Why are we doing this?

Research and Innovation (R&I) policymakers need access to the right evidence to design and implement high-impact interventions that deliver innovation, growth and wellbeing. Big data and data analytics offer many opportunities to transform R&I policy with a new generation of indicators, that are more relevant, inclusive, timely, trusted and open (RITO) than those already available. Such data can enable better decisions with bigger (and better measured) impacts. However, concerns about the representativity, accuracy and inclusiveness of new data sources and methods could hinder their acceptance. EURITO aims to build trust around these indicators so they can be adopted effectively.

What are we doing?

Funded by the European Commission, this 36-month project (from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2020) engages policymakers and researchers as stakeholder groups throughout the project, and promotes a user-driven, agile, rigorous and transparent process that goes from identifying policy needs to developing relevant indicators for R&I policy. The overall aim of the project is to develop new mapping methods (data, software and knowledge) of the innovation ecosystem, that will lead to better R&I policy, new opportunities for open innovation, an enhanced understanding of innovation systems and new networks between policymakers, researchers and data businesses.

This is achieved through five connected phases:

• Scoping identifies R&I policymaker needs and data gaps
• Exploration takes eight key questions identified from the scoping phase and develops short pilots using big data and new data analytics to address these questions
• Data collection and analysis scales up four data pilots with the biggest policy potential enabling the production of Relevant, Inclusive, Timely, Trusted and Open (RITO) indicators for R&I policy
• Validation, systemically validates all of the indicators generated in the data collection and analysis stage with the goal of building trust around their use
• Communication and dissemination seek to enhance the impact and transparency of outputs by disseminating them in a way that is actionable and reproducible, including through open datasets, open source repositories, and interactive data visualisations and dashboards.

Our partners

The partners of the EURITO consortium are key players with recognised leadership, proven expertise, experience and skills covering the project’s scientific aims from policy knowledge, big data processing and analytics to visualisation.

Nesta, with almost 20 years experience working in the R&I policy domain, leads the consortium. DTU (Denmark) is a leading university in technical and natural sciences, with strong experience using big datasets and methods to address the needs of R&I policymakers and industry. FRAUNHOFER Gesellschaft (Germany) is a leading organisation in applied research and development, and the team involved has significant experience consulting with R&I policymakers at the national, European and international levels. Cotec (Spain) has more than 25-years experience analysing the innovation system, as well as its evolution in the Spanish and international context. The Foundation also plays an important role in its relationship with public authorities, generating recommendations for the development of innovation policies at high levels of institutional representation.

It is worth noting that these roles do not represent ‘silos’, and that there will be significant participation of all partners across all phases, which enhances the opportunities for cross-pollination, peer review and learning inside the consortium.

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework programme under Grant Agreement n° 770420.