The first objective is "To develop regional research repository infrastructure based on software and best practice outcomes of the FRODO projects". 

RUBRIC activities for this objective will include:

• A1 Establishing liaison with FRODO project leaders

• A2 Defining the scope of implementation

• A3 Developing an implementation plan

• A4 Establishing exemplar implementations

• A5 Documenting the exemplar projects and implementation issues

• A6 Establishing project positions (including project management) at USQ and partner sites

• A7 Developing an audit process to assess institutional readiness

• A8 Developing a promotional toolkit to address cultural change issues

• A9 Developing a toolkit that will address data quality issues

• A10 Providing an advisory service to partner universities

• A11 Ensuring repositories are established at partner universities

• A12 Setting population strategies, targets and review mechanisms for each repository

What does this mean RUBRIC will do?

A1: The RUBRIC team are committed to working with the existing FRODO projects, contacting them regularly about issues that arise as the work on the RUBRIC project progresses to see if there are any "best practice" ways of dealing with those issues.  In this way, RUBRIC can build on expertise already existing in Australia, to the benefit of everyone.

A2: Because a significant number of partners are involved in RUBRIC, the central RUBRIC team need to carefully define the scope of implementation of repository infrastructure in partner organizations.  There are many issues to consider in a relatively short time frame and the scope must be manageable and achievable.

A3: The RUBRIC Technical Team will advise the RUBRIC Board of a suitable implementation plan based on the scope of implementation.

A4: The RUBRIC Project is committed to providing its partners with exemplary implementations of first generation repository infrastructure, drawing on the expertise of the FRODO projects.

A5: The RUBRIC consortium wishes to contribute to the developing area of institutional repositories by making a significant contribution to documentation.  The project is fundamentally practical in nature, with the goal of establishing repositories, hence the focus of documentation will be on implementation issues - both technical and business related.  Much of this documentation will be captured in the RUBRIC Toolkit which is currently under development.

A6: In order to achieve the full range of deliverables outlined in the Grant Submission document, RUBRIC will establish Project Manager positions capable of working with the RUBRIC Technical Team at all partner sites.  These Project Manager positions will be able to engage with the local university communities to keep them informed of progress, gather requirements and contribute to the knowledgebase based on local experiences.

A7: Many of the issues associated with establishing an institutional repository relate to political and institutional issues as much, if not more so, than technical issues.  The central RUBRIC team will develop tools that will assist the partners to audit their readiness to implement an institutional repository solution.  This "institutional readiness" assessment will be made available through the RUBRIC Toolkit.

A8:  RUBRIC hopes to draw on the significant expertise of the FRODO projects to understand the range of cultural change issues associated with implementing an institutional repository and to enable its partners to handle these kinds of issues with methodologies that have proved effective in other circumstances.

A9: The RUBRIC Toolkit will include documentation that will assist partners in ensuring data quality issues are defined and managed appropriately.

A10: A central team has been established at USQ, consisting of a Technical Team, Business and Communications Manager, Metadata Specialist and RUBRIC Project Manager as well as an Administrative Support team.  This central team will provide a range of advisory services to the RUBRIC partners, related to business case development, project scoping, implementation planning, data management, metadata, repository management, data migration, reporting and general information relating to national and global developments in repository infrastructure and software.

A11: The ultimate goal of the RUBRIC Project is to ensure that all partners have a first generation repository solution in place by the end of the project which will enable them to build local expertise with managing this kind of infrastructure in the years to come.

A12: The central RUBRIC team will work with the partners to develop appropriate strategies, targets and review mechanisms that will enable them to effectively manage their institutional repositories beyond the life of the project.  It is expected that documentation associated with this business development will be stored in the RUBRIC Toolkit.