Developments in European information issues: Networks and relays – Services – Products, February 2000

CORDIS new web site goes live

Previewed at Online '99, the new CORDIS web site has now gone live and is a considerable improvement on the previous version which had become increasingly difficult to navigate as more and more information was added. A victim of its own success! The first CORDIS home page was launched in 1994, while the next one appeared in 1997. That still worked on the linear list and scroll principle, but with over 40,000 web pages and more than 2,000 database records to cope with it was becoming more and more difficult to track down easily the relevant information.

The new “galaxy” design breaks down into three sections: Find, Explore and Today. When the cursor is passed over the various sub-headings, pop-up menus appear with more detailed lists of links. The site also very helpfully offers both an A-Z index and a thematic index. For regular users it is still possible to navigate quickly and directly to, for example, the Results Database, but for new visitors it is simpler to move around. One of the prime intentions in developing the new version was to create the facility to add new features easily as the site develops. Indeed a number of new features are already present and others are due to follow in the coming months.

A key development is the option of conducting a global search which covers web pages, the documents library and databases combined. In addition the separate, more targeted search option for the web pages themselves, or one or more of the databases, is still available. The “Today” section offers a rolling news function displaying the latest headlines. Interactive features enabling the submission of data directly have been enhanced.

The pilot CORDIS Regional Research and Innovation Service, to be found under the Research and Development Gateway heading, was launched on 10 January 2000 to encourage the promotion and dissemination of information on research and innovation on a regional basis. While it is very much at the construction stage at present, regions can request to participate in the pilot scheme. Also being developed is the facility to extract data on the participation of individual member states in research programmes.

Next stages to watch out for are the extension of the map based search function to include the applicant member states and the EFTA/EEA countries, and an expert interface for advanced searching of the databases.

Visit CORDIS at http://www.cordis.lu/ to explore the site and test the new features.