Are your assets in order?
Two interns will be working across the University on an exciting opportunity, gathering information to improve the descriptions of our research equipment and facilities. This data is published in the University’s Research Facilities and Equipment Database which ultimately feeds into ‘equipment.data’, the national equipment portal for UK HE research facilities and equipment. The database creates standardised records, including location, specification, a brief description and contact details. The interns will work with Finance and the Heads of Faculty Finance to arrange appointments to gather the information, take photographs and assist with increasing web visibility. The data also contributes to the Asset Register.
Benefits of the Research Facilities and Equipment Database for current and future research staff include the fact it:
• Enables identification of suitable resources to be used in support of research bids
• Improves opportunities for grant funding under the new guidelines
• Facilitates a culture of sharing and delivering improved resource efficiencies
An additional benefit of the Research Facilities & Equipment Database is the ePrints repository. ePrints are electronic copies of any research output (journal articles, book chapters, conference papers, theses and other types of research publications including multimedia). The database has the capability to link selected publications from the ePrints repository to the research facility database entry. Creating a more data rich entry offers many advantages, from improved marketing, to the promotion of recent research outputs. The guidance on creating shelves provides step by step instructions including screenshots explaining the process to set up an ePrints shelf.