AGRIS: providing access to agricultural research data exploiting open data on the web

Abstract

AGRIS is the International System for Agricultural Science and Technology. It is supported by a large community of data providers, partners and users. AGRIS is a database that aggregates bibliographic data, and through this core data, related content across online information systems is retrieved by taking advantage of Semantic Web capabilities. AGRIS is a global public good and its vision is to be a responsive service to its user needs by facilitating contributions and feedback regarding the AGRIS core knowledgebase, AGRIS’s future and its continuous development. Periodic AGRIS e-consultations, partner meetings and user feedback are assimilated to the development of the AGRIS application and content coverage. This paper outlines the current AGRIS technical set-up, its network of partners, data providers and users as well as how AGRIS’s responsiveness to clients’ needs inspires the continuous technical development of the application. The paper concludes by providing a use case of how the AGRIS stakeholder input and the subsequent AGRIS e-consultation results influence the development of the AGRIS application, knowledgebase and service delivery.