Digital Research Infrastructure (DRI) is an integral component of the research enterprise in all fields including the natural sciences, engineering, social sciences, and humanities. The need for High Performance Computing (HPC), large-scale data storage, and on-demand computing continues to grow rapidly beyond the ability of individual organizations to provide such services. In Canada, there has been an effort to centralize (or nationalize) the delivery of such services in order to reduce costs and increase capacity. Whilst a noble goal, this has resulted in unintended consequences such as increased complexity in certain administrative processes, data privacy concerns, complex resource allocation models, and technical challenges in operating large-scale infrastructure. This presentation discusses the rationale for the deployment of substantial local DRI resources at UBC as a necessary component in fulfilling the university’s research mission.