Semantic Retrieval of Projects Funded by the Innovation Committee.

INTRODUCTION: Evidence-based development of healthcare innovations requires efficient access to existing knowledge. The Innovation Committee of the Federal Joint Committee (Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss, G-BA) has funded more than 800 projects since 2016, yet the heterogeneity of topics and terminology limits the effectiveness of the current keyword-based search interface. METHODS: To address vocabulary-mismatch problems and support more nuanced information needs, we developed and evaluated a semantic search tool using vector-based natural-language retrieval. The application embeds project descriptions and user queries and computes similarity directly in the browser, enabling privacy-preserving, offline operation. In a controlled comparative study with three experienced users, we assessed efficiency and effectiveness across four standardized search tasks. RESULTS: Although based on a small sample size, the results indicate that semantic retrieval can meaningfully improve the discovery of projects funded by the Innovation Committee and support evidence-based research workflows. CONCLUSION: Future work should validate these findings in larger cohorts and explore enhanced ranking strategies.