EUPRO - A reference database on project-based R&D collaboration networks

The EUPRO database enables the analysis of participation patterns of organisations in and across different European R&D funding initiatives and the investigation of resulting collaborative R&D network structures and dynamics. The perimeter of EUPRO is currently more than 600,000 R&D projects funded by European (EU, transnational or national) research funding organisations, comprising systematic information about contents of the R&D projects, their participating organizations (including organisation type and location), and a number of additional characteristics (e.g. underlying policy instrument and programme). This scientific data descriptor serves as illustrative information source for users, both from science as well as from policy. It discusses the conceptual background and derives respective analytical opportunities for different actual, highly relevant debates in innovation studies and related fields. Moreover, the data collection process is described in a compact manner, as well as how the collected data are harmonized and aggregated into a suitable data model for analytical purposes. Finally, we put forward issues of technical validation, data quality and enrichment, and usage notes on how to access EUPRO.