Nowdays there is a worldwide concern over false information that can influence political, economic and social well being. Many semantically complex, decentralised and dynamically evolving ecosystems of public and private organisations, resources and actors, are in great need for trusted knowledge management.
In the Next Generation Internet initiative, launched by the European Commission in 2018, that aims to shape the development and evolution of the Internet into an Internet of Humans, greater transparency and trustworthiness can still be achieved. Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies can help increasing trust, traceability and security.
Advance theoretical and applied research in that domains is needed to set a multilayer and modular technology framework that will enable performance and scalability through the engagement of different business logics, access methods and governance models while ensuring secure and transparent content, information exchange as well as service interoperability.
Under the European Commission Next Generation Internet initiative, ONTOCHAIN was launched in September 2020. The initiative will provide funding to internet innovators for developing Blockchain-based knowledge management solutions that address the challenge of secure and transparent knowledge management as well as service interoperability on the Internet.
ONTOCHAIN will support innovators (academia and high-tech companies) in the conceptualisation, development, experimentation and integration of new Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technologies that aim to preserve the integrity and reliability of information and content. Specific marketable interoperable solutions will be developed for domains such as health, economy, mobility, public services, energy and sustainability, news, media, entertainment, Industry 4.0, tourism, etc.
A wide network of Blockchain Experts will provide coaching mentoring and training in business and Blockchain related topics to achieve the common goal of delivering a software ecosystem for trusted knowledge management. Access to top software infrastructure as well as visibility and community building will be offered. And on top, a total amount of 4,2 M€ will be distributed to the ONTOCHAIN teams through three consecutive research and innovation Open Calls.
In the initiation phase of the ONTOCHAIN Program, you will conceptualize the multilayer and modular ONTOCHAIN Technology framework with coaching support, attend workshop sessions on ONTOCHAIN topics to create idea and foster cross collaboration as well as raise awareness on the ONTOCHAIN Concept/ Framework in top events. The 6 best teams will directly progress to the second phase.
In the propagation and diversification phase, you will fine tune and set the ONTOCHAIN framework (ONTOCHAIN Foundation) as well as develop and apply it through specific use cases (prototype). Custom tailored coaching on technical and business topics will be provided to you. You will also spread the word on the latest ONTOCHAIN advances in top events.
Finally, in the application and termination phase, you will focus on the sustainable implementation of the ONTOCHAIN concept/use cases. You will bring the previous use case to the next stage of readiness i.e. Application for deployment in the market. A Business Model for the purpose of the ONTOCHAIN exploitation will be defined and elaborated with all stakeholders.
ONTOCHAIN CONSORTIUM
ONTOCHAIN is brought to you by a European Consortium
7
Organisations
6
Countries
Luxembourg, Slovenia, France, Italy, Greece and Ireland
Selected for their expertise as
Technologies Developer & Supplier
Business Developer
Community Builder
European Dynamics is a leading European software vendor and information & ICT services provider, operating internationally. European Dynamics designs, develops, supports and promotes software ICT applications using open architectures and integrated, state-of-art technology to governments, public organizations and private enterprises in more than 45 countries.
The Faculty of Computer and Information Science of Ljubljana focuses on scientific research in the field of computer and information sciences with a special interest on web ontologies and semantics, data acquisition, semantic grid/cloud/fog technologies, trust and blockchain, IoT, big data, real-time data management, large networks analysis, data streams, information extraction, etc.
iExec has built the first decentralized marketplace for Cloud Computing resources, with expertise to blockchain, distributed and decentralized cloud computing, trusted execution environments, data privacy and security. They are internationally recognized through their participation in several consortiums, including the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, and the Confidential Computing Consortium.
Intellisemantic is active in research and development on semantics, ontologies and text mining. Their competences are, among others, the open source solutions and knowledge data bases used in different domains. They have built and provided a web application for technology intelligence, based on patent information and implemented projects for specific customers integrating natural language, semantics and linked data Patent Informatics.
Athens University of Economics and Business has a multidisciplinary scientific expertise and specializes in the combination between technology and economics. It investigates, develops, and evaluates economic models and business plans, economic and other incentive-based mechanisms for trust management, allocation, network management and trading, cloud, CDN and IoT services, sharing/on-demand economies resources and cryptocurrencies.
The German-Hellenic Chamber of Industry and Commerce with its own large network and with the Worldwide Network of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry abroad allows international business networking and implementation of projects. They also provide a dual education training system, as well as know-how transfer in the field of information and communication technologies through EU projects and B2B platforms.
F6S is the leading SME network and platform for application management for commercial, corporate, government, university and other accelerator programs, helping thousands of such initiatives worldwide. Every year F6S processes more than 100,000 applications and has delivered billions of Euros to startups and SMEs. F6S is experienced in creating effective recruitment campaigns, targeting the right SMEs/Startups, disseminating open calls far and wide and managing the selection process of the applicants. F6S tracks emerging trends across industries and has insights that reach beyond any database, from its strong network of project partners, corporates, universities & startups. F6S' innovative communication team leverages these assets and a strong experience in community building to deliver a high-impact strategy to promote, communicate, and disseminate research activities and achievements, maximising sustainability of projects’ results.
ONTOCHAIN Advisory Board
An Advisory Board Group of international reputable Experts on Blockchain and Business related Topics that will regularly cross-fertalize idea with the ONTOCHAIN consortium and provide coaching/mentoring and training in these fields to all the ONTOCHAIN participants in order to achieve our common goal :
The delivering of a public European Blockchain Ecosystem for trusted knowledge management and a more human centric internet.
Executive Advisory Board
External Advisory Committee
Synergies with EC initiatives
The Next Generation Internet (NGI) is a European Commission initiative that aims to shape the development & evolution of the Internet into an Internet of Humans. An Internet that responds to people’s fundamental needs, including trust, security, & inclusion, while reflecting the values and the norms all citizens enjoy in Europe.
Startup Europe is an initiative of the European Commission to connect high tech startups, scaleups, investors, accelerators, corporate networks, universities and the media.
The European Blockchain Observatory and Forum is an initiative of the European Commission to accelerate Blockchain Innovation and the development of Blockchain ecosystem within the EU and so help cement Europe’ sposition as a global leader in this transformative new technology.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 957338
