Monday, 22 October 2018
Austroads has published a report proposing a knowledge sharing framework for the Austroads Data Standard including the development of a proof of concept for data collection and analysis.
Data can be the greatest asset that an organisation holds, but data simply held in a system has no value. It is through use that data becomes valuable in providing insights to support decisions and potentially gain competitive or operating advantage. Data must be available and trusted in order to build value across an organisation.
In road asset management data is often siloed, of poor quality, held in varied, disparate systems and collected intermittently. As a result, the value of data is not well understood or leveraged to support decisions and forward planning around road maintenance.
The Austroads Data Standard project is aiming to harmonise a prioritised set of data so that useful comparison can be made in a standardised environment.
The report proposes the development of a knowledge sharing platform and includes an exploration and costing of recommended technical components. The report also provides further definition around the outcomes and benefits outlined to support the Data Standard, and of knowledge sharing more generally.
Reducing the risk of duplication and seeking opportunities for reuse has been a key focus of this work. The identified opportunities are not an exhaustive list and there must be an ongoing commitment to expanding understanding across agencies to maximise reuse.
This is also important for the forthcoming work to be undertaken by the future National Data Commissioner and National Data Advisory Council, appointed in response to the Productivity Commission Data Availability and Use Inquiry.
Report link: Austroads Data Standard: Knowledge Sharing Framework