The main result of the project was creation of the HATCH portal, which makes the findings of the European space projects available to professionals in the field and citizens interested in space-related information. It also encourages greater collaboration and partnerships. Additionally, the portal analyses findings, commercialises results and generates interest in space exploration and science among the space enthusiasts.
WP1: Concept Specification and Analysis
This WP enabled the team to review the work undertaken in the pre-project phase and to ensure that the audience for HATCH was fully identified and characterised. Additional outcomes included reference points in terms of design, development and deployment to ensure that the platform became functional for audience needs.
WP2: System Architecture
Having successfully created all the required specifications for a smooth development phase, the development team defined most important values that should guide and motivate the architectural approach for HATCH: robustness, scalability, security, performance, automation and separation of concerns.
WP3: Design
Under this WO, wireframes were developed based on a careful analysis of all project inputs and iteratively produced low-fi designs for all the screens to be developed on HATCH’s user interface. Moreover, besides processing the project documentation, the design team continuously conducted research and benchmarking in order to produce solutions that would exceed, only meet the requirements. Other outcomes included the Brand book and contents of the portal itself.
WP4: Development
Under WP4, the HATCH portal came to life thanks to efforts towards development of the portal's backend (development of back office, imports of data from CORDIS, integration of the diversity search algorithm, and maintenance of staging and production environments) and frontend (the architecture was defined and implemented focusing on performance, languages localization and component reutilization).
WP5: Communication and Dissemination
Following creation of a communication and dissemination strategy that would be adapted to different target groups and communication channels, active communication on social media and the temporary website was implemented until the launch of the HATCH portal. After that point, communication and dissemination activities were conducted via social media channels and the portal itself. Moreover, the team participated in a number of events (conferences, workshops, pitch events) during which it promoted HATCH and distributed promotional materials, as well as creating a stakeholder contact list thanks to the networking activities undertaken.
WP6: Long term sustainability
Under WP6 the consortium prepared a proposal of HATCH business plan, which included insights into the suggested approach for ensuring the sustainable operations of the portal in the longer term.
The initial business plan assumptions were verified during the first round of talks with stakeholders approached as potential funders of HATCH after the end of the H2020 grant. The results of those consultations informed the final version of the business plan. Results of the second round of talks helped to refine the strategy for the future sustainability of the portal.
WP7: Deployment, Testing, Validation, and Support
Under this WP, HATCH repository was created, altogether containing information on 2250 organizations, 11 funding bodies, 1141 R&D projects, 758 publications, deliverables and other files, and 155 articles and Quick Knowledge entries.
Regarding UX Verification, all of the schedule evaluation activities were successfully deployed, with both citizens and professional users validating the aesthetic aspects of the portal, and professional users further validating its usability. Self-reported qualitative metrics of aesthetics and usability aspects obtained through online questionnaires were consistently higher for Hatch compared to Cordis. Moreover, quantitative metrics of usability (effectivity and effectiveness) also revealed an overall more efficient search experience in Hatch than Cordis.
WP8: Project Management, Coordination, and Reporting
The physical outcomes of this WP were a project management strategy and project reports delivered on regular basis to the Project Officer, as well as regularly updated risk register and project archive.
