About AGATE

A European Science Academies Gateway for the Humanities and Social Sciences

The fundamental research of the European Academies of Sciences and Humanities significantly contributes to the study and preservation of Europe’s cultural heritage. AGATE pursues the long-term goal of a pan-European digital platform that improves the visibility and findability of the academies’ SSH research and promotes international cooperation. The database currently contains ongoing research projects that have been funded or are being funded in the German Academies' Programme since 1979. The Academies' Programme is the joint research programme of the German Academies, funded equally by the federal and state governments and coordinated by the Union of the German Academies. Some academy projects, however, reach much further into the past. The oldest project in the database is the "Inscriptiones Graecae", which was started in 1815. Additionally, projects with non-academy funding and projects from the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences have been added.

Current Research Information System (CRIS)

AGATE is a current research information system (CRIS) for the European Academies’ research modeled according to the CERIF standard of the euroCRIS. Its idea is based on the results of a study by Ulrike Wuttke, Carolin Ott and Dominik Adrian (2017), “AGATE: Concept for a European Academies Internet Gateway for the Humanities and Social Sciences” (URL: Zenodo. doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.815916). The study was funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research and carried out during two projects by the Union of the German Academies of Sciences between 2013–2017. From 2017 onwards the original idea of AGATE has been developed further by the Digital Academy of the Academy of Sciences and Literature | Mainz who is responsible for the realisation of the platform and currently holds the conceptual and technical leadership of the project.

Future plans and development

In close cooperation with the Union of the German Academies of Sciences the AGATE team plans to extend the system in three directions in the very near future. Following the expansion of the AGATE dataset to include completed German Academies projects prior to 1979, the AGATE team is currently working to fill remaining historical gaps. This will provide a unique historical perspective on the research taken out by the German Academies during the last century. Secondly, the geographical focus of AGATE will be opened up with project contributions from other European countries and academies. Currently the AGATE team is in contact with the Austrian Academy of Sciences. Academies from other European countries are invited to join AGATE with their research projects strengthening the cooperative concept of a gateway to the European Academies’ research. Thirdly, AGATE’s functionality will be extended to include a dedicated digital hub (DEV.AGATE) alongside the project database giving overview and access and to digital tools and methods employed within the Academies’ research projects.

If you like to contribute to AGATE, make suggestions, report a problem or give us feedback our team is always looking forward to hearing from you: contact(at)agate.academy.