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Research results

Mapping the output of research projects

The Flanders Research Information Space (FRIS)

The Flemish government department of Economy, Science and Innovation has created the Flanders Research Information Space; this is a metadatabase in which research that is at least partially funded by Flemish public funds is aggregated in a comprehensive manner. FRIS comprises information about researchers, organizations, projects as well as the research results, in particular publications, datasets, patents and infrastructure. The research results are attributed to the projects in which they were generated and thereby to the supporting funding sources. The information in FRIS does not concern the results themselves but the metadata; that is to say the descriptive information associated with the research results. This information has been made publicly available and searchable through the online FRIS-portal. In this way the Flemish government aims to foster collaborations between diverse stakeholders (such as research institutions, industry, media and governments), to increase the visibility of research in Flanders and to coordinate Flemish science policies more effectively. FRIS also serves as a tool for monitoring the effects of Open Science policies concerning Open Access publications and data management.

Researchers and host institutions as supplier of research information

To ensure a correct and complete delivery of information to FRIS, the Flemish government has made agreements with the five universities, the twelve university colleges (‘hogescholen’), the strategic research centers, several other research institutions and the funding agencies in Flanders (including FWO). Therefore, research institutions have built information systems and repositories to collect the required information and mediate its transfer to FRIS. An exhaustive list of all research institutions that have committed to convey information to FRIS can be retrieved here.

FWO requires that the information about research results is delivered to FRIS if these results stem from a  project that is at least partially supported by FWO funds. Every FWO-fellowship holder or (co-)supervisor involved in an FWO project is responsible for depositing the correct and complete metadata of their research in the information system(s) of their respective host institution(s). Researchers are not only required to enter the requested information but also to link (or verify the links) between their research results and related research projects.

Which information is required?

Currently FWO requires the delivery of three types of research results: 1) peer reviewed publications in scientific journals, 2) datasets and 3) research infrastructure. The FWO requests its researchers to keep their records up to date on a regular basis. As from 2024, only publications that have been registered in FRIS will be taken into account during the evaluation of the scientific reports (as is stipulated by the FWO general regulations article 2, §4). In 2024, this will only apply for A1 publications. Other publication types will not yet be extracted from FRIS and can be added separately to the report.

Publications

Metadata from all peer reviewed publications in scientific journals (i.e. A1 articles) need to be delivered to the information system(s) of the respective host institution(s). The minimal metadata to be provided are:

  • a persistent identifier, preferably a digital object identifier (DOI);
  • the title and date of the publication;
  • the authors and their affiliation;
  • the journal ISSN-number, volume and issue, page numbers;
  • links with all related FWO funded projects and fellowships;
  • information regarding the Open Access status of the publication.

When an FWO fellowship holder leaves the host institution, their supervisor becomes responsible to ensure that any new publications of which the former fellowship holder is an author, are linked with the correct FWO fellowship.

Aside from the delivery of information, all FWO funded researchers are obliged to mention all related FWO file numbers (XxxxxxxN) in their publications.

Datasets

Metadata of datasets generated within the project context need to be delivered to the information system(s) of the respective host institution(s). The minimal metadata to be provided are:

  • a persistent identifier, preferably a DOI;
  • the title of the dataset and year in which it was published;
  • the persons that contributed to the dataset and their affiliation;
  • the name of the repository in which the dataset is stored;
  • key words describing the data set;
  • the technical format;
  • links with one or more related publications, which are themselves linked to related projects or fellowships; in case a dataset has not been used to support a publication, the dataset should be directly linked to the related project or fellowship;
  • information regarding the accessibility of the dataset.

Research infrastructure

Delivery of metadata describing research infrastructure is compulsory when the infrastructure is financed through one of the following three FWO funding channels: 1) large-scale infrastructure, 2) medium-scale infrastructure or 3) international research infrastructure (IRI). The minimal metadata to be provided are:

  • a persistent identifier;
  • the name of the infrastructure;
  • contact information of persons related to the infrastructure;
  • information of participants (in case of a consortium);
  • the address(es) of the location of the infrastructure;
  • the (expected) date as from when the infrastructure will be operational;
  • the date as from when the infrastructure will be out of service (only when applicable);
  • website URL (only compulsory for large-scale and international research infrastructure);
  • a description of the infrastructure (in English and Dutch)
  • a description of how the infrastructure can be used (only compulsory for large-scale and international research infrastructure; in English and Dutch);
  • information regarding the accessibility of the infrastructure;
  • links with the related project(s) in question;

Supporting information for researchers

  • a complete overview of all metadata attributes in FRIS (only available in dutch)

    Researchers can add metadata to FRIS by entering the information in the information systems and/or repositories of their host institution(s). Links to instructions of the host institutions are listed below.

  • The ITM uses PURE as central information system for research output (projects, publications and datasets). Instructions on how to update your profile and how to use PURE can be found on Tropbox. Researchers with questions can mail to research@itg.be