It will now be easier for farm businesses and those who collect, manage and share their data to access an industry best-practice contract for data sharing - thanks to a new digital tool.
The online Data Sharing Agreement (DSA) Tool is free to use and has been developed in partnership with Food Agility CRC, tier one legal firm Minter Ellison, Federation University and the Australian Research Data Commons.
Food Agility Data Policy Manager Gabi Ceregra said data use and sharing is important for improving the productivity of farming, but producers need assurance about how their data is collected and used.
“There are multiple data sharing agreements out there, not all of which cover the essential aspects of data sharing, nor provide fair terms to farm businesses sharing their data. Just like we have standard residential tenancy contracts, an industry standard data sharing agreement to protect farm businesses provides assurance and protection,” said Ms Ceregra.
The DSA Tool digitises the hard-copy Data Sharing Agreement Template released in 2023, making it easier for users to customise data sharing contracts.
“It’s designed for contracts with only a few parties, for example a farm business and a research institute, a farm business and a processor, or a farm business and another farm business,” she said.
“The tool can be used to inform any other data sharing contracts such as software terms and conditions, or non-farm business contracts between collaborators or project partners.”
The DSA Tool has been three years in the making, with feedback received from Food Agility project sand other stakeholders. It’s also aligned with the National Farmers' Federation's Australian Farm Data Code (the Code) to provide data protections for farmers.
More information is available on the Food Agility website and the online tool is hosted by Federation University.
The DSA Tool was delivered through the Data Sharing Initiative project which received investment from the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) through its Food Security Data Challenges program. The ARDC is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS).
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Media enquiries: Food Agility communications manager Chris Komorek on 0405255905 or chris.komorek@foodagility.com
