RTD-Acronyms Service
Service Description | Summary of fields | Search tips | Search
Service Description
The RTD-Acronyms service is a compact dictionary of acronyms and abbreviations in the area of Research and Development (R&D) and related activities. The acronyms published are mainly related to the European Union such as programmes, projects, implementation instruments, organizations, databases, installations and other R&D related items, although some non-EU R&D acronyms might be included as well.
Acronyms are defined as:
- Abbreviations which can be pronounced as whole words such as "CORDIS"
- Abbreviations that do not form words such as "RTD"
- Codes which constituents do not derive from words (e.g. GALILEO)
Although generally retrieved from English language sources, the acronym itself does not necessarily need to be of English origin. Some acronyms are given in the different language abbreviations.
Summary of Fields
Note: Every record includes the fields marked with a red asterisk " *" ; other fields are also included if relevant information is available.
Database Record Management Fields
| Field Name | Field Content |
|---|---|
| Quality Validation Date * | The date that the information was checked prior to loading on the host |
| Record Control Number * | A unique reference number for this record |
|
Update Date
* |
The date this record was created or last updated |
Organisation Fields
| Field Name | Field Content |
|---|---|
| Acronym * | The acronym |
| Category * | The category of the item represented by the acronym |
| Commission Service | The Commission service responsible for the item represented by the acronym |
| Description of Acronym | The title or other text from which the acronym is derived |
| Description in English | The English language translation of any title not in English |
| General Information | General information about the item represented by the acronym |
| Originating Body | The body responsible for the item represented by the acronym |
| Programme Acronym | The programme responsible for the item represented by the acronym |
| Subject Index Codes | The CORDIS Subject Index Classification Codes |
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Acronym
This field contains the acronym. It can be an acronym representing an RTD programme, a project, or any of the other items described in the Category field below.
Example entry: FORESIGHT
Category
This field contains a category for the item to which the acronym in the acronym field refers. These categories are described below and other categories can be identified and added to this catalogue in the future.
Programme
Programmes, initiatives, or actions under which individual projects or activities are carried out, usually through contractual agreements.
Subprogramme
A major subdivision of a programme.
Programme Execution
Initiatives, actions, projects and instruments from an R&D or related programme or sub-programme with a specified character, and having determined policy orientation and implementation duration.
Project
An activity implemented through a contractual agreement placed with a commercial organization, research institute, university, or other body, and operating within the structure of a programme. Details of EURTD projects are provided in the RTD-Projects Database.
Initiative
An activity that has no predetermined duration and which may or may not be implemented within the framework of a programme.
Committee
Committees and other similar bodies such as working groups and review boards.
Organization
Institutions, agencies, offices, societies, centres, federations, companies, and other similar permanent bodies not categorized as associations.
Association
A group of persons or organizations having a common purpose or goal. They normally have the word 'association' as a part of their title and have legal status as an association.
Computer system
Software, hardware, and other components of information processing systems.
Database
Databases and databanks.
Facility
An installation or tool, including laboratories, test facilities, reactors, satellites, and communication networks.
Other
This category is used if none of the other categories apply.
Example entry: Programme
Commission Service
An entry may appear in this field only when the entry in the Originating Body field is Commission; otherwise it will be empty and will not appear in the user output.
Example entry: Research DG
Description of Acronym
This field contains the name, title, or other expression from which the acronym is derived.
Example entry: New and Emerging Sciences and Technologies (NEST)
Description in English
If the acronym description in the Description of Acronym field is not in English, the English language translation is given in this field. Otherwise this field is not used.
Example entry: Multimedia and Distance Learning
General Information
This field often contains a brief description of the item represented by the acronym. This is not necessarily a complete description and normally no description is given for EU RTD projects and programmes. These are dealt with in their respective databases.
Example entry: Established in 1992 as an informal association of national research councils and analogous public non-university research organisations of the EU Member States, EUROHORCs provides an independent forum and network for its members to discuss issues of common interest and to strengthen the influence of national research organisations and of the European Community on European research policy and development of the European Research Area. See http://www.eurohorcs.org/.
Originating Body
This field contains an entry indicating the authority responsible for the programme, project, database, facility etc, which is represented by the acronym. The catalogue entries are listed below:
European Communities
Used when the item represented by the acronym cannot be attributed to a specific institution, but embraces EU institutions as a whole.
Commission
The European Commission.
Parliament
The European Parliament.
Court of justice
The European Court of Justice.
External
Used when the acronym does not originate from any of the above authorities.
If the entry in this field is Commission, a Commission service may be listed in the Commission Service field.
Example entry: Commission
Programme Acronym
All acronyms related to a specific programme existing in the CORDIS RTD-Programmes service have the field Programme Acronym filled in. Excluded from this rule are all the acronym records f erom the category "Programme". If the acronyms are not related to a specific programme existing in the CORDIS RTD-Programmes service, then the programme acronym field ismpty.
Example entry: FP6-IST
Quality Validation Date
The date that the information was checked prior to loading it on to the host.
Example entry: 2003-07-14
Record Control Number
This field contains a number which provides a unique reference for each record in this database. When noted, it is a useful way of quickly retrieving the same record again. It should be noted in the event of queries to the CORDIS Help Desk when these relate to a specific record.
Example entry: 4126
Subject Index Codes
The codes used in this field are described in CORDIS Subject Index Classification Codes.
Example entry: Information, Media; Innovation, Technology Transfer
Update Date
This field shows the date that the record was created or last updated. It is not necessarily the date on which the information was current.
Example entry: 2003-07-01
Search Tips
The Boolean operators "AND", "OR" and "NOT" may be combined with search terms in the text boxes. If two or more terms are entered with either a comma or a space separating them, the default operator will be "AND".
Phrase searches should be put in double quotes (e.g. "License Agreement").
Wildcards ("?" for 1 character, or "*" for multiple characters) may be used within terms or to truncate word endings (e.g. "parasit*";"analy?e").
Multiple terms may be selected in any of the list boxes in the Advanced Search or Professional Search interfaces. To select multiple terms using Windows, hold down the control key while clicking on your terms.
Additional information about searching the CORDIS Database services.
Last updated on: 2010-11-18
