What is openresearch.amsterdam?

What can you find on openresearch.amsterdam?

The platform acts as a collective research memory of the Amsterdam region. Instead of knowledge disappearing in the drawer or being lost through staff changes, openresearch makes insights visible, findable and reusable. It includes:

• Scientific research

• Practice-oriented research

• Design research

• Policy documents and policy proposals

• Handbooks and methodologies

• Presentations, videos and infographics

• Prototypes and intermediate products of research projects

Linking knowledge from different domains creates a multilayered and interdisciplinary view of pressing issues. This is made technically possible by the semantic web on which openresearch is built: a structure in which not only documents but also people, projects and themes are connected through meaningful relationships.

Who is openresearch.amsterdam intended for?

Openresearch.amsterdam is aimed at a broad group of users involved in knowledge production and application in the region:

• Municipal servants: to learn from previous trajectories, find inspiration and methods for policy issues.

• Researchers and teachers: to make their research visible and strengthen collaboration with practice and policy.

• Designers and urban innovators: to place and share their ideas and experiments in the urban context.

• Students: to find relevant internship assignments and research

• Residents and journalists: to gain insight into the underpinnings of policy and social initiatives.

What makes openresearch special?

1. Collaboration and synergy

Openresearch is built on cooperation between institutions, based on the premise that knowledge gains value when it is shared. Thanks to the platform, new connections are created between people and ideas that would not otherwise find each other. Read more

2. Openness and transparency

Much of the published material is publicly accessible and has its source cited. In doing so, openresearch contributes to public debate and responsible policy. All research used by the City Council is published here. Read more

3. Collective memory

By organizing knowledge and storing it permanently, the platform provides a foothold for the future. Studies are preserved even when projects are completed or people leave. Read more

4. Toolbox

Popular publications on the platform are manuals and methods. For example, how do you do design research on heat stress? What approach works in engaging residents in energy poverty? Openresearch offers accessible, useful examples for this. Find them here

Technology and philosophy

The technology of openresearch is designed as a semantic web, in which knowledge has no hierarchical or linear character, but arises from mutual relationships. Articles, persons, organizations and projects are linked to each other through themes and keywords. This makes it possible to find new perspectives on familiar topics - and vice versa. Read more

Openresearch assumes a broad definition of research: from scholarly articles to sketches, podcasts and working notes. Anything that contributes to knowledge creation can be published - provided it is carefully crafted and relevant to the region.

Governance and ownership

Openresearch was founded and supported by a network of public partners within the Knowledge Making City Deal and has now grown into a governance of 32 affiliated formal partners. These partners include universities, colleges, social institutions and governments. The municipality is the functional manager and responsible for the technical management and security of the platform. All partners have full ownership of their own pages. See the full governance here

Each participating organization is responsible for its own content. The editors of these organizations ensure the quality and care of the publications. There are clear agreements on copyright, privacy (AVG), and code of conduct.

In addition, there is room for involved partners - smaller civil society organizations or companies that can publish their research on the platform through editorial collaboration. This increases the diversity of perspectives and keeps the threshold for sharing knowledge low.

Participate?

Anyone working on research, policy or innovation for Amsterdam can participate - as an editor, author, user or reader. The core editorial team supports with training, technical assistance and quality assurance. And the great thing is: the knowledge remains available and visible, for now and for the future.

For more information or to join: openresearch.amsterdam

To follow the editor training: click here