Pilot project Open Ricgraph demo server
Anyone can use and explore Ricgraph with research information from the participating organizations. Access it via https://explorer.ricgraph.eu.
This page tells more about the Pilot project Open Ricgraph demo server. Rather install and use your own version of Ricgraph with your own research information? Go to install and use Ricgraph.
Aim of the pilot project
The aim of the pilot project is to demonstrate how Ricgraph can provide insights into research relations and collaborations, and how it can optimize the quality of research information.
The approach we take is to collect research information from participating organizations and from multiple source systems, and to combine it in a single graph. The result is openly available to anyone, in accordance with the open science principles.
By organizing research information in a network of connected items and relations, users can infer new relations, relations that are not present in any of the source systems. Ricgraph is unique because it allows you to:
Participating organizations
In this pilot project, we have started with research information from the following organizations in the Netherlands:
 |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam University Medical Centers | Delft University of Technology | Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam |
More participants will be added during pilot period. If your organization would like to participate, read Participate in the pilot project.
Multiple source systems
The graph for this pilot is constructed based on the contents of the Research Information System Pure of each participating organization, supplemented with research information from sources such as the publication and data set aggregator OpenAlex, the data repository Yoda, and the Research Software Directory.
Contents of the pilot
Utrecht University facilitates the participating organizations to construct a graph containing their research information. It will include information on researchers, teams, their results, (sub-)organizations, collaborations, (optional) skills, and the relations between these items.
The participating organizations explore the potential and investigate what can be learned from research information in a single graph. This project consists of several parts:
- Utrecht University will make available an Open Ricgraph demo server containing research information from the participating organizations.
- Participating organizations can enrich Pure data using Ricgraph and BackToPure. BackToPure can insert (enrich) items from an organization that are absent from the Pure system of that organization but are present in another source, back into the Pure system of that organization. Read more at Enhance research information systems with Ricgraph.
- Participating organizations can explore collaborations between sub-organizations (faculties, departments, chairs) using Ricgraph. Read more at Explore collaborations between (sub-)organizations with Ricgraph.
- Anyone can Explore open science with Ricgraph.
- Each organization can also pursue its own goals.
To learn more about the pilot project, please read Discovering insights from cross-organizational research information and collaborations: A pilot project using Ricgraph, Rik D.T. Janssen (2025), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15637647.
Participate in the pilot project
You can use the Open Ricgraph demo server by going to the webpage at the top of this page. If your organization would like to participate, there are three things that require your attention:
- Preparation for the pilot.
- Your organization and Utrecht University need to sign two agreements: an Agreement to host a pilot Open Ricgraph demo server, and a Data Processing Agreement. The effort required for this depends on how closely your organization’s insights on legal and privacy policies align with those of the already participating organizations. You can find more information (including the agreements) in section 1.6 and chapter 5 of the document above.
- Your organization needs a privacy statement related to this pilot project. Possibly the general privacy statement of your organization suffices. Your organization might also wish to conduct a data classification. These topics are described in chapter 5 of the document above.
- Execution of the pilot.
- Someone of your organization needs to participate in the project group, needs time for experimentation, and needs time for sharing findings. In practice, this will take as much time as you are able and willing to allocate, as described in section 1.7 of the document above.
For more information, please contact Rik D.T. Janssen.
Next steps
Read about Ricgraph news. Go to the contact page.