On 4 May 2015, the European Commission (EC) launched an Information Sharing Platform on Marine and Maritime Research to support the "Innovation in the Blue Economy" Communication of May 2014, as well as the European Parliament's Resolution of September 2015 on "Untapping the potential of research and innovation in the blue economy to create jobs and growth". The platform, currently in its pilot stage, shares available research data and key results from EU-funded projects related to the marine and maritime research sectors.
In cooperation with the respective Project Coordinators of the 31 FP7 Oceans of Tomorrow projects, the COLUMBUS project collected over 500 Knowledge Outputs, of which 456 exploitable results were extracted to populate this pilot platform. This collection of knowledge from research projects facilitates the uptake of new ideas, research results, data, products and services by industry, policy makers, civil society and other interested parties. This platform is an example of sharing results from European funded projects as soon as possible; thus supporting the concept of Open Science.
The COLUMBUS project is focused on utilising a novel Knowledge Transfer methodology to provide support and solutions for Blue Growth and implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The Knowledge Outputs collected to support the implementation of the EC’s pilot platform will be analysed by COLUMBUS where they will be considered for further transfer to target users.
If you would like to know more about the COLUMBUS project or would like to receive regular updates on its progress, please contact its Project Manager, Cliona Ní Cheallacháin (email: cliona@aquatt.ie or tel: +353 (0) 1 644 9008).
The front end of the EC's "information sharing" searchable tool for exploring exploitable results in marine and maritime research