“Athar” (Previously “PSISR”) is an open repository which benchmarks the whole life cycle of research including knowledge transfer and public or policy-oriented research activities. It targets research in and on the Arab World. “Athar” relies on the data introduced by the researchers which include description of their research projects and outputs of their social impact. The “social” is meant in broad sense, which includes economic, political, cultural and conceptual aspects. The search engine can be used by all stakeholders (researchers, Institutional beneficiaries, policy makers, the public, funding agencies, etc.). 

The image above shows the search feature on the site, which will enable researchers, civil society activists and ministries to identify the fields and countries relevant to the projects they are supervising, particularly through the keyword feature, which will enable them to benefit from projects of interest to them.

The advanced search feature, shown above, helps the browser locate the beneficiaries of the projects they are searching for; allowing for categorically-selective viewing, which is the main feature of the website: the linkage between research and beneficiaries in the community. The advanced search feature enables the browser to specify the period in which the research projects were carried out (from year A to year B). The user can also use the and/or search feature, which allows him/her to combine multiple domains into a single search. The aim of all this is to connect researchers to the society, and to make university research an active contributor into public policy.

After creating an account on the site, the researcher can access his projects page. On the first page of project creation, the site will ask the researcher to infest his or her name, institution, gender, and biography. The researcher can also insert information about other researchers involved in the project he is entering.

The researcher then inserts information about the research, which include the research title and the years in which the research was conducted, in addition to summarizing the research, the scientific field of the research, the website, and the keywords that will allow portal visitors to find the research project.

The researcher also identifies the institutions and groups benefiting from the research, as well as the countries where these institutions and groups are located. This feature helps beneficiary groups and institutions find projects. For example, if the Ministry of the Environment in Jordan wanted to find projects relevant projects to its work, and project A stated that the ministry is one of the beneficiary institutions, then the ministry can find the project once it identifies itself to the advanced search engine.

The researcher can also determine the donors of his/her research project, including the country of the donor as well as their type, which increases the transparency of the project on the one hand, and allows the browsers to identify the entities that finance a particular type of projects on the other hand.

The last page in the creation of projects is the most important page, which represents the message of the website "Athar". The researcher has to state the social impact of their research, and their efforts to connect scientific research to the community, by pointing out the tools and activities used to enhance the social impact, as well as the institutions they collaborated with in the process. The site also allows the researcher to upload files such academic publications or infographics that summarize research outputs easily. In addition, the researcher determines the percentage of time allocated to enhance the social impact of the research, and identifies the most important obstacles in that area.