It is imperative that Marine Biodiversity Hub research outputs are made freely available to Government, the science community, and to the public. Providing easy access to the Hub’s research outputs (data sets, reports, journal articles, maps etc.) is an important step on the pathway to impact and achieving outcomes.  The Hub is also contractually obligated to make its information outputs available to the public. The administrator of the NESP, the Department of the Environment, has also published the NESP Data and Accessibility Guidelines to clarify its expectations and provide guidance for meeting contractual obligations.

The Hub has two separate mechanisms to provide access to its research outputs.  The first mechanism is the Hub’s website, which is used to provide access to reports, papers, and other written information. The second is the Australian Ocean Data Network (AODN), which is the aggregation point for all spatial and non-spatial Hub data which can include maps, video, images, and models. Hub data must be accompanied by a descriptive metadata record which links to the data access (download) point, and is published in a catalogue harvested by the AODN. The Hub has appointed a Data Manager role to assist with making Hub research data outputs available to the public. The Data Manager is responsible for implementing and refining this framework document, supporting researchers to publish their data, and overseeing quality control of published Hub data outputs.

Compliance with this data management framework enables the Hub to take a systematic and standards-based approach to identifying, cataloguing, packaging, and presenting its research outputs to stakeholders and the public.