CORDIS Archive

• Industrial policy is often based on the stimulation of innovation, by which awareness is raised of the value of other types of research information. Mainly it is the exploitation of research results that is promoted, as is cooperation with partners, which are to be found in several types of research information systems (research project databases, research results databases, partner search databases, expert databases, ....);
• Technological developments nowadays allow easy, low-cost and user-friendly access to a wide range of publicly available information sources;
• More and more, the "usual" intermediates that SMEs work with are developing services which will assist their clients to select their desired information.

As early as the 1970s, serious efforts were being made in the field of international cooperation among research information systems.

The main organizations involved in preparing manuals and guidelines for current research project registers during late sixties and the seventies were UNESCO/UNISIST (Paris) and the Smithsonian Science Information Exchange, Inc. (Washington D.C., USA). Their main activities were oriented in the first instance supporting national science policy, but also towards stimulating international cooperation among information systems. The research information was also meant to be used for science foresight activities.

A secondary objective was to improve, by means of Current Research Information Systems, communication among scientists in universities and research centres.

It can be concluded that more than twenty years ago, the drinving force in the setting-up of research information systems was often investigation into R&D policy instruments, which also could strengthen communication between researchers.

Initiatives on European Research Databases in the eighties

(1) Workshop on European Research Databases
30 September till 2 October 1987 - Brussels

The aim of the Workshop was to give the Commission the opportunity to identify problems which had to be solved in order to establish an information network on scientific and technological research.

(2) European Working Group on Research Databases (1987-1988)
Development of the Common European Research Information Format, CERIF

The European Working Group on Research Databases was formed, with a mandate based on the conclusions of the Workshop on European Research Databases.

The Working Group recommended the use of the "CERIF-manual" (Common European Research Information Format), which was designed to provide a standard format for two major purposes:

1. To permit the exchange of records with information on research projects between the different member countries of the European Community.
2. To serve as a basis for the format for setting up the projected network between the research databases.

The CERIF manual was officially recommended to be used by the Member States as a standard format for their information systems on research projects. This recommendation was published in the Official Journal of the European Communities, OJ L 198, the 13th of July, 1991.

The main recommendations of the Commission to Member States were to take progressive actions towards:

• harmonisation of the existing national databases in the field of research and technological development;
• inventories on R&D-projects carried out in industry and in research institutions, which conform to the CERIF.

A follow-up meeting was held by the European Working Party on Research Databases in 1992, to exchange experiences with the implementation of CERIF. A report covering conclusions and recommendations for revision of CERIF was sent to the CREST (Scientific and Technical Research Committee, which advises the European Commission and the Research Council).

(5) Pilot project: European Research Gateways On-line (ERGO)

One of the next actions was to investigate how a technical project could be set up, facilitating access to CERIF-compatible research databases throughout the European Community.

This resulted in the initiative to start a pilot project to try out a single access point to distributed research projects databases in the Member States. The pilot project will be discussed by Peter Finch of the European Commission during the CRIS 98 Conference (Session B.5 - Cooperation between CRISs), "European Research Gateways On-line: ERGO pilot project"

(6) CERIF revision

In October 1997, the revision activities of CERIF (Common European Research Information Format), have been started.

As mentioned before, the existing CERIF contains field descriptions for records on research projects. It recommends the use of:

• a minimum and mandatory set of fields;
• an "additional dataset" covering other supplementary data fields which are publicly available in R&D project databases;
• a common Research Classification Scheme.

Since CERIF only specifies a standard format for research projects, there is a need to widen the scope of CERIF to other types of research information (research results, research institutions, ...). Also there is a need for reviewing the recommendation concerning the use of the Research Classification Scheme. CERIF, therefore, is now under revision.

During the CRIS Conference, Lieve Van Woensel will give a short report of the ongoing activities concerning the CERIF revision. (Session B.2, Standards related to CRIS"). The CERIF revision activities cover:

• the widening of the CERIF scope to other types of research information (research results, research institutions, ...);
• the preparation of new recommendations for the classification and/or indexing of research information;
• the revision of the technical CERIF specifications, taking into account the evolution of metadata-based web-technology.

Nowadays, research information systems have a much wider scope, in line with the current emphasis on encouraging innovation.

In this ongoing innovation movement, research information is of the utmost importance: information on research results is not only used by researchers, but also on behalf of industry, directly or via intermediaries.

Latest developments in computer and www technology make these types of information directly and easily accessible for the end-user.

SMEs now can make the most of the information age, resulting even in an information overflow. Therefore, a new market is being developed by the information brokerage specialists and by a wide range of intermediaries, offering services to SMEs concentrated on searching and delivering a selection of appropriate and accurate information meeting the clients' needs. This information can be much broader than research information alone.

All stages of innovation processes can be assisted by getting the right information.

Research information covered might deal with:

• research programmes
• on-going and finished research projects
• research groups / laboratories
• research centres / institutions
• research funding sources
• research results (publications, references to patents, products, etc.)
• research facilities (usually large ones)
• calls for proposals
• events (conferences, etc.)
• technology transfer databases
• technical patent information
• expertise/consultancy
• ...

This Fourth Conference on Current Research Information Systems (CRIS) in Europe follows the European CRIS conferences held in Bergen (Norway) in February 1991, in Amsterdam (Netherlands) in December 1993 and in Milan (Italy) in March 1995.

Member States and the European Community continuously invest in R&D, but European research expertise is under-exploited in terms of technology provision. It is, therefore, crucial to use current research information systems to unlock the resources available, for users in companies (especially small and medium-sized enterprises), research organizations and public services throughout Europe.

These information systems exist in Europe, but, unfortunately, they are not used sufficiently for turning research results into commercial results. The aims of the conference therefore are:

• promoting the exploitation of CRIS by:
  • industry, to make better use of research,
  • research policy makers and planners;
• better integration of new technologies in order to exploit CRIS more efficiently.

The EUROCRIS Platform

The European Platform for Current Research Database Producers, EuroCRIS, was set up in 1995 on the initiative of the "Nederlands Bureau voor Onderzoek Informatie" (NBOI).

The goal of the Platform is to provide an informal forum for the development of research documentation practices and stimulate European co-operation in the field. In its first phase, the Platform particularly highlighted the challenges related to the active marketing of CRIS databases in general and, more specifically, in the information market-place. However, EuroCRIS has lately taken up a series of other questions at the forefront of CRIS development activities.

At present, the mailing list of EuroCRIS comprises the names of some 40 individuals / organisations.

The Platform holds annual meetings in different member states. The meetings are open to representatives of research documentation institutions / companies and their database hosts. Representatives of research and governmental agencies may also take part in the work of the Platform.

The EuroCRIS Secretariat is presently located at the University of Bergen, Norway under the direction of Jostein H. Hauge. More information on the activities and current membership of the Platform, together with information on related topics, can be found on the World Wide Web at: http://www.fou.uib.no/cris/index.htm.

During parallel session B.5, Jostein Hauge will explain in detail the motives behind the creation of this pan-European discussion forum and will give examples of some of its modes of activity. In particular, he will put forward items for discussion relating to the role and tasks of EuroCRIS at a time when a series of important CRIS activities are taking place outside the boundaries of the Platform.

Mr Hauge welcomes any suggestions as to how EuroCRIS can, in the years ahead, productively complement other European CRIS activities currently taking place on the European arena.