CERIF: Research Information Format

CERIF

Common European Research Information Format: an EU-recommended data model and exchange schema for research information, developed and maintained by euroCRIS, that defines core entities (Person, Project, Publication, OrgUnit, Funding, Equipment) and the relationships among them with explicit role-and-time semantics.

ByCASRAI Editorial Board

· Last updated 15 Aug 2026

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CERIF originated in the 1990s as an EU initiative to make research-information systems interoperable. The model uses ‘linking entities’ to represent role-bearing, time-bounded relationships (e.g. a Person was Principal Investigator on a Project from start to end date). It separates a small core of base entities (Person, Project, etc.) from semantic-layer classifications and a result/equipment layer. CERIF-XML is the standard serialisation; OAI-PMH-based exchange of CERIF-XML is the canonical interoperability pattern. The OpenAIRE Guidelines for CRIS Managers (4.0) profile CERIF for OpenAIRE compatibility.

References

euroCRIS, 'CERIF: The Common European Research Information Format' (eurocris.org/cerif).
Jeffery K., Asserson A., 'CRIS Central Relating Organisations, People, Projects, Publications', Data Science Journal 7, 2008.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does CERIF stand for?

CERIF stands for the Common European Research Information Format, an EU-recommended data model and exchange schema for research information.

What is CERIF used for?

CERIF is used to make research-information systems interoperable. It defines a core set of entities — such as Person, Project, and other base entities — separated from a semantic-layer classification system and a result/equipment layer, so different systems can exchange research information in a shared structure.

How does CERIF represent relationships like “who worked on what”?

CERIF uses ‘linking entities’ rather than simple links between records. A linking entity carries a role and a time period, so a relationship can state, for example, that a Person was Principal Investigator on a Project from a start date to an end date, not just that the two are connected.

What is CERIF-XML?

CERIF-XML is the standard serialisation of the CERIF model — the format CERIF data is encoded in when exchanged between systems. OAI-PMH-based exchange of CERIF-XML is the canonical interoperability pattern for sharing this data between research-information systems.

Is CERIF the same thing as a CRIS?

No. CERIF is the data model and exchange schema itself, while a CRIS (Current Research Information System) is the software system that implements a model like CERIF to manage and exchange research information.

How does CERIF relate to OpenAIRE?

The OpenAIRE Guidelines for CRIS Managers (4.0) profile CERIF specifically so that CRIS systems can export data in a form compatible with OpenAIRE, building on CERIF-XML as the underlying serialisation.

Use in your systems

JATS XML <role> element

xml

<role vocab="credit"
      vocab-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/"
      vocab-term="CERIF"
      vocab-term-identifier="https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/cerif" />

Schema.org DefinedTerm (JSON-LD)

json

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "DefinedTerm",
  "@id": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/cerif",
  "name": "CERIF",
  "identifier": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/cerif",
  "description": "Common European Research Information Format: an EU-recommended data model and exchange schema for research information, developed and maintained by euroCRIS, that defines core entities (Person, Project, Publication, OrgUnit, Funding, Equipment) and the relationships among them with explicit role-and-time semantics.",
  "inDefinedTermSet": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/domain/research-info-systems#set",
  "url": "https://casrai.org/dictionary/term/cerif",
  "sameAs": [
    "Common European Research Information Format"
  ],
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "publisher": {
    "@id": "https://casrai.org/#organization"
  },
  "dateModified": "2026-08-15T05:20:17",
  "inLanguage": "en"
}