IRIS
THE CINECA’S CRIS SOLUTION
Caso de èxito en Italia
Federico Ferrario
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Contents
•CINECA
•The Italian research ecosystem and IRIS
•IRIS features
•Key of success (other than luck)
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What about CINECA?
NON PROFITCONSORTIUM
•67 italian universities
•9 Research Institutions 
• Italian Ministry of Education (MIUR)
Founded in 1969, with more 700
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What about CINECA?
Today it is the largest Italian computing 
centre, one of the most important 
worldwide.s hows the 500 most powerful commercially 
available computer systems known to us
CINECA is often been in the TOP 
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What about CINECA?
Scientific Research
High Performance Computing – FERMI: 5° in EU / 15° WW)
Scientific Visualization & Interactive Virtual Environments
We support activities of the scientific communities through:
• supercomputing and its applications
• qualified employees that assists researchers in the use of 
the technological infrastructure
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What about CINECA?
Technological Innovation
Data Center
Information and Knowledge Management Services Health Care Systems
It is also concretely engaged in technological transfer activities 
for businesses and public administration. 
it creates advanced systems for data management and 
analysis in the biomedical and health, manufacturing and 
large-scale retail trade sectors
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What about CINECA?
Higher Education
Solutions & Services for the University Administration
Services for the Ministry of Education, University and Research
(MIUR)
CINECA develops complex information systems to 
support all the Higher Education 
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Italian research ecosystem: Institutional
stakeholder
CRIS
National
databases
Evaluation Agency 
for
University & 
Research
Universities (ANVUR )
& 
Research Institutes Ministry of 
Education, 
University & 
Research
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Italian research ecosystem: Universities
CRIS
National
databases
Evaluation Agency 
for
University & 
Research
University (ANVUR )
& 
Research Institutes Ministry of 
Education, 
University & 
Research
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What’s about you, IRIS?
Universities to do 
research need resources. 
They have:
• to build laboratories;
• to buy equipment;
• to recruit 
Which are skills of my researchers, which 
eqruiepmseenta dor wceh haever asn…d who use this 
equipment?
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s
What’s about you, IRIS?
With these resources, 
Universities can:
• carry out projects
• sign contracts
• register patents…
Do you know success rate of your projects? 
Projects Do you know which workgroup is involved 
in which projects?
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s
What’s about you, IRIS?
During the lifecycle of 
projects researchers 
write publications
Do you know the average of publications 
Projects for departments last two years?
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Product
s
Resource
s
What’s about you, IRIS?
Evaluation Now I have a huge database with 
resoucers, projects, patents, 
contracts, publications…. 
what I need more over? 
I need to evaluate what I 
have done to define 
investments for the next 
Projects cycle.
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Product
s
Resource
s
What’s about you, IRIS?
Evaluation Anything else?
I surely want to increase 
Disseminati visibility of my university to 
on attract different 
stakeholders: students, 
industries, partners for 
Projects grants… so I need a shop 
windows for my skills
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Product
s
Resource
s
What’s about you, IRIS?
Evaluation
Disseminati
on
Projects
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Product
s Resource
s
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Brevetto
Premio
Progetto
Contratto
Researcher Gruppi di ricerca
Prodotto
Laboratorio Attrezzatura
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Brevetto
Premio
Progetto
Contratto
Researcher Working group
Prodotto
Laboratorio Attrezzatura
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Brevetto
Premio
Project
Contratto
Ricercatore Working group
Prodotto
Laboratorio Attrezzatura
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Brevetto
Premio
Project
Contratto
Ricercatore Gruppi di ricerca
Prodotto
Laboratory Equipment
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Patent
Premio
Project
Contratto
Ricercatore Gruppi di ricerca
Prodotto
Laboratorio Attrezzatura
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Patent
Premio
Progetto
Contract
Ricercatore Gruppi di ricerca
Prodotto
Laboratorio Attrezzatura
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Brevetto
Premio
Progetto
Contract
Ricercatore Gruppi di ricerca
Prodotto
Laboratorio Equipment
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Brevetto
Premio
Progetto
Contratto
Researcher Working group
Publication
Laboratorio Attrezzatura
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relation between research
entities
Brevetto
Award
Progetto
Contratto
Researcher Working group
Prodotto
Laboratorio Attrezzatura
www.cineca.it
Bring to light relations between research
entities
Patent
Award
Project
Contract
Researcher Working group
Publication
Laboratory Equipment
www.cineca.it
What is the coverage of IRIS in Italy?
78 production environments
Amoung Universities and Research
institutes
Growth rate of 
40 % in the last 3 years
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“78 universities” is just an absolute number
What is the coverage of IRIS in Italy?
Based on University size(ANVUR ‘s classification )
100%Big Universities
90% Medium Universities
30% Small universities
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“78 universities” is just an absolute number
What is the coverage of IRIS in Italy?
Compared to professors and researchers registered in 
Ministry's databases of publications
96% IRIS coverage
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Thomas L. Friedman
www.cineca.it
Real life in Italy…
Every morning in Italy, a researcher wakes up. It knows it must run 
faster than IRIS….
One way for 96% of researchers to manage
scientific CV, projects, publications and more over.
Even if a researcher changes Universitiy or Research
institutes he can do the same things in the 
same way
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Real life in Italy…
Due to universities
trust That adopt IRIS
Stakeholders’ 
cFroomm umnivitemrsiteienstto Ministry, from 
researchers to Cineca’s developers
We are building the Italian research
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Institutional Repository: Two faces
Dissemination
It is in charge of dissemination thanks to a 
public web portal and standard interoperability
protocols
Management
It is in charge to manage publications with 
a powerful components for cataloguing, 
validating and configurable workflow
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Institutional Repository: DO IT ONCE
I think should be a vision for IRIS
Mary Jean West 
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Institutional Repository: DO IT ONCE
For researcher IRIS, and CRIS in general, are an 
overhead of what they have to do
«I have to work on projects not on 
CRIS».
we have to 
implement a CRIS 
that is an overhead probably all of you that are 
CRIS's manager have listen this 
but as lower as sentence
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Institutional Repository: DO IT ONCE
One author loads publication in 
IRIS:
• In a automatic way
• for all authors in their 
University (IRIS analyzes 
authors' string and It tries to 
identify internal authors 
based on University HR 
registry);
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Institutional Repository: DO IT ONCE
The publication is sent everywhere is
needed:
For instance, for ministry obligations in Italy:
• a publication, if it was funded by European 
community, have to be sent to European 
Community's Portal:
• must to be sent to Ministry Database, for 
evaluation;
• in case of PHD thesis must to be sent to the 
National database of PHD thesis.
For dissemination:
• to ORCID.
• to University’s Institutional Website
• Etc..
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Institutional Repository: DO IT RIGHT
if you want to convince your researcher that loading 
publication into your CRIS is a value for him… 
you have to "DO IT RIGHT“…Enhancing experience
If you give me 1……   I’ll give you back 100
Data enrichment Visibility
Decision support
Data Quality Assessment
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Institutional Repository: DO IT RIGHT Data 
enrichment
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Institutional Repository: DO IT RIGHT Visibility
We have to change our point of view
Universities or Industries 
Don’t ask: 
“Give me a list of publications, projects that match my 
needs”
They ask: 
“Tell me who can resolve my needs”
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Institutional Repository: DO IT RIGHT Visibility
Universities Web Portal Search
Cardiovascular Engine Project
marker expert Publication
Publication
So..who is real Project
expert on mPubylica tion
topic?
Award
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Institutional Repository: DO IT RIGHT Visibility
IRIS IRIS instead show the experts 
on that topic 
analyzing all publications and projects 
on topic but doesn't show single Object, 
IRIS shows people that has 
demonstrated skills based on 
their works.
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Institutional Repository: DO IT RIGHT Visibility
Project Project Publication Publication
IRIS
Award
Project Publication
Publication
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Product catalogue: DO IT RIGHT Data Quality
Assesment
“Researchers don’t have much time for CRIS”
but also librarians, department directors, and so 
on don’t have time to waste. 
We also have to support these other CRIS' actors 
to verify and increase quality of data present into 
the CRIS.
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Product catalogue: DO IT RIGHT Data Quality
Assesment
Discover match on Bibliographic Databases
▪ It can find potential matches between products in IRIS and products in Scopus, 
WOS, Pubmed
▪ It can compare IRIS records with external record and merge them to obtain a 
complete and validated record
Discover mismatch between fulltexts and publisher's 
policies
▪ It can help authors to identify correct policy during submission
▪ It can help repositories admin to correct potential policy violation
Identify duplicated records
▪ During submission by authors, to prevent duplication
▪ Offline, to allow repository admin to improve quality
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Product catalogue: DO IT RIGHT Data Quality
Assesment
Researcher is not an expert on publisher’s policy: often he is 
afraid to violate publisher’s pDooli cfiuellst.ext be visible 
Can I load preprint to everyone or only 
or editorial to repository 
version? manager?
Ok…I don’t 
load fulltext
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Screenshot from IRIS
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Product catalogue: DO IT RIGHT Decision
support
We have to support the virtuous process that transform 
data into information, information in knowledge that 
becomes strategy.
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Screenshot from IRIS
We have to give powerful tools to analyze data, evaluate 
investments done and support strategy for the next 
years.
How it was possible to achieve this ambitious
goal?
Answer 1: 
«time is money»
Give to researchers/admin tools that return
maximum results with minimum 
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Question
Do you know your 
researchers' prestige and 
their curricular activities?
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«Scientific CV»
Awards Topic of Interests
National and international research award ERC, ISI-CRUI, Ateco, Free keywords
(incremental), research line;
Standard Italian Taxonomies
• Involvement in academies, scientific associations at national and/or 
international level
• Management or scientific responsibility in research institutions;
• Phd tutoring
• Involvement in Editoral board
• ….
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Question
Where and how research is 
done in your Institution?
Equipment Laboratorie
s
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And much more…
Projects and Activities
Agreements Patents
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And much more…
Incoming & Outgoing
Public Engagement Working Group
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Question
How it was possibile to 
achieve this ambitious
goal?
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Integrations with other Universities systems
CINECA is pervasive not only with 
IRIS but with the whole suite to 
manage all Universities processes
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Integrations with other Universities system
Students Accounting HR system Project Mngt Inventory Mngt
PhD Thesis are automatically loaded into catalogue for 
dissemination
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Integrations with other Universities system
Students Accounting HR system Project Mngt Inventory Mngt
Project idea, proposal and financing iter are managed by 
IRIS.
When is founded IRIS initialize Accounting and PJM 
Systems
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Integrations with other Universities system
Students Accounting HR system Project Mngt Inventory Mngt
Project’s Budget variations or workgroup variation should 
change project data or status in IRIS
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Integrations with other Universities system
Students Accounting HR system Project Mngt Inventory Mngt
IRIS takes all information about researchers and 
professors from HR system and enriches them with 
research attributes
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Integrations with other Universities system
Students Accounting HR system Project Mngt Inventory Mngt
IRIS takes information about equipment from inventory
system and enriches them with research attributes
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FULFILMENT of Ministry obligations
Periodically Ministry and Evaluation Agency organize an 
evaluation exercise:
• Every 4 year: National Evaluation Exercise (VQR)
• Every Year: National Evaluation Excercise - for 
Departments (SUA-RD)
• Every 4 months: Evaluation for researcher’s threshold 
(ASBNa)sed on these evaluations Ministry define allocation of funds for 
Universities and define threshold for researchers.
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FULFILMENT of Ministry obligations
Live sincronization with Ministry 
SistemsPublications In this way Universities:
▪ have control of research 
they have done locally;
Scientific CV
▪ at the same time they fulfill 
(Award, Felloship, etc.)
to ministry's obligations.
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FULFILMENT of Ministry obligations
Evaluation exercise: identify the best activities
Internal Evaluation 
Exercises to Identify
Reporting & Analysis to support selection
best products, 
activities, etc…
Selection of best performer/performance 
Process of validation at different
academic levels
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ORCID adoption USE CASE
In 2016 Ministry of Education launched the 
Italian Researcher Identifier for Evaluation 
(IRIDE)
For National Evaluation Exercise a researcher
MUST HAVE ORCID
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ORCID adoption USE CASE
On IRIS when a researcher logon, the system asked him 
to add an ORCID id, and he couldn’t continue without 
complete this request.
HUB
An ORCID hub to mask ORCID complexity: it dialogues 
Other with ORCID and every Italian systems could dialogue 
CRIS in a simpler way with ORCID hub
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ORCID adoption USE CASE
Proactive 
Strong implementation in 
commitment central and peripheral 
systems
from MINISTRY
94% researchers have 
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But in the real life, there are not only good 
news….
Local system MUST to be aligned ALWAYS 
with Ministry system
1) Each requirement of Ministry have to be 
implemented in two environments
2) Risk of misalignment between two
systems
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ENGAGE: IRIS Focus Group
Universities/Research Institutes that adopt IRIS is
involved in IRIS Focus Group.
Group of Universities employees
Focus Group defines IRIS road map and 
helps CINECA to identify needs and 
requirements
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ENGAGE: IRIS Focus Group
The best choice we have done some years ago
• By one side, Universities are (and feel) more involved in IRIS, 
and by the other side CINECA will receive less bad reviews on 
IRIS because is not only a CINECA's product, but a 
CONSORTIUM’s product.
• For CINECA is a really opportunity because we are really 
developing what universitTiehsis  wisa rneatlly what I 
need !
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ENGAGE: IRIS Focus Group (info for 2017)
• 40 Universities officially involved (235 people is subscribed to IRIS’ 
Wiki, mailing list);
• 5 Universities are coordinators of 5 different subgroups (one for each
IRIS’ module);
• 25 discussion pages on wiki
• 16 CISCO webEX meetings with all universities;
• 62 analisys documents released;
• 14 CISCO webEX meetings with Universities’ coordinator
• 9 webinars, demos
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Market point of view
•A techinal partner for all stakeholder: CINECA 
develops software for Ministry, for Evaluation Agency 
and for Universities
• Universities can sleep easily, because they know that all the systems will be 
aligned, in a coherent way with a clear semantic.
• And… in unlucky event of problems, all the responsibilities and 
troubleshooting will be in charge on CINECA
• IRIS is pervasive in Universities, and could be the 
simplest choice
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This captive market is an opportunity or risk?
Opportunity Risk
Standardization Feel there’s no escape
Reduce national costs of Enancement of quality
CRIS based on Market 
Competition
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Technicalities
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Question
How many people
do we need?
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IRIS staff and organization
1 7
1
Consultant
IRIS Manager
3 7
1 Project Manager Analyst, Developer, QA
1
IRIS Manager
Product manager
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Thank you
f.ferrario@cineca.it
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