Agentic AI for HASS: Qualitative Thematic Analysis Workshop Report for the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons

This is a report on the Agentic AI for HASS: Qualitative Thematic Analysis co-design workshop for the ARDC Community Data Lab, which is part of the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons, part of the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). 

The Agentic AI for HASS: Qualitative Thematic Analysis project aims to develop a secure, minimum viable product (MVP) of an Agentic AI platform to assist HASS researchers with qualitative thematic analysis, providing them with a collaborative, ethical, scalable, and methodologically rigorous research environment. The project is being developed in partnership with Research Technology Services (ResTech) at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and eResearch at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).

Our Co-Design process: The ARDC is developing this capability in accordance with the HASS and Indigenous RDC co-design framework (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10516606). This process is designed to create the greatest impact for research and researchers by co-designing the infrastructure with the people who will benefit from it. Project development follows the stages of Problem Identification, Project Shaping, Project Planning, and Endorsement. The Project Shaping phase was implemented through the open co-design workshop described here.
 
The Agentic AI for HASS: Qualitative Thematic Analysis co-design workshop was held virtually on 4th August 2026. The workshop was open to all and was attended by 69 participants. Organisations represented included more than 10 Australian universities, 3 international universities, along with museums and collecting institutions, government organisations, research infrastructure providers and consulting companies.

The workshop aimed to build a shared understanding of the challenge, validate the problem statement and its impact, confirm the user base for the proposed solution, and gather feedback on the proposed solution’s features.

Learn more about the workshop by reading the workshop report below.
 
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
THE HASS AND INDIGENOUS RESEARCH DATA COMMONS
THE ARDC COMMUNITY DATA LAB
THE HASS AND INDIGENOUS RDC CO-DESIGN PROCESS
THE PROJECT OPPORTUNITY AND PARTNERSHIP
CO-DESIGN WORKSHOP
APPENDIX 1: WORKSHOP RESPONSES
   
Learn more about the HASS and Indigenous Research Data Commons.