ODIN

Impact assessment of ODIN (Open Discovery Innovation Network)

The goal of this project is to conduct an impact assessment of ODIN, a three-year pilot project at Aarhus University, sponsored by the Novo Nordisk Foundation. The ODIN project offers a platform for effective collaboration between university researchers and participating pharmaceutical and biotech companies, with the aim of stimulating and accelerating the discovery of new pharmaceuticals based on a strong and openly available science base. ODIN seeks to foster open science and innovation practices to stimulate collaboration and innovation in the earliest stages of drug development. 

The impact assessment is intended, first, to provide documentation for progress and impact in the ODIN project to funders, participants, stakeholders and other interested parties. Second, it will seek to help inform decisions about ongoing adjustments of the ODIN project and about possible extensions to or potential scaling up of the activities in ODIN beyond the pilot phase. Third, it will conduct research on how public-private research collaboration takes place within an open science framework. 

In addition to reporting on key performance indicators (KPIs) for the project, the impact assessment should begin to address difficult but important questions regarding for instance how the open approach taken in ODIN influences the aims, nature and outcomes of university-industry research collaborations. The assessment will both study the framework developed and used in ODIN and the collaborative research projects funded by ODIN. Assessment work include both document analysis and interviews with academic and industry participants, along with other key stakeholders. The project runs from 2020 to 2023.

Project website: https://projects.au.dk/odin/about/