About NCOR
NCOR is dedicated to promoting interdisciplinary research on ontologies and their applications, especially in the context of AI.
NCOR brings together researchers and practitioners from various disciplines including philosophy, computer science, artificial intelligence, information science, and domain experts from medicine, biology, geography, and other fields.
Learn MoreOntological Theory
Advancing theoretical frameworks and formal methods for ontological research across disciplines.
Applied Ontologies
Developing and implementing ontologies for scientific research, healthcare, engineering, and more.
Community Building
Fostering international collaboration among researchers, practitioners, and institutions.
Research Areas
NCOR promotes research in various aspects of ontology, from theoretical foundations to practical applications across diverse domains.
Foundational Ontology
Research on top-level categories and relations for building consistent domain ontologies.
Learn moreBiomedical Ontologies
Development and application of ontologies in medicine, biology, and healthcare.
Learn moreSemantic Interoperability
Enabling effective communication between different systems and ontologies.
Learn moreOntology Methodology
Principles and methods for designing, evaluating, and applying ontologies.
Learn moreOntology Engineering
Tools and techniques for building, maintaining, and evolving ontologies.
Learn moreIndustrial Ontologies
Ontologies for industrial applications, including manufacturing, supply chain, and product lifecycle management.
Learn moreWhy NCOR?
The NCOR Network is a global non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the field of ontology by serving as a coordinating hub for ontological research, education, and practical implementation across diverse perspectives.
Our mission is to encourage the emergence of ontology centers that capture unique domain knowledge while maintaining rigorous standards for disambiguation and interoperability. By embracing diverse philosophical traditions and technological frameworks, we aim to develop richer, more nuanced ontological resources that benefit humanity.
NCOR Network facilitates collaboration between academic institutions, government agencies, and industry partners worldwide. Our work supports critical applications in defense, intelligence, healthcare, manufacturing, and emerging AI systems where precise data-driven representation and interoperability are essential for global cooperation.
Events & Conferences
Connect with the global ontology community through our conferences, workshops, and educational events.
STIDS 2025
EventSemantic Technology for Intelligence, Defense, and Security Conference featuring cutting-edge research presentations, expert keynotes, and classified sessions.
NCOR Annual Meeting 2023
EventThe annual gathering of NCOR members featuring keynote speeches, workshops, and presentations on the latest ontology research.
Ontologies in Biomedicine Workshop
EventA two-day workshop focused on recent developments and applications of ontologies in biomedical research and healthcare.
Formal Ontology Summer School
EventAn intensive five-day summer school providing training in the foundations and applications of formal ontology.
Featured Videos
Watch lectures, presentations, and discussions on ontological research and applications.
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Vetted Ontology Standards
Open Source Core ontologies developed and maintained with quality assurance from the Ontology Research & Development Network
Basic Formal Ontology (BFO)
A top-level ontology that provides a framework for building domain ontologies. BFO serves as the foundation for all Common Core Ontologies and represents the most basic categories of reality.
Agent Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent agents, especially persons and organizations, and their roles.
Artifact Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent artifacts that are common to multiple domains along with their models, specifications, and functions
Currency Unit Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent currencies that are issued and used by countries.
Event Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent processual entities, especially those performed by agents, that occur within multiple domains.
Extended Relation Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent many of the relations (i.e. object properties) that hold between entities at the level of the mid-level Common Core Ontologies.
Facility Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent buildings and campuses that are designed to serve some specific purpose and which are common to multiple domains.
Geospatial Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent sites, spatial regions, and other entities, especially those that are located near the surface of Earth, as well as the relations that hold between them.
Information Entity Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent generic types of information as well as the relationships between information and other entities.
Quality Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent a range of attributes of entities especially qualities, realizable entities, and process profiles.
Time Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent temporal regions and the relations that hold between them..
Unit Of Measure Ontology (CCO)
Designed to represent standard measurement units that are used when measuring various attributes of entities.
Our People
Meet the researchers and contributors behind our ontological projects
Join Our Network
Become part of our international community of researchers and practitioners advancing the field of ontology.