Data Infrastructure for National Infrastructure. A UK Research Data Cloud Pilot: Final Report

Abstract:

National infrastructures, such as energy, water, and transport systems, are critical to society. Exploring the effect of investments in infrastructure is an active area of research with a high impact on the well-being of the UK. Data is an essential pre-requisite for good analysis and good decision making, but there are many barriers to the effective use of data. Data Infrastructure for National Infrastructure (DINI) is a pilot study within the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology's UK Research Data Cloud Pilot programme. Its aim is to explore the potential of data to drive research and its impact on policy. Our scope is National Infrastructure Systems within the UK with a focus on energy, water and transport. The project was coordinated by the Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure, working with the Energy Data Centre and the JASMIN Facility, with contributions from Icebreaker One, the Digital Curation Centre, and the UK Collaboratorium for Research on Infrastructure and Cities. This report summarises the outcomes of the DINI pilot project. It begins by presenting the vision for DINI and providing a statement of the major action proposed from the work of the project. The report then gives a summary of the major results of the project, discussing the background of research in infrastructure systems engineering, and characterising the use of data in this area. The main results of the landscaping work of the pilot study are given next, including the research benefits, benefits to non-research partners, and the wider benefits to society. The barriers involving legal, security, commercial, cultural and technical themes are discussed, with a summary of the major barriers in each area being presented. The work of the technical design studies are then discussed, with the report concluding with its 16 recommendations based on how to form a research data cloud to support infrastructure systems engineering.

Publication Year:

2025

Publisher:

Science and Technology Facilities Council

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5286/stfctr.2025004

Author(s):

Matthews, B., Cartmell, K., Jones, C. and Newbold, E.