The Department of Customer Service has recently completed work on the NSW Infrastructure Data Management Framework (IDMF), a recommendation of the State Infrastructure Strategy (SIS) 2018-2038. The IDMF provides guidance on the management of data generated and used during the lifecycle of state infrastructure.
Why is infrastructure data important?
The NSW Government manages a multi-billion dollar infrastructure asset portfolio, with over $100 billion additional infrastructure investment identified in the 2020-21 Budget over the next four years. Over the life of a built asset, a wide variety of data is collected and managed as part of infrastructure planning, development, delivery and operation. This data is generated by both government and the private sector and is stored in many places across a wide range of different formats, such as graphical plans, models, schedules, specifications, manuals, spreadsheets and databases.
The collection, curation and sharing of data can be a complex process including governance, data migration and integration, metadata management and analysis of big data. It is important that this data is valued, better organised, shared and used to generate insights and savings.
How does the IDMF help?
The IDMF guides agencies on common practices through effective collaboration and helps to plan and operate the State’s infrastructure systems. The IDMF provides a set of guidelines, procedures and a standard approach for agencies to share data safely to support smarter infrastructure planning, operation and maintenance.
With appropriate protections in place, agencies are encouraged to publish non-sensitive data to increase transparency and improve the quality, consistency and accuracy of data, and promote reuse by the community and public and private sectors.
Increasing digitisation of the construction sector requires standardised approaches to collection and sharing of datasets for the benefit of government, industry and the general public. Data exchange using trusted integrated platforms will help with faster, reliable and evidence-based decision-making for the public good.
Where can I find the IDMF?
The IDMF can be accessed from the Data.NSW website at: https://data.nsw.gov.au/IDMF. The content is available as a downloadable PDF and as a website and will be updated regularly. The NSW Data Analytics Centre (DAC) led this project, working closely with teams across Infrastructure NSW, Transport for NSW, Department of Planning, Industry and Environment, Health Infrastructure and many others.
What next?
The IDMF will continue to adapt to changing agency needs as it is adopted across the NSW Government. Planned additions include topics such as infrastructure classification and guidance on valuing data as an asset. An ongoing interest group will be formed to support updates and implementation of the IDMF.