At a glance
The purpose
To help the Department of Jobs, Precincts and standardise and centralise document and data management as part of the LVRRS. To improve document management and improve data discoverability.
The players
The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions’ focus is on growing Victoria's economy and ensuring it benefits all Victorians - by creating more jobs for more people, building thriving places and regions, and supporting inclusive communities. The Earth portfolio within DJPR ensures the state has the raw materials for its homes, industries and exports.
The challenge
The Latrobe Valley Regional Rehabilitation (LVRRS) is an earth resources project that focuses on mine rehabilitation. As part of that project, a data management system was set up on an AWS3 cloud solution accessed via a CKAN/Cloudberry user interface. This was used to manage datasets and documents. However, the department was having problems with the system and was looking for a digital partner that could help them solve specific problems.
The data management system needed:
A way to load/download datasets over 50 MB
A more user-friendly interface with an improved look and feel
An updated schema for better metadata capture
A way to manage data with different data restrictions
A user manual
The solution
Salsa built the new data management framework using CKAN, and linked this to the existing LVRRS database on AWS3 storage. This meant all the datasets and documents ‘lived’ on AWS3, but they were discoverable and accessible via CKAN. This setup solved one of the existing problems, because larger datasets could easily be uploaded and downloaded without straining the CKAN datastore.
We started with a vanilla CKAN instance as the baseline and then built the specific requirements to meet LVRRS’s needs. The tailored components included:
Applying the brand and colour
Customisation around content restrictions: The data portal needed to be set up so restricted datasets and documents were only visible to certain users. This required customisation of the uploading process (users could select access requirements) and customisation at the user level so users could only see datasets they were authorised to see.
Customisation of metadata fields: Based on the existing metadata scheme, which uses ISO standards
Contact dataset maintainer form: General enquiry or request access to restricted data
Reporting: Audit reports for a full audit trail and a range of customised administrative reports
Search customisation and optimisation
Usability enhancements: Including adding tooltips and tailoring the user interface
Updated password security: Enforce a password policy for password setup
After a two-week discovery period, the initial deliverables were built over two sprints (four weeks). We then finished further enhancements to the portal in June 2020.
“Salsa was great to work with. They were able to create a solution that aligned with all our data storage, delivery and security requirements.”
Chris Osborne
Senior Geologist, Coal Resources Victoria, Earth Resources Policy and Programs
Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions
The benefits
The new CKAN data portal provides the following benefits to the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions:
Access to data and documents in one central repository
Data can be mapped to organisations and/or groups
Access can be mapped to organisations and/or groups
Access to confidential data can be restricted
Audit logs and reporting for improved analytics
Datasets and documents are now easily discoverable, with a standard metadata schema
Data owners are clearly visible