So my FOI request to release the scoping studies that informed investments in the current round of ARDC-managed HASS research infrastructure development was partially successful. As I’ve previously noted, reports from the ARDC and Academy of Humanities are now publicly available. There was a third document identified as relevant to my request that was finally released yesterday, but it isn’t what I was expecting. It’s a report of consultation relating to a discussion paper by Dandalo Partners, rather than the actual discussion paper itself! Clearly I spoke the wrong magic words, and should have asked for ‘discussion papers’ as well as ‘scoping studies’. FOI can be a bit of a fishing expedition. I’m considering whether I want to start the whole FOI process again by asking for the final version of the discussion paper, but in the meantime, I’ve put the currently-available documents in a Dropbox folder. Enjoy!

Thanks again to those who helped me cover the FOI costs!