New Dimensions Research Strategy Platform Aims to Deliver Evidence-Based Research Intelligence on Demand
LONDON, July 6, 2026 — Digital Science has announced the upcoming launch of Dimensions Research Strategy, a new artificial intelligence-powered analytics platform designed to help universities and research-intensive institutions make strategic decisions using verified research intelligence.
The platform, currently being developed in collaboration with research organizations across Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, is intended to provide senior university leaders and research strategy teams with rapid access to data-driven insights that traditionally required extensive commissioned analysis.
Built on the company’s Dimensions research database and supported by Altmetric data, the platform seeks to combine AI capabilities with research-specific expertise, enabling institutions to evaluate complex strategic questions while maintaining transparency and traceability throughout the analytical process.
Designed for Research Leadership and Strategic Planning
Digital Science said the platform is being developed to address growing demand for reliable research intelligence at a time when universities face increasing competition for funding, talent and global research influence.
At launch, Dimensions Research Strategy will focus on two primary areas: benchmarking and expertise analysis. The company says users will be able to generate comprehensive strategic assessments in a single session, reducing the time and resources traditionally required for research planning exercises.
Among the platform’s planned capabilities are on-demand strategic intelligence, source-backed findings, access to interconnected research data, AI-assisted domain expertise and interactive analytical workflows that evolve as users refine their questions.
The company emphasized that every finding generated by the platform will be linked to primary source material, providing an auditable trail that institutions can use during board meetings, accreditation reviews and strategic planning processes.
Digital Science Positions Platform as Specialized AI for Research
According to Digital Science executives, the platform is intended to address limitations they see in general-purpose AI tools when applied to research strategy and policy analysis.
Amye Kenall, Chief Product Officer at Digital Science, said research institutions require AI systems built specifically around the needs of the academic and research sector.
“The AI infrastructure our research communities rely on is being defined right now. While many of the companies building it are building horizontally for breadth, research institutions need deep domain-expert AI, where funder policies, academic search expertise, and analytical know-how for the research domain are encoded directly into the system.
“Dimensions Research Strategy brings together more than a decade of experience of serving the research policy and strategic decision-making communities, with team members who have served in so many capacities across the research ecosystem. This deep, multi-faceted and, above all, practical experience and expertise is encoded into the product. It is not a general purpose model pointed at research data, rather, it is a system that thinks in the way that the best research analysts and research decision-makers do.”
Accelerating Strategic Decision-Making
Digital Science executives say the platform is intended to streamline decision-making processes that often require significant financial and human resources.
Jonathan Breeze, Executive Vice President of Academic at Digital Science, said institutions frequently face major strategic decisions involving research investment, recruitment and institutional positioning.
“The strategic decisions that matter most to a research institution – where to invest, how to position, who to bring into the institution – have always required expert analytical judgment. Historically, this has consumed significant time, dedicated budget, and specialist resource. Dimensions Research Strategy puts the analysis directly in the hands of the leaders who need it, and helps the teams that support those leaders to go deeper, faster, with the full evidence chain behind every finding.”
Built on One of the Largest Research Data Networks
The platform leverages Digital Science’s extensive research intelligence infrastructure, including Dimensions and Altmetric datasets.
According to the company, the combined data environment includes more than 165 million publications, over $2.7 trillion in research funding information, more than 41 million researcher profiles and over 256 million mentions of research outputs across online sources.
Digital Science says the interconnected nature of these datasets enables users to analyze relationships between publications, grants, patents, clinical trials, policy documents and public engagement metrics within a single environment.
Early Adopter Program Launching This Month
The development process has included participation from research-intensive institutions through a dedicated Development Partner Program. These organizations have worked alongside Digital Science to test and refine the platform using real-world strategic planning challenges.
Dr. Daniel Hook, Chief Executive Officer of Digital Science, said the initiative reflects the company’s broader effort to expand access to research intelligence.
“This is our newest step in our ongoing push to democratise access to research intelligence: the analytical depth of a dedicated Digital Science engagement, on demand, to any institution that needs it. These first use cases are the bedrock for something much larger: research integrity, research security, funding intelligence, and research impact are all directions we see opportunities in that can benefit our community. Our ambition is a platform that gives every research institution the strategic intelligence it needs, across every dimension that matters.”
Looking Ahead
Digital Science plans to open an Early Adopter Program in July 2026, giving participating institutions early access to the platform and an opportunity to help shape future development. As universities increasingly seek data-driven approaches to research planning and investment decisions, the company is positioning Dimensions Research Strategy as a specialized AI platform built to support evidence-based leadership across the global research sector.
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