Details

Published on Wednesday, 15 July 2020 20:00

The Research Computing and Data Capabilities Model (RCDCM) was released earlier this year, and the 2020 participation window will close August 30. If you complete an institutional assessment and contribute to the 2020 Community Data collection, you’ll get access to the detailed version of the aggregated data this Fall, allowing you to compare your institution’s program with those of peer institutions.

High-level summary data is shared with the broader community, but the data for detailed topics and individual questions will only be available to contributing institutions. You can learn about the model and how to conduct an assessment at your institution by reading the RCDCM User’s Guide. When you’re ready, submit the access request form to get a personalized copy of the Assessment Tool for your institution. Office hours are available to answer questions as well as a full-day workshop at PEARC20 for deeper discussion.

Background and Details: The RCDCM allows institutions to assess their support for computationally- and data-intensive research, identify potential areas for improvement, and understand how the broader community views research computing and data support. The Assessment Tool and underlying model were developed by a diverse group of institutions with a range of support models in a collaboration among Internet2, CaRCC, and EDUCAUSE. Users of the model up to now are fairly diverse: over 70 institutions from 32 states, both public and private, and a mix of R1s, R2s, and institutions with emerging research programs. We are encouraging additional institutions to complete and contribute an assessment by August 30 to ensure that we include a rich range of perspectives in the collection. At this time, when budgets are under pressure, we all need to make a strong case to our campus leadership for continued investment in research computing and data programs; the RCDCM can help to make this case, providing a common national framework for analysis and a baseline dataset for benchmarking. The Assessment Tool resembles a detailed survey and has been designed for use by a range of roles at each institution, from front-line support through campus leadership, and is intended to be inclusive across small, large, public, and private institutions. 

Questions? Email capsmodel-help@carcc.org.