Deploying CRIS systems in reporting on public research funding

Abstract

In 2011, Peters et al. performed a study on the administrative burden that Flemish research administrations encounter when fulfilling reporting obligations imposed by governmental agencies due to the inefficient collection of research-related information. In line with this report, the Flemish government has issued new regulations anno 2019 that prescribe the use of the Flemish Research Information Portal (FRIS) as the main source of information used for reporting on public research funding. Obviously, these regulations push the requirements of the FRIS portal to an even higher level in terms of the variety of gathered information in relation to the reporting obligations. As such, the requirements include the expansion of the FRIS metamodel with new information objects, the expansion of the metadata for existing information objects and the inclusion of new classification schemes, following the principles of data governance. Furthermore, the direct consumption of FRIS-information for reporting purposes, also imposes even higher quality requirements of the data, not only in terms of the associated business and validation rules, but also in terms of the completeness of the data, the validation thereof and even on the processes associated with data registration. This presentation sheds light on the recent developments in Flanders in order to use FRIS as a reporting system for public research funding.