existing market forces
mechanisms for increasing efficiency within, and between, libraries and information networks
fitness to compete through:

developing technological infrastructure
creating and distributing networked information content
transforming organisations, professional practices and individuals.

The principles informing the development of this strategic framework should include:

rigorous attention to information gathering processes to overcome present deficiencies and to allow a more business-like assessment by funding agencies
close attention to best practice in the international arena
strategic outcomes which are consistent with the aims and objectives of the Commonwealth Government's Strategic Framework for the Information Economy(9)
widespread consultation to ensure ownership.

Conclusion

The aim of the Project Workshop was to act as a catalyst for developing a high level strategic planning process, which would embrace a broad spectrum of existing initiatives relating to Australia's research information and technological infrastructure.

Those involved in sponsoring and organising the Workshop have every reason to feel confident that the comprehensive exchange of views, which occurred over the two days, will provide the impetus to address many of the challenges facing the information needs of the Australian research community.

References

Johnston, Ron, Information as a national asset: measuring the value of information capital (Workshop presentation).
The papers by Professor Faye Gayle (Social Sciences), Professor Brian Anderson (Sciences) and Professor Malcolm Gillies (Humanities) were most illuminating in highlighting the different information needs of the broad discipline areas.
Kent, Philip Pricing and paying in the electronic information environment. Australasian Information Online and On Disc 99.
http://www.csu.edu.au/special/online99/proceedings99/pricing-kent.htm
Lyman, Peter, The social functions of digital libraries: designing information resources for virtual communities. Australasian Information Online and On Disc 99.
http://www.csu.edu.au/special/online99/proceedings99/300b.htm
Bekhradnia, Bahram, The scholarly information crisis in the UK: the Follet Report and beyond. (Workshop presentation)
Anderson, Michael, The UK Funding Councils Research Support Libraries Programme (Anderson Committee). (Workshop presentation)
Frazier, Ken, Scholarly information issues in North America: the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC). (Workshop presentation)
Joint Funding Councils' Libraries Review Group. Report, December, 1993. [Chaired by Sir Brian Follett]. Bristol: Higher Education Funding Council for England, 1993.
A Strategic Framework for the Information Economy: identifying priorities for action. Commonwealth of Australia, December 1998.

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