Research institute map encourages collaborations
12 Oct 2018 by Evoluted New Media
A European project aiming to encouraging new partnerships and collaborations has introduced a tool allowing users to access 1,000 research facilities across the continent
The European Commission funded MERIL-2 project has introduced the data visualisation tool that allows users to discover all of the European research infrastructures in the database interactively. Users can see and explore data on the European research landscape, such as institute size and location, user profiles, and research capabilities.
“Scientists sometimes need access to research infrastructures that may be unfamiliar to them. Our vision for MERIL is to support the scientific community by presenting a complete picture of the landscape of European RIs,” said Jean-Claude Worms, Chief Executive of the European Science Foundation. “The new visualisation tool is an important milestone for the project, and it aims at making the MERIL data easier to navigate, by presenting the information in a clear and accessible way. We hope that researchers who use our tool will discover new resources and opportunities for collaboration.”
The tool is designed to aid the discovery of information on research infrastructures, with the aim of encouraging new partnerships and collaborations within the scientific community. It will also enable policy-makers to see the distribution of facilities across a country or the continent, and thereby identify where there may be capability hotspots or gaps in infrastructure accessibility.
The MERIL database has grown significantly under the MERIL-2 programme and currently holds information on over 1,000 research infrastructures. In recognition of the value of MERIL’s information, the database eligibility criteria has now been expanded to accept research infrastructures that are only open to national users. Previously, MERIL's eligibility checklist stipulated that only research infrastructures of “more than national relevance” should be listed. As of 25 July this year, the sixth criterion has been amended with the aim of expanding MERIL's coverage and to broaden its usefulness.
