Research Information and Digitisation Unit

Research information, or research metadata, refers to data describing a university's research activities. This includes project titles, project management, the organisational unit carrying out the project, funding bodies, publications titles, authors, and more. 

This type of metadata is distinct from primary research data, which is managed through research data management (RDM) processes. At HHU, the RDM team provides advice on handling primary research data.

Current research information systems (CRIS) consolidate information from both scientific and administrative sources, which is often distributed across various departments. CRIS enables a structured view of the resources and research activities of a university and its organisational units. Based on the principle of "record once - use many times", the CRIS simplifies reporting both within the university and to external stakeholders, making research more accessible and transparent to society.

The core objective of the CRIS implementation project at HHU is to integrate the CRIS into the existing system infrastructure. Data collected through administrative processes should be available in the CRIS and, if possible, should not need to be re-collected by researchers. A key task for the CRIS team is therefore to establish interfaces with existing administrative source systems, such as third-party funding management systems, personnel management systems, and identity management systems, in order to transfer research information into the CRIS. This approach ensures that the workload for researchers is kept to a minimum. All HHU staff will be able to use the CRIS to review, record, collect, and link research information. In the area of research and transfer, the CRIS will serve as the basis for reporting, external visibility, and integration into HHU’s Business Intelligence (BI) system.

As a result of discussions between representatives from the rectorate, faculties, and administration, HHU has defined the following goals for managing research information: 

• Establish a quality-assured, standardised, KDSF-compatible database for efficiently responding to research-related reporting requests, including KDSF-compliant reporting
• Create a user-friendly system for recording, collecting, linking, and presenting research information by integrating existing data sources, IT systems, and workflows.
• Generate added value for researchers by providing easier access to reusable research information
• Support transparent, data-driven, subject-specific planning and management in research for university leadership, faculties, and researchers
• Use the collected data for a largely automated, web-based presentation of HHU's research profile, both internally and externally

The implementation of the Current Research Information System (CRIS) is being carried out within the CRIS.NRW university consortium, using the HISinOne-RES software from HIS eG.

The pilot phase has begun in May 2024. The pilot phase aims, among other things, to prepare the CRIS production system, conduct the technical tests, validation tasks and data quality checks.  Click here for the data protection information on the pilot phase of the CRIS at HHU.