1. The objective of the REDIC (Research Equipment Database In CERIF) project is to scope and build a prototype system and infrastructure that would make possible an authoritative registry of information about research equipment and facilities (nationally or internationally) available in the CERIF format for use by researchers in the course of their work.
2. The incentive behind the project is to bring the concept of equipment/facility into the research information mix as the instrument by which research data is created and recorded against. The project model is of the form;
3. The prototype register will be available in the CERIF format to enable it to be readily incorporated or referenced in local databases such as Current Research Information Systems (CRIS) or Institutional Repositories (IR). The equipment and facilities contained within the register will each be assigned a persistent identifier, and may be cross-linked with research outputs (and research data in particular) produced as a result of using the equipment/facility, providing the ability to cite equipment.
4. A full national database of equipment/facility data is not presently available, and through desk research, only limited evidence exists to suggest that Universities manage such an online register of their own equipment. For REDIC we propose to source the project with the current NERC1 and EPSRC2 equipment databases, and will convert them into a machine readable registry using a format that is compliant to the CERIF3 equipment
entity description. The system will also enable the creation and import of new databases for inclusion in the register.
5. The project will meet a number of the primary objectives of the JISC Research Information Management programme. i.e. (a) and (c) of the Research Information Management programme overarching aims.
a. Creating new data stores to improve the availability of validated research
information
b. Tools for the analysis and/or visualisation of research information
c. Linking up systems (e.g. HR, Finance, award management) to improve data quality or to enable new services or processes.