'Open Scientific Infrastructure Platforms for Innovative Applications in Economy and Society' (O- ZIP) is a capital scientific-infrastructure project which main objective is to create a multidisciplinary environment for research and development that will enable the Ruđer Bošković Institute to improve the quality of scientific research and contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the Croatian economy.
The O-ZIP project will modernise and expand the Ruđer Bošković Institute (RBI) in Zagreb, Croatia, to increase its scientific research capacity. By becoming more competitive and collaborating locally and internationally with research institutes and business, the institute aims to contribute to economic growth and solve societal problems in sectors like health, food and the environment.
This large infrastructure project funded by the European Union (EU) from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the Operational Programme Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014 - 2020 (OPKK).
The importance of the project for the entire national system of research, development and innovation (IRI) was highlighted by the Croatian government by including it in the OPKK as one of two major infrastructure projects to be implemented as part of Priority Axis 1 - Strengthening the economy through the application of research and innovation; Specific Objective 1 – Increasing the capacity of the research and development sector to conduct cutting-edge research and meet the needs of the economy.
The project concept
The O- ZIP project envisages the development of multidisciplinary scientific and technological platforms within the Ruđer Bošković Institute (IRB) to enable the achievement of a new level of scientific excellence, especially in the priority areas defined by the Smart Specialisation (S3) strategy. In this way, the Institute will work more efficiently to solve societal challenges (especially in the areas of health, food and the environment), conduct collaborative research and promote the commercialisation of research results, thus making a steady contribution to the competitive economy.
As part of the development of the O- ZIP project, the main priority research areas and associated indicative research topics were identified through a long-term and comprehensive self-analysis process. This process is based on the IRB's intellectual capital and associated development potential, as well as dialogue with external users and international partners, taking into account global research trends and policy orientations in the EU and Croatia, with a particular focus on the S3 strategy.
The implementation of O- ZIP will create four multidisciplinary research platform that meet international standards and are focused on research, application and transfer of knowledge and technology in different priority areas. The platforms operate on the basis of the principle of open access and promote scientific research and the application and transfer of knowledge and technology, acting as a 'bridge' between society and the economy.
O-ZIP ID CARD
- Project Beneficiary: Ruđer Bošković Institute
- Contract Number: KK.01.1.1.11.0001
- Project value: HRK 547,199,999.95
- EU co-financing: HRK 465,119,999.96
- Implementation period: April 2018 – June 2023
Funding Scheme: The O-ZIP project is a strategic project co-financed by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund through the “Competitiveness and Cohesion 2014 - 2020”
Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period in the amount of 85% of the project's value, and the remaining part of the funds is national co-financing. The investment falls under the priority “Strengthening the Economy through Application of Research and Innovation”.
