National Centre for Information Support of Research, Development, and Innovation

The goal of the project National Centre for Information Support of Research, Development, and Innovation (NCIS R&D&I) is to increase the efficiency of national research, development, and innovation by supporting the creation of a new comprehensive platform - the One-Stop-Shop for Researchers (OSS4R). This platform will provide services in the area of information resources and other advanced both assisted and self-service support services, thus helping in improving the conditions for meeting the visions of the Innovation Strategy of the Czech Republic 2019–2030 and the objectives of the National politics in Research, Development, and Innovations of the Czech Republic 2021+.

Project activities of the NCIS R&D&I project:

• HA: Coordination of Open Science processes and services
• PA1: Operation of the CzechELib National Centre
• PA2a: Academic Services
• PA2b: Corporate Services
• PA3: Implementation of European Standards in Czech Republic’s Research Environment – was cancelled by the decision of the Project Steering Committee on 7 August 2024. The original content and activities are transferred to the PT and other project activities dealing with open science in the long term (PA1, PA2, PA4) and to the IPs OP JAK CARDS project.
• PA4: National Repository
• PA5: Technical and Software Security
• PA6: Project Management

HA: Coordination of Open Science processes and services

The issue of Open Science (OS) is a Horizontal Activity (HA) across all project activities and other activities of the National Library of Technology (NTK). The NTK is the Coordinator of Information Support for OS processes and services on the basis of its Founding Charter. The fulfilment of this mission is spread across the different project activities (specifically PA1, PA2 and PA4) that OS has been engaged in over the long term.

In the first phase, available information on key European trends, recommendations and examples of good practice will be mapped. Cooperation with relevant international and national actors and organisations supporting OS will be established.

In the second phase, activities will focus on the creation of a web-based National Open Science Platform. The platform will be a central access point for the management of research organisations, their OS managers, project managers, researchers, as well as for providers/funders and other government representatives, including policy makers. It will also offer a complete advanced online and offline information support, e.g. through a newly created and continuously updated OS Glossary, OS education, support and advice. It will be a place where representatives of all the above groups can find information and tools in relation to OS to support all phases of the research process. The platform will be continuously developed and improved based on new trends and current needs. Awareness of OS and the provided services and new trends will be disseminated through different communication channels and in different appropriate formats.

Continuous monitoring will be an on-going activity in order to identify the needs for the development and streamlining of information, data and educational services for R&D&I in the Czech Republic. Based on needs surveys and gap analyses of the services offered in the Czech science environment, ways and means to achieve relevant information in accordance with current Czech legislation will be identified in cooperation with other partners (e.g. providers/funders, research organisations, initiatives, etc.).

Expert Guarantor

Ing. Eva Dibuszová, Ph.D.

‌  eva.dibuszova@techlib.cz

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PA1: Operation of the CzechELib National Centre

The CzechELib National Centre handles the purchase of key electronic resources for the entire research and education community in the Czech Republic, administers them, including usage statistics, and supports open access publishing. The National Centre is part of the National Technical Library (NTK) and its establishment was supported by the European Operational Programme Research, Development and Education.

The Centre provides the following activities for its members:

• selection of electronic information resources (EIR) for central support;
• implementation of tenders for EIR suppliers;
• negotiation of licensing agreements and the actual purchase of EIR;
• support for member institutions in making available and using the EIR acquired;
• support for member institutions for the preparation of bibliometric analyses;
• managing and maintaining statistics on resource use;
• support for member institutions when using the publication parts of contracts (open access work).

More about the project at www.czechelib.cz.

Expert Guarantor

Ing. Jiří Jirát, Ph.D.

‌  jiri.jirat@czechelib.cz

Expert Council

Ing. Jiří Jirát, Ph.D., Chair, CzechELib Director, NTK
Mgr. Lenka Maixnerová, Vice-Chair, National Library of the Czech Republic
RNDr. Miroslav Bartošek, CSc., Masaryk University
prof. Ing. Radek Cibulka, Ph.D., VŠCHT Prague
doc. RNDr. Tomáš Kostelecký, CSc., Institute of Sociology, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS)
doc. Mgr. Libor Krásný, Ph.D., Institute of Microbiology, CAS
RNDr. Jiří Polách, Ph.D., IOCB, CAS
Ing. Václav Šubrta, Prague University of Economics and Business
Ing. Magdaléna Vecková, Library of CAS

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PA2a: Academic Services

The aim of Academic Services (sub-part PA2 – Advanced Assisted and Self-Service Information and Data Services) is to support the international success and competitiveness of researchers and students through the development of transferable competences needed for the presentation of professional output and the effective retrieval, filtering and use of information.

The initial tool is individual support for early-career researchers and their mentors through consultations, workshops and online tutorials. However, in order to ensure that competence gaps do not spill over into tertiary education and doctoral studies, the project includes support for university students and educators and secondary school teachers who prepare students for university studies.

All academic user requirements and services provided by NTK staff are documented and analysed to identify gaps in the curriculum related to the development of transferable competencies and existing institutional support for students, teachers and researchers. These outputs are further compared with international examples of good practice. On the basis of these findings, NTK staff, in collaboration with teachers, create missing educational programmes and content within the scope of their expertise, which are then freely available on the NTK website, in the Moodle e-learning system, in the NTK IDR and on other platforms (e.g. YouTube). At the same time, NTK inspires and supports its academic partners, and by extension the entire Czech education and research environment, in implementing missing educational programmes and developing institutional support beyond their competences.

The funds of the project will be used to develop and deliver individual services and create the tools used to document and analyse them, as well as to create new educational programmes and content aimed at developing transferable competences that are available under an open licence to all interested parties.

Expert Guarantor

Ing. Naděžda Firsová

‌  nadezda.firsova@techlib.cz

Expert Council

Ing. Naděžda Firsová, Chair, NTK
Mgr. Adam Urban, Secretary, NTK
Mgr. Kamila Etchegoyen Rosolová, Ph.D, CAS
PhDr. Tomáš Fliegl, National Accreditation Bureau
Mgr. Miroslav Hala, SK RVŠ
Ing. Ivana Jašková, Ph.D., Masaryk University
Mgr. Alena Kašpárková, Ph.D., VSB-TUO
Eliška Koňaříková, Dr. rer. nat., IMG, CAS
Mgr. Mili Viktorie Losmanová, VŠCHT Prague
Mgr. Lukáš Nachtigal, Charles University
Ing. Martina Nussbaumerová, Ph.D., IOCB, CAS
Ing. Kateřina Ornerová, Ph.D., CEITEC Masaryk University
Ing. Radka Pittnerová, Ph.D., Independent Expert

Permanent Guest:
Mgr. Jakub Šindelář, ČAD

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PA2b: Corporate Services

The planned activities to support the business environment are based on the current socio-economic situation, characterised in particular by the emerging fourth industrial revolution and the associated massive digitisation and automation, and go hand in hand with the recommendations of European and government strategies (especially the Innovation Strategy of the Czech Republic 2019-2030). It is crucial for the Czech Republic to master the digital transformation, change its narrow focus and move towards the development of industries with high added value and know-how. Innovation plays a key role in this and is powered primarily by small and medium enterprises. They are thus seen as the main drivers of future economic growth.

The first area of activities is therefore information support for companies, especially small and medium ones, with an emphasis on the start-up and spin-off environment. The aim is to provide professional information support in the field of intellectual property protection, corporate monitoring, standards, etc., to provide comprehensive information services and support for the transfer of R&D into practice (industry and services) and to support the entire process of transfer and development from design to prototype. A key activity will be to build a network of experts to ensure functional networking between the groups involved: business and science, start-ups and successful entrepreneurs, students and entrepreneurs, scientists and the public, etc. Last but not least, the aim of the activities is to familiarise people with current trends in business, marketing and management, and thus inspire innovation.

The prerequisites for the successful transformation of the Czech economy are a high technological standard of companies, as well as a high level of digital competences of children and young people, but also of the working-age population and senior citizens. The importance of information-centred thinking will continue to grow, progressive automation will increase the need for retraining, and digital literacy and mastery of modern technologies will be an important commodity on the labour market. The development of modern technology will have an increasing impact on all aspects of life. The second area of activity is therefore educational activities. The newly established thematic “information nests” in the public areas of the library promoting current technological trends will be complemented by specialised web portals aggregating information on a given issue with an emphasis on specialised information resources. They will include educational events such as talks and debates reflecting current topics. Interested entrepreneurs, professionals and members of the public will also be familiarised with the new technologies through practical courses in a specialised classroom.

Expert Guarantor

PhDr. Natálie Budilová

‌  natalie.budilova@techlib.cz

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PA3: Implementation of European Standards in Czech Republic’s Research Environment

The above mentioned project activity, focussed on the issue of open science, was cancelled by the decision of the Project Steering Committee on 7 August 2024. The original content and activities are transferred to the CT and other project activities dealing with open science in the long term (PA1, PA2, PA4) and to the IPs OP JAK CARDS project. The coordination of open science issues in the respective project activities, including the management and development of the website “National Open Science Platform” and the programming and organisation of the international conference KRECon (project indicators), are fully under the responsibility of the NCIP VaVaI Chief Expert Guarantor.

The preparation of strategic documents in the field of open science for the state administration is guaranteed by the NCIP VaVaI project management together with the NTK management and in cooperation with the NCIP VaVaI Scientific Council and the NCIP VaVaI Steering Committee.

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PA4: National Repository

The National Repository (NR) will build on the experience of the National Repository of Grey Literature (NRGL). The transformation of the NRGL to the NR will include both conceptual changes to the service and technical improvements to the repository’s functions and appearance.

The NR will continue to be a free repository for institutions. The aim is to enable research organisations, in particular, to store the widest possible range of text-based research outputs, not just grey literature, in the NR, including setting its accessibility. It will serve end users as a central search point for scientific publications, other research outcomes of a textual nature, as well as for unpublished materials (grey literature).

The NR will be built on the national e-infrastructure, will handle long-term archiving of digital documents and will strive for maximum interoperability with the systems of partner institutions and with important national and international systems, especially the R&D&I IS and OpenAIRE. OpenAIRE validation will ensure the transfer of research outcomes to the European CORDIS system. The repository will enable compliance with the duty to publish research outcomes in open access mode (the green way). It also plans to seek certification as a trusted repository.

Expert Guarantor

Mgr. Petra Černohlávková

‌  petra.cernohlavkova@techlib.cz

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PA5: Technical and Software Security

The main objective of PA 5 activities is to provide NTK with specialised software tools to enable total or partial automation of information processes and services. The amount of information and scientific data in the R&D&I field is so huge in today’s global world that it is impossible to satisfy the information needs of users in the traditional manual-intellectual way of searching and processing information that libraries have been used to.

Therefore, NTK wants to deploy tools based on the processing of primary and secondary information using artificial intelligence, on automatically generated reports in accordance with the settings of individual users, on proactive dissemination of the latest knowledge and facts with an emphasis on the use of modern terminal devices.

The comprehensive service offering will be seamlessly integrated into a comprehensive One-Stop-Shop for Researchers (OSS4R) platform. Users will only need an internet connection and a web browser to work with it, and on mobile devices they will only need to install the free app.

NTK’s IT infrastructure is used to make customer information systems and services available to the project target groups.

Expert Guarantor

Ing. Jiří Pavlík

‌  jiri.pavlik@techlib.cz

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PA6: Project Management

Steering Committee

The Project Steering Committee is the supreme body of the project, chaired by the Deputy for Management of the Higher Education, Science and Research Section of the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports. The Steering Committee has a total of 9 members.

Members

prof. PaedDr. Radka Wildová, CSc., Chair of the Committee, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, Head of the Higher Education, Science and Research Section
prof. Ing. Milan Pospíšil, CSc., Vice-Chair of the Committee, Chair of the Council of Higher Education
Ing. Hana Bakičová, Director, Department of R&D&I Coordination, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic
Ing. Miloslav Nič, Ph.D., RVVI
Ing. Gabriela Pokorná, Director of the Department of Budget Administrator, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
Ing. Leoš Horníček, Ph.D., Director of the Office, Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS)
Ing. Martin Svoboda, Director, NTK
Ing. Eva Dibuszová, Ph.D., Chief Expert Guarantor, Head of Strategy and Development Department, NTK
Dagmar Davidová, Chief Project Manager, NTK

Permanent Guest: Ing. Jan Proksch, Manager for Research, Development and Innovation, Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic

Scientific Council

The Scientific Council is an advisory body to the Director of NTK. Its Chair is the Director of NTK, and its Vice-Chair is the Chief Expert Guarantor. The Scientific Council consists of representatives of R&D&I, from the circle of support providers, universities, the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and other research organizations and industry.

Members

Ing. Martin Svoboda, Chair of the SC, Director of NTK
Ing. Eva Dibuszová, Ph.D., Vice-Chair of the SC, Chief Expert Guarantor of the project, NTK/VŠCHT Prague
prof. RNDr. Petr Baldrian, Ph.D., Chair, GA ČR/AV ČR
PhDr. Pavel Baran, CSc., Institute of Philosophy CAS
PhDr. Pavel Doleček, Ph.D., Deputy Minister R&D&I, Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
prof. Ing. Martin Fusek, CSc., Deputy Director for Strategical Development, ÚOCHB CAS
doc. MUDr. Marián Hajdúch, Ph.D., RVVI
Ing. Martin Hrdlička, Ph.D., MBA, RVVI
prof. Ing. Štěpán Jurajda, Ph.D., UK/CERGE-EI
prof. RNDr. Jan Konvalinka, CSc., Director IOCB, CAS
prof. Ing. Petr Konvalinka, CSc., Chair, TA ČR
prof. PhDr. Ladislav Krištoufek Ph.D., UK
prof. RNDr. Martin Loebl, CSc., Learned Society of the Czech Republic
prof. Dr. RNDr. Pavel Matějka, ČKR/rector VŠCHT Prague
prof. RNDr. Luděk Matyska, CSc., e-INFRA
Mgr. Martin Sekera, Ph.D., National Museum
Radek Špicar, M. Phil., Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic

Secretary of the Scientific Council

PhDr. Jitka Balcarová, Ph.D.

‌  jitka.balcarova@techlib.cz

Expert Council of the project NCIS R&D&I for Information Support of Open Science Processes and Services

The Expert Council acts as an advisory platform for the thematic area in order to strengthen cooperation with other relevant partners and to provide expert support on the future direction of open science and the handling of individual activities. It is chaired by the NCIS R&D&I Chief Expert Guarantor.

Members

Ing. Eva Dibuszová, Ph.D., Chair, NTK
PhDr. Jitka Balcarová, Ph.D., Secretary, NTK
Mgr. Jindřich Fejfar, KNAV CAS
Mgr. Dagmar Hanzlíková, Open Science Support Centre, Charles University
Mgr. Matyáš Hiřman, EOSC-CZ
Mgr. Michal Hlavačka, TC Praha
Mgr. Ing. Jiří Marek, EOSC-CZ Secretary, CZARMA PS OS
Mgr. Petra Nichtburgerová, M.A., Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports
Mgr. Žaneta Procházková, Assoc. of Libraries of Czech Universities PS OS
RNDr. Michal Růžička, Ph.D., OpenAIRE
Mgr. Klára Slanařová, EOSC-CZ Secretary
JUDr. Bc. Lucie Smolka, Ph.D., Open Content

Project Team

Chief Project Manager

Dagmar Davidová (PA 6 - Project Management)

‌  dagmar.davidova@czechelib.cz

Chief Expert Guarantor

Ing. Eva Dibuszová, Ph.D.

‌  eva.dibuszova@techlib.cz

Expert Guarantors of Project Activities

Ing. Jiří Jirát, Ph.D. (PA 1 - Operation of the CzechELib National Centre)

‌  jiri.jirat@czechelib.cz

Ing. Naděžda Firsová (PA2 - Advanced assisted and self-service information and data services – Academic Services)

‌  nadezda.firsova@techlib.cz

PhDr. Natálie Budilová (PA 2 - Advanced assisted and self-service information and data services – Corporate Services)

‌  natalie.budilova@techlib.cz

Ing. Eva Dibuszová, Ph.D. (PA 3 - Implementation of European Standards)

‌  eva.dibuszova@techlib.cz

Mgr. Petra Černohlávková (PA 4 - National Repository)

‌  petra.cernohlavkova@techlib.cz

Ing. Jiří Pavlík (PA 5 - Technical and Software Security)

‌  jiri.pavlik@techlib.cz

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