About the Speaker

Ludo Waltman is professor of Quantitative Science Studies and deputy director at the Centre for Science and Technology Studies (CWTS) at Leiden University. He is also associate director of the Research on Research Institute (RoRI). His work focuses on developing new infrastructures, algorithms, and tools to support research assessment, science policy, and scholarly communication. Ludo is one of the developers of the well-known VOSviewer software tool for bibliometric visualization. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Quantitative Science Studies and is coordinator of the Initiative for Open Abstracts (I4OA).

About this Talk

Due to the fundamental changes digital technology has brought to the research and innovation process, research has become more collaborative, multidisciplinary and open than ever, and scientific outputs have grown more diverse. In this context, the importance of research information, especially open research information, has increased immensely. 

Under these conditions, the way research and researchers are assessed has to be reformed. Over the past years, various initiatives, among others by the European Commission, have been working towards a more contemporary and appropriate assessment system (see Scoping report towards a reform of the research assessment system by the European Commission).

In “VIVO Talks!” Ludo Waltman has outlined why the openness of research information is a crucial prerequisite for the envisioned reforms. He has introduced different initiatives promoting openness of metadata, such as an Open Knowledge Base, an infrastructure that has been proposed for research organizations in the Netherlands. Moreover, he has pointed out how open metadata, such as in the VIVO-based research information platform across Berlin University Alliance, can contribute to more responsible research assessment practices. 

The presentation from this session as well as the full recording of Ludo Waltman's presentation are available online (presentation and video recording). 

About “VIVO Talks!”

In the process of developing a VIVO-based research information platform for the Berlin University Alliance (BUA), we value regular discussions with our stakeholders across the four BUA organizations and beyond. In the online event series “VIVO Talks!” we bring together all interested parties to address key questions around the development of the platform. After an insightful presentation on a specific topic, we turn to the audience for further discussions in the fields of research information, research infrastructure, research management and many more.

About VIVO Research Information Platform

At Berlin University Alliance, a four-member project team is currently developing a federated platform to present information of researchers, their research and activities within the alliance. Using the open source software VIVO, semantic web technologies allow to present people and their work in a structured and searchable way. In the current development phase (until end of 2023), research information of cross-institutional collaborations within BUA, called Clusters of Excellence, are integrated into a demonstrator to illustrate the potential of the platform, especially for the presentation of interdisciplinary research.

This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the state of Berlin within the framework of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal Government and the Länder.

Contact

Claudia Adam, Community Manager VIVO Platform
Email: claudia.adam@hu-berlin.de