FOCUS sets out an agenda to establish an ERA Chair in “Fostering Digital Cultural Heritage via Open Innovation and Open Science” at the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IMI-BAS). The project addresses the currently existing gap in research in capitalising on open innovation, which also supports open science practices and further develops the capacity and leadership of IMI-BAS in the domain of digital cultural heritage in Bulgaria.
FOCUS aims to create an international team led by Assoc. Prof. Milena Dobreva from the University of Strathclyde, UK, bringing together international and Bulgarian researchers who are developing their own doctoral and postdoctoral research projects and have opportunities to participate in researcher mobility and training activities.
FOCUS will combine capacity-building activities with research in open innovation, mobilising stakeholders via secondments and comprehensive sustainability planning, actively collaborating with local and international cultural institutions in order to achieve sustainable results.
FOCUS is carried out with the support of "Research, Innovation and Digitalisation for Smart Transformation" (PRIDST) Programme (2021–2027) , which aims to improve the quality, impact, and international visibility of IMI-BAS’s scientific output by adding additional capacity and leadership in the field of digital cultural heritage to its portfolio.