As we enter National Reconciliation Week with its 2026 theme of ‘All In’ it’s a timely reminder of the responsibility we share in improving how we partner and ultimately ensure Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a voice in how we deliver our research infrastructure programs. The ALA are proud of the work we’ve had underway for many years through our Indigenous Ecological Knowledge program working with Indigenous language groups, which we are continually looking for new ways to expand.
More recently we’ve started working with Indigenous Ranger groups including Martu Rangers to partner around biodiversity monitoring, given the critical role ranger groups play in managing and monitoring biodiversity in remote parts of Australia. I’m personally looking forward to our next ALA Advisory Board meeting which will be held in Broome in July hosted by the Yawuru people and will include a strong Indigenous engagement element, including cultural capability training for our board. My personal lesson from these experiences is to incrementally look for opportunities to include Indigenous perspectives in our work and our events as a pathway to developing enduring partnerships so we’re ‘All in’ ultimately all the time not only during National Reconciliation Week.
How do we know what value data infrastructures such as the ALA deliver the nation? It’s a question that’s often asked by our partners and supporting organisations including the Department of Education and CSIRO. The ALA has a relatively mature approach to monitoring and reporting on impact, including capturing rich information on science impact, conducting an annual user satisfaction survey and monitoring a suite of metrics related to the use of our infrastructure, including data downloads. Collectively this information assists the ALA to report, to more effectively respond to user needs, and to make informed decisions on the future directions we should be heading in. However, what’s the ultimate value of a public investment such as the ALA to the nation?
To answer this question the ALA partnered with a group of NCRIS projects delivering environmental research infrastructure to assess the costs and benefits of this public investment. We worked with Lateral Economics who adopted economic valuation methods applied internationally for other major national research infrastructure. The final report available here does a fantastic job of assessing and communicating the benefits of this investment to Australia, and globally. The findings demonstrate strong economic, societal and operational benefits from a sustained investment in environmentally focused national research infrastructure. Benefits extend well beyond direct financial returns, including significant productivity gains, avoided costs, and improved decision-making capability and improved international partnerships for Australia’s research and innovation system. We were keen to share these findings given the key role many of you play in supporting the ALA, primarily through the provision of biodiversity data to enable these benefits to Australia.
I hope you enjoy reading our May Newsletter.
Andre Zerger
ALA Director