The Consortia Advancing Standards in Research Administration Information works to develop valuable data standards

The NCE Secretariat hopes to expand its role in the activities of the Consortia Advancing Standards in Research Administration Information (CASRAI).  A member since 2008, the NCE Secretariat is encouraging grantee NCE networks and centres to join CASRAI through the NCE Associate Cluster and be part of this important harmonization process.

CASRAI is a not-for-profit organization that provides a forum and mechanisms required to standardize the data that researchers, their institutions and their funders must exchange throughout the life cycle of research activity. These data standards are developed and maintained under the direction of subject matter experts from member organizations through standards committees and review circles. The four main areas of focus are research personnel standards, activity standards, impact standards and classification standards.

CASRAI’s goals are to save researchers time in the application and reporting processes; improve access by institutions and funders to quality data; and simplify the measurement of research impacts.  For example, CASRAI envisions research teams maintaining a single authoritative file on their activities and being able to quickly produce, without duplicate effort, any documents needed by any funders and institutions from this single source file.

Membership in CASRAI is growing and includes the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Ministry of Research and Innovation (Ontario), Fonds de la recherche santé (Quebec), and Alberta Innovates — Health Solutions. And many NCE grantees are in the process of joining through the NCE Associate Cluster.

By joining CASRAI, networks and centres benefit from the work CASRAI has already accomplished and have the opportunity to play a valuable role on the CASRAI committees developing future data standards.

The  CASRAI website provides details on the organization and its work.

For information on how to join the NCE Secretariat Cluster contact:

Sorin Seruna
Telephone: 613-944-7531