Understanding the Impact of Digital Research Infrastructure at Lancaster University
Project Overview
Digital research infrastructure (DRI) is central to modern research universities, yet demonstrating its value to stakeholders remains a challenge. This project assessed the impact of DRI at Lancaster University, with a particular focus on its High-End Computing (HEC) cluster. Using a concurrent embedded mixed-methods design, data was collected through a researcher survey (n=28) and semi-structured interviews (n=3), and a bibliometric analysis of HEC-associated publications was carried out.
What are the key results of your project?
- Results from the bibliometric analysis suggest that HEC-supported publications perform well above the global average for their respective fields.
- Survey findings confirmed that Lancaster's DRI supports a diverse and
growing research community spanning all four university faculties, with 85% of respondents rating it as highly valuable or essential to their research, and 86% preferring on-site DRI where possible. - Over half of respondents expect their usage of Lancaster's DRI to increase over the next three years.
- Several challenges were identified, including limited RSE provision, outdated hardware, and usability barriers disproportionately affecting
researchers from non-technical backgrounds. Environmental sustainability was found to be rarely considered in practice. - Addressing these challenges would further enhance the
already substantial impact of Lancaster's DRI and ensure it can serve an increasingly diverse and growing research community in the future.
How do you feel you have benefitted from completing this internship?
This internship has contributed significantly to the development of my research skills, as well as my understanding of the UK’s DRI landscape. It also provided valuable experience in working with a variety of different people, where I particularly noticed the benefits of meeting people in person compared to online! I didn't know much about Research Software Engineering beforehand, but its definitely something that has piqued my interest.