Open Evidence is a company formed by UOC researchers and lecturers that has, in under a year, undertaken prominent projects for the European Commission.
In its first few months, Open Evidence, the first spin-off company to emanate from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), has been commissioned to undertake major projects by prestigious organizations and institutions such as the European Commission, the government of Italy and the Jaume Bofill Foundation.
Formed by a team of lecturers, researchers and consultants with over 20 years of experience, the company offers consulting services and conducts socioeconomic and technoscientific research in the areas of health, welfare, consumption, public policy and innovation.
According to the UOC lecturer and founding partner of Open Evidence, Francisco Lupiáñez, “our work is based on rigorous and robust research from an analytical point of view, while maintaining the flexibility and application of results for decision making. By networking with universities and consultants, we work with the best professionals and are in a position to offer high-quality and high added-value services.”
Major international projects
Since it was created less than a year ago, Open Evidence has undertaken major commissions for public and private entities, including the European Commission and the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.
One of the most important projects carried out by the company’s professionals is the study for the European Commission on eHealth, which analyses the use of ICTs by over 9,000 family doctors in 31 European countries. The research highlights the state of electronic health (eHealth) in Europe, an area in which Spain is above the European average.
Among other projects, the company is currently conducting a study that is soon to be presented on the effectiveness of tobacco labelling, and another study that examines how the labelling of environmentally friendly vehicles affects the consumer buying process. Furthermore, Open Evidence has recently won a European tender to analyse and provide recommendations on the relationship between online gambling, advertising and minors.
Another project carried out by Open Evidence for the European Union is European Data Market, a study that examines the emerging data market, which is opening up new business models worldwide. Research involves assessing technological needs and the tools available on the Internet, as well as developing a platform for analysing this information.
Experts from the UOC have also developed an evaluation and feasibility study of an online community of entrepreneurs promoted by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development.
The birth of Open Evidence
The company’s offices, which opened in June 2013, are located in the Barcelona Growth Centre building in Barcelona’s 22@ district. The UOC’s Research and Transfer Support Office (OSRT) has been in charge of accompanying the Open Evidence team throughout the creative process, in line with its goal to encourage initiatives that drive the University’s R&D knowledge transfer.
Open Evidence works with transparent and open designs, research and methodologies, both for its clients and for the entire community of researchers and professionals by means of consultation and validation processes. This services company examines the inner workings of complex empirical models to ensure that the results of the analysis of the data and responses that these models produce are easy to use and can be understood by, and useful for, a wide range of professionals.
About the UOC
The UOC is an innovative and prestigious online university that is internationally renowned for its educational and technology models. Founded in 1994 as a product of the knowledge society, with the support of the Catalan government, it offers top-quality distance education and is a world leader in the research and application of information and communication technologies (ICT) to education.
The UOC opened during the 1995/1996 academic year with 200 students on the officially recognized degrees in Educational Psychology and Business Studies. There are now over 200,000 people who make up the UOC university community: 60,876 students in over 86 countries, 3,630 lecturers, 491 administrative staff and 46,281 alumni.
The UOC offers studies in Information and Communication Sciences; Law and Political Science; Arts and Humanities; Psychology and Educational Sciences; Economics and Business Studies; IT, Multimedia and Telecommunications; and Health Sciences.
Overall, the UOC offers 16 degrees, 34 master’s degrees, 35 UOC-specific master’s degrees, 9 international master’s degrees, 3 doctorates, European certificates and Joint Certificates (through the eLearn Centre), 132 postgraduate diplomas, 234 specialist courses, microcourses and seminars.