Introduction

The body that represents the university sector in Australia, Universities Australia, has identified digital scholarship and operational efficiency as two key drivers for change in the Australian higher education sector. The strategy statement for 2013 to 2016, titled A Smarter Australia, recognizes ‘the emergence of the digital economy and new technology, globalisation and the Asian century, economic and industrial restructuring and the need to improve productivity’ (Universities Australia, 2013, 9).

In this strategy statement it situates digital scholarship within the context of the wider economy and government agenda for Australia:

In response to the drivers of the digital economy, including digital scholarship, and the need for greater productivity in the Australian university sector, it has adopted the policy principle that

The strategic plan for Macquarie University has been formulated in response to extensive consultation conducted with staff and students after the arrival of the new Vice-Chancellor in 2012. As well as the drivers outlined in A Smarter Australia, the Macquarie University aspiration and vision is to be

There are strategic priority areas that support this vision. Strategic priority number seven in the plan is ‘improving those aspects of our support services to realize this aspiration and vision’ (Macquarie University, 2013, 23). This priority was designed to improve the University support services to enable research and teaching to deliver their potential for the institution and was formulated in response to staff feedback during the consultation phase, which identified that the University's processes and approaches were not sufficiently modern or efficient to support their academic purpose.