CERIF based research information platform for Flanders, Belgium

Atira A/S is happy to announce the collaboration with the department EWI of the Flemish government regarding design, development, implementation and future maintenance of a new regional research information platform and portal for Flanders, Belgium.

EWI, the "Departement Economie, Wetenschap en Innovatie", is the department for Economy, Science and Innovation of the "Vlaamse overheid" (Flemish government) in Belgium, which is the government authority for the Dutch-speaking community in Belgium, Flanders. It has the main goal to stimulate entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation in order to make Flanders a leading region of creative knowledge economy.

Information about Flemish research Projects, Researchers and Research Organizations will be available from this portal from the beginning, and the solution will support any later addition of similar information about Publications. Importantly, all relations between each of these content types will be intact, providing easy browsing and comprehensive reporting capabilities.

Such information will be provided by all research institutions within EWI's domain: six Flemish universities and other scientific and research organizations.

These research institutions will have the option to supply data to the solution in two ways: Either by upload of XML files or by opening their local systems for scheduled harvesting over the OAI-PMH protocol from the solution's harvesting mechanism. Further, data suppliers can log in to the solution and manage their own data sets; roll-back is an option, among other things.

Data format for submission will be CERIF XML handling specific EWI business rules regarding data validation and ingestion. Once submitted to the solution, data will be in the CERIF2006 format. For more information about CERIF, the Common European Research Information Format, please see http://www.eurocris.org/.

Two ways of making data available for users is part of the solution. One is the public portal, the other is an OAI-PHM based data providing mechanism that allows the solution to be harvested by valid outside institutions. Data to both views are CERIF2006, and CERIF XML is offered from the OAI provider.

The public portal offers a graphical user interface by which public users are offered an array of modern search and filtering options, as well as options for saving results to their desktops.

Further, the ability for EWI to carry out statistical and other analysis at regional level is part of the scope, too, and the solution makes data available for EWI for that purpose.

EWI has recently defined a program for the Flemish research area, dubbed FRIS: Flemish Research Information Space. The central vision of the FRIS program is to encourage and support research and development in recognition of its central role in the knowledge economy. For more information, download the article "e-FRISiency - an asset for Flanders" (EWI-REVIEW, January 2008, Issue no. 3, p. 23-25).

A mix of existing and new information technology will comprise the vast IT infrastructure, which will be necessary to support the many business processes that underlies the Flemish research area. The new solution is going to be a core component in that infrastructure, covering in part FRIS' vision for providing information about available research to stakeholders such as other research organizations, students, private sector businesses and individual citizens.

Particularly, the solution answers to two general trends in European governments' research policies, which are not exclusive for the FRIS program: One is that information about government funded research must be made publicly available. The other is governments' increasing efforts to measure research in terms of productivity and quality for different purposes, e.g. to support future funding allocation decision or to execute incitement programs.

Contracts for this collaboration were finalized in December 2007 and signed in January 2008. The FRIS-RP is expected to go live by June, 2008.

In early 2007, this contract was preceded by a contract between the same parties for a smaller, interim research portal with a limited data-set. Information about this interim solution is available here. The interim portal was developed in 2007 where it also went into production, and it will go out of production when the FRIS-RP takes over this summer.

The solution is architected and developed by Atira A/S and formally supplied to THV EDS-Telindus, the consortium for the Flemish government. Contracts were entered into with this party on behalf of EWI.

A full technical description of the FRIS research information platform is available. To download this article and the technical description as one PDF file, please use the download link below.

Atira A/S
Niels Jernes Vej 10
DK-9220 Aalborg OE
Denmark
Telephone +45 96 35 61 00

THV EDS-Telindus
Consortium voor de Vlaamse overheid
Koning Albert II laan 15
1210, Brussel
Belgium
Tel:+32 2 553 05 00