Supporting innovation via search tools

The EU-funded DISCOVER-IT project's method supports semantic searching for information relevant to technological innovation. The eight-member consortium ran between September 2013 and February 2015. Its work was based upon that of an earlier EU-funded project, INSEARCH (2010–2012).

Specifically, DISCOVER-IT focused on search techniques for information retrieval and extraction, applied to structured and unstructured information sources. Customised applications allow for integration of the project's improvements and information flow into everyday operations, including legacy systems.

Work during the first reporting period focused on technical improvements. The project described the functionalities that its final system will offer in support of the innovation process. Also defined was the information content upon which the system will run searches. Both steps were validated by project partners and external organisations. The team formalised the validation case of each partner in addition to key performance indicators.

Technical achievements included establishing the overall architecture, importation and indexing of data, and usability improvements. The information retrieval and extraction techniques were integrated into the system. The team tested the system with an iterative approach, whereby new features were added separately and tested after each addition. The first validation cases by partners have been performed, first by giving feedback on usability requirements and then via testing.

The consortium prepared a detailed market analysis, involving questionnaires of various external organisations. The analysis will define the pricing strategy.

DISCOVER-IT yielded an improved system that enables searching for innovation-related information. The system both supports small business and offers market opportunities.