QCIF is proud to celebrate a major achievement, with EcoCommons Australia awarded the inaugural ARDC Eureka Prize for Excellence in Data Platforms.
Presented as part of the prestigious Australian Museum Eureka Prizes, the award recognises the outstanding contribution of EcoCommons Australia in supporting environmental and conservation research through accessible, data-driven tools and infrastructure.
EcoCommons brings together thousands of environmental datasets, modelling tools and analytical capabilities into a free, cloud-based platform that helps researchers and practitioners address some of Australia's most pressing environmental challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss and ecosystem management.
"We would like to congratulate the Sustainable Futures and Data and Science teams on this incredible achievement," said QCIF CEO Sach Jayasinghe.
"Our people are at the heart of everything we do. The passion, expertise and commitment of the EcoCommons team have been instrumental in building a platform that continues to grow, evolve and deliver meaningful impact for researchers and practitioners across Australia. This recognition is a testament to the outstanding work they do every day."
Since joining QCIF in 2024, EcoCommons has continued to expand its impact and strengthen key national collaborations. The team has deepened its partnership with the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC), broadened its involvement through Planet Research Data Commons, and established new collaborations, including with conservation planning platform Marxan.
Throughout this growth, the EcoCommons team has remained focused on supporting the needs of its community, working closely with researchers, practitioners and decision-makers to ensure the platform delivers practical, real-world outcomes for environmental management and conservation.
The award marks an important milestone for EcoCommons and highlights the growing importance of data platforms in enabling scientific discovery, informed decision-making and environmental stewardship.
"Congratulations to everyone involved in this achievement," said Jayasinghe. "This award is a wonderful acknowledgement of what has been achieved so far, and we look forward to seeing EcoCommons continue to grow, evolve and support environmental and conservation impact for many years to come."
EcoCommons Australia is a co-investment partnership between QCIF Digital Research, the ARDC, The University of Melbourne Centre of Excellence for Biosecurity Risk Analysis (CEBRA), the Atlas of Living Australia, TERN Australia, CSIRO, Macquarie University, UNSW and Griffith University.
Learn more about EcoCommons: https://ecocommons.org.au
https://australian.museum/get-involved/eureka-prizes/enter/data-platforms/