KNOWMAK · Project

Interactive Research Intelligence Platform Mapping European Innovation by Topic, Actor, and Region

digitalTestedTRL 5Thin data (2/5)

Imagine trying to figure out which universities, companies, and regions across Europe are working on a specific technology — like hydrogen storage or AI for agriculture. Right now you'd have to dig through separate databases of scientific papers, patents, and funded projects, each with different formats and no easy way to cross-reference. KNOWMAK built a single web platform that pulls all these sources together, adds social media attention data, and lets you explore everything through interactive maps and charts. Think of it as a Google Maps for European research activity, organized by topic, who's involved, and where.

By the numbers

data sources integrated (publications, patents, projects, social innovation, social media)

consortium partners

countries represented in consortium (AT, FR, IT, NL, UK)

user groups involved in platform design

total project deliverables

core data sources in pilot (publications, patents, projects)

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies and regional agencies trying to track European research trends must manually search fragmented databases of publications, patents, and funded projects — each with different formats and no cross-referencing. This makes it nearly impossible to quickly answer questions like 'who in Europe is working on my target technology?' or 'how does my region compare in producing relevant research?'

The solution

What was built

A fully functional web-based visualization platform (knowmak.eu) that integrates 5 data sources — scientific publications, patents, research projects, social innovation data, and social media attention — into interactive maps and indicators. The project delivered 24 outputs including ontologies for Societal Grand Challenges and Key Enabling Technologies, a pilot website with 3 data sources, and a full website covering all 5 sources.

Audience

Who needs this

Technology scouting firms tracking European R&D activity across sectorsRegional development agencies benchmarking innovation performanceUniversity research offices identifying collaboration partnersScience policy advisors monitoring knowledge co-creation trendsInnovation cluster managers mapping local research strengths

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Management Consulting & Strategy

SME

Target: R&D strategy consultancies and technology scouting firms

If you are a technology scouting firm struggling to map which European research groups are active in a client's target domain — KNOWMAK developed a visualization platform combining 5 data sources (publications, patents, projects, social innovation, social media) into interactive maps organized by topic, actor, and geography. It covers Societal Grand Challenges and Key Enabling Technologies, letting you identify research hotspots and active players across 5 countries without manual database trawling.

Regional Economic Development

any

Target: Regional development agencies and innovation clusters

If you are a regional development agency trying to benchmark your area's research strengths against other European regions — KNOWMAK built indicators at metropolitan, regional, national, and European levels showing knowledge co-creation patterns. The platform's geographic visualization layer lets you see where specific research topics concentrate, who collaborates across borders, and how your region's research output compares, drawing from 3 core data sources: publications, patents, and funded projects.

Higher Education & Research Management

enterprise

Target: University research offices and public research organizations

If you are a university research office needing to identify collaboration opportunities or justify funding proposals with hard data — KNOWMAK provides state-of-the-art indicators on who produces what knowledge and where, with a user interface specifically designed for research organization managers. The platform tracks 4 types of actors in knowledge co-creation, making it easier to find complementary partners and demonstrate your institution's positioning in specific research areas.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to access the KNOWMAK platform?

The KNOWMAK platform was publicly accessible at knowmak.eu during and after the project. As a publicly funded Coordination and Support Action, the tool was designed for open access. Based on available project data, there is no indication of a commercial licensing model or subscription fee.

Can this scale to cover sectors or regions beyond the original scope?

The platform was built around ontologies for Societal Grand Challenges and Key Enabling Technologies, covering broad thematic areas. It integrates 5 data sources at multiple geographic levels (metropolitan, regional, national, European). Extending to additional topics or geographies would require updating the underlying ontologies and data pipelines.

Is there any IP or licensing to be aware of?

KNOWMAK was funded as a CSA (Coordination and Support Action) with a fully academic consortium of 10 partners across 5 countries. Based on available project data, the outputs appear to be open-access research tools rather than commercially licensed IP. Any reuse would need to be discussed with the coordinator, Université Gustave Eiffel.

How current is the data in the platform?

The project ran from 2017 to 2019 and is now closed. The full website and visualization environment was delivered as a final output. Based on available project data, there is no indication of ongoing data updates post-project, so the indicators may reflect the 2017-2019 data landscape.

Can this integrate with our existing business intelligence tools?

The platform was built as a standalone web-based visualization environment. Based on available project data, there is no mention of APIs or data export features for integration with third-party BI tools. The 24 deliverables focused on the web interface, ontologies, and indicators rather than interoperability layers.

Who validated the platform's usefulness?

KNOWMAK explicitly involved 4 user groups in the design process: policy-makers, regional actors and civil society representatives, business sector users, and managers of public research organizations and universities. This user-centered approach shaped both the indicators and the visualizations provided.

Consortium

Who built it

The KNOWMAK consortium consists of 10 partners across 5 countries (Austria, France, Italy, Netherlands, UK), with a purely academic composition: 6 universities, 3 research organizations, and 1 other entity. There are zero industry partners and zero SMEs, which means no commercial validation or market pull was built into the project. The coordinator, Université Gustave Eiffel in France, is a higher education institution. This consortium profile is typical for a Coordination and Support Action focused on research indicators and policy tools — strong on methodology and data science, but lacking the business-side partners who could drive commercial uptake or sustained platform operation after funding ends.

UNIVERSITE GUSTAVE EIFFELCoordinator · FR
AIT AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GMBHparticipant · AT
UNIVERSITEIT LEIDENparticipant · NL
THE UNIVERSITY OF MANCHESTERparticipant · UK
THE UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELDparticipant · UK
CHAMBRE DE COMMERCE ET D'INDUSTRIE DE REGION PARIS ILE-DE-FRANCEthirdparty · FR
POLITECNICO DI MILANOparticipant · IT
ZENTRUM FUR SOZIALE INNOVATION GMBHparticipant · AT
CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRSthirdparty · FR
UNIVERSITY OF STRATHCLYDEparticipant · UK

How to reach the team

Université Gustave Eiffel (France) — contact via university research office or project website

Order a report on this consortium See UNIVERSITE GUSTAVE EIFFEL profile →

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to use European research mapping data to find technology partners or benchmark your R&D position? SciTransfer can help you navigate these insights — contact us for a tailored briefing.

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