In a strategic partnership, FIZ Karlsruhe and the Max Planck Society (MPG) are developing an integrated e-Research infrastructure for web-based scientific work and multidisciplinary applications for practical use. Special emphasis is given to publication management and the development of future-oriented working environments (virtual research environments) for scientists from different disciplines.

From mid-2004 to mid-2009, eSciDoc was funded as joint project of FIZ Karlsruhe and the MPG within the scope of the “e-Science-Initiative“ of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Appropriate promotional measures to facilitate the transition from a funded project to a community-driven Open Source project were already taken during the project phase and are now continued together with other partners:

e-Science & Forschungsdatenmanagement
Potsdam, 23.-24.03.2010

eSciDoc Days 2009
Karlsruhe/Germany

eSciDoc Days 2008
Berlin/GermanyeSciDoc

eSciDoc consists of a generic, discipline-independent infrastructure and the services that are built on it (eSciDoc Solutions). The entire eSciDoc software is available as Open Source under the Common Development and Distribution License (CCDL). The positive response to eSciDoc, in particular from countries outside Germany,  is reflected by the growing number of users, partners, and other interested persons who evaluate and use eSciDoc and take it as a basis for the development of further applications.

Under the name of KnowEsis, FIZ Karlsruhe markets a line of eSciDoc-based products and services aimed at supporting scientists in their dual capacity as producers and users of research information. The KnowEsis services include consulting and training (e.g., workshops) on digital research infrastructures in general as well as the development, implementation, and operation of entire applications in discipline-specific and interdisciplinary research environments.

The results of the eSciDoc project ensure that research results and materials of the Max Planck Society are freely accessible and available for a long time.  They also support the integration of these materials into the e-Science network that is currently under development. The focus is on scientific collaboration, interdisciplinary research in e-Science scenarios, and an optimized use of information in a global scientific environment.