What is the Applications (Apps) program?

The Apps program is intended to show the value of being able to combine existing data from multiple disparate sources, mashing it up and analysing it, to conduct high quality research using the derived datasets that was impossible or difficult to do before.

We are funding and working with software development teams who are building the tools that will allow high profile researchers or policy makers to conduct these previously impossible analyses. 


A nice illustration of the "enabling research by data integration" vision behind the Apps program is illustrated by this wordle visualisation of the most common words appearing in the Aims and Objectives of the agreed Project Proposals (note we removed 'data' which was by far the most common word to appear and was so massive on the visualisation it was drowning out everything else):

A few examples of projects we're funding across both the sciences and humanities include:

• Combining future climate prediction data with data about the built environment to be able to better predict the adaptation responses required in the face of climate change. 
• Combining information extracted from MRI brain imaging data with many types of clinical records and EEG data across large sample populations to better understand why certain groups may be more susceptible to diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
• Combining multiple genealogical, sociological and historical datasets which delivers a powerful and flexible approach to research investigations across the domains of population genealogy, historical prosopography, social history, family history, colonisation, Koori health and history, population health and demography.