The use and significance of a research networking system.

Background: Universities have begun deploying public Internet systems that allow for easy search of their experts, expertise, and intellectual networks. Deployed first in biomedical schools but now being implemented more broadly, the initial motivator of these research networking systems was to enable easier identification of collaborators and enable the development of teams for research.

Objective: The intent of the study was to provide the first description of the usage of an institutional research "social networking" system or research networking system (RNS).

Open Research Networking Gadgets (ORNG).

In 2009, UCSF embarked on a journey to utilize industry-backed application standards to extend our research networking tool of choice, Profiles, into a software platform. The goal of this work was to bring extended data and functionality to our researchers' online environment and make it easier to share independently-developed software innovations with others. We used the OpenSocial standard to achieve these ends.