Accelerating research through individualized funding intelligence
Researchers are under ever increasing pressure to compete for research funding. More and more time is spent on writing lengthy proposals with dwindling success rates. IDfuse is a Dutch SME that wants to help researchers identify specialised, less well known funding opportunities. In 2016, IDfuse has launched impacter.eu, a successful online tool that runs automated analyses on drafted grant applications, allowing academic researchers to strengthen their grant proposals. IDfuse envisions to go a step further in its service by providing researchers with alternative funding opportunities based on the reviewed proposal and the scientific profile of the researcher, thereby accelerating research through individualized funding intelligence (ARTIFI). The envisioned product should essentially consist of a machine learning engine that is able to actively learn from interacting with the individual researcher. Moreover, in order to be able to present researchers with opportunities that go beyond what they would typically think of, IDfuse envisions that the engine should be able to expand the researcher profile with insights that can be extracted from open source research materials, including abstracts and open access scientific publications. In order to fully explore the development of such learning algorithm, expertise in the field of artificial intelligence and active machine learning is required. IDfuse currently does not have this expertise in its R&D team and it has not been able to recruit an individual with such expertise. This is mostly due to the low availability of suitable candidates and the high salary packages that larger companies are able to offer them. EC funding for an Innovation Associate will enable IDfuse to offer prospective candidates a competitive employment contract that additionally includes a tailored training programme. With this, IDfuse is convinced that it will be able to attract a candidate with the expertise to successfully complete the project.