CERIFRDF

CERIFRDF is an open-source software framework designed to facilitate the conversion of data from the Common European Research Information Format (CERIF) to Resource Description Framework (RDF) representations. Developed to bridge the gap between traditional research information management systems and semantic web technologies, CERIFRDF enables researchers, institutions, and data stewards to leverage the benefits of linked data while maintaining compatibility with existing CERIF-based infrastructures.

The CERIF standard, established by the European Commission, is widely used in research and innovation ecosystems to describe entities such as projects, organizations, people, and publications. However, its tabular structure can limit interoperability and semantic querying. CERIFRDF addresses this by transforming CERIF data into RDF, a graph-based model that supports richer relationships, ontologies, and integration with other semantic datasets. This conversion allows for more flexible data querying, enhanced discoverability, and improved machine-actionable insights.

The framework is modular and extensible, allowing users to customize mappings between CERIF elements and RDF constructs. It supports common RDF vocabularies, such as Schema.org and FOAF (Friend of a Friend), while also enabling the use of domain-specific ontologies. CERIFRDF is implemented in Java and relies on established libraries like Apache Jena for RDF processing, ensuring robustness and scalability.

Developed as part of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) initiative, CERIFRDF is part of broader efforts to promote open research data and interoperability. It is distributed under an open-source license, making it freely available for adoption by research institutions, funding agencies, and technology providers. The tool is particularly useful for organizations transitioning toward semantic web technologies while preserving their existing CERIF-based workflows.