CERIF - Common European Research Information Format CERIF is the Common European Research Information Format. Developed in 1988 by a European Working Group on Research Databases, CERIF provides a common usable format for databases containing information on current research projects. The CERIF research documentation standard wa... CERIF is the Common European Research Information Format. Developed in 1988 by a European Working Group on Research Databases, CERIF provides a common usable format for databases containing information on current research projects. The CERIF research documentation standard was published in the Official Journal of 13 July 1991 (OJ No L 189 of 13.7.1991) following a Commission Recommendation on 6 May 1991 concerning the harmonization, within the Community, of research and technological development databases. 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, ...). There is also a need to review the recommendation concerning the use of the Research Classification Scheme. A revision of CERIF is, therefore, presently under consideration.
