The communication flow of research projects results

Research projects and scientific grey literature are linked by a recognized, but not so commonly pointed out, cause-effect relation. Scientific GL production is generally originated by research activities related to more or less formalized projects. Research projects, in their turn, are represented through GL documents (deliverables, technical reports, etc.) and it often happens that research products themselves are also GL (patents, protocols, guidelines, etc.). This relation is underlined by two more types of links pertaining to their information content and to their process. The first type consists in a set of information which are common to the project description and to the GL documents produced within the project. The second type of link regards the process and from this point of view, each information unit represents the result of a precise activity within the communication flow, carried out during the project lifecycle, from the drafting of the proposal, to its approval, until the finalization of the research and the diffusion of the results. This paper describes the first outcomes of a collaboration between the Italian National Research Council (CNR) and the Italian National Institute of Safety and Health at Work (ISPESL) with the aim of developing an information system on research projects regarding occupational safety and health. Such system will interface with the existing GL database (http://www.ispesl.it/lg/default.htm) and will allow the automatic updating of the documents produced within each research project. The ultimate goal of this commitment is to facilitate research evaluation activities and technological transfer through collection and updating of information related to research projects and to the documents produced within the process.