Joint e-IRG/ESFRI session on Policy Aspects of Research Infrastructures and e-Infrastructures of Global Scale at ICT2015

During ICT2015 in Lisbon, Portugal, e-IRG and ESFRI organized a session on "Policy Aspects of Research- en e-Infrastructures of Global Scale" on October 22, 2015 in Room 11 in the Centro de Congressos de Lisboa, from 9h50 to 10h35. The session was jointly organised by e-IRG and ESFRI, and was composed of short presentations followed by an interactive part.

The following aspects were presented:

• Session Introduction and Objectives, Fotis Karayannis, e-IRG and ESFRI support programmes
• ICRI 2014 related conclusions, Yannis Ioannidis, ATHENA Research Center and ESFRI
• The GSO report, Juan Bicarregui, STFC and RDA
• The e-Infrastructure Commons with emphasis on Open Data, Arjen-Van Rijn, NIKHEF and e-IRG
• The Charter of Access to Research Infrastructures, Rosette Vandenbroucke, VUB and e-IRG
• Interactive part - Questions and answers - Chair: Marcin Ostasz, BSC and e-IRG support programme
• The rapporteur was Rossend Llurba, NWO and e-IRG support programme.

Summary 

Many large-scale research infrastructures (RIs) are today only possible to be realised through international collaboration. This is due to the complexity, the high construction and operation costs or simply the global nature of the scientific challenges involved.

To be able to find answers to the grand societal challenges like the efficient generation and use of energy, supply of food and water, and mitigating effects of a changing climate, the global dimensions of RIs and e-Infrastructures (e-RIs) need to be strengthened. This was discussed intensively at the ICRI conference 2014 in Athens where it was concluded that the attraction of global RIs relies on their capacity to address the needs of world-wide scientific communities by combining the best knowledge, human capital and related resources. The Group of Senior Officials (GSO) mandated by the G8 science ministers has drafted a report proposing a Framework for Global RIs and a progress report is expected by October 2015.

e-Infrastructures play a central role in global RI efforts. In particular intelligent and open access to data from all areas in the globe is vital. This networking session will provide a platform to discuss policy issues for Research Infrastructures and e-Infrastructures to coordinate on a global scale. On the basis of the ICRI 2014 conclusions and the GSO report. Cross-cutting policy issues between RIs and e-RIs with emphasis on access to data were further discussed with an aim to make further progress in the area.

The expected outcome was on the one hand to build on top of ICRI 2014 conclusions and the GSO report, achieving further progress and a next step in the evolution of policies for Global Research Infrastructures. On the other hand, the session has contributed to the better understanding of RI providers, users and data owners/managers of the complexity of the overall environment, and how each stakeholder can further contribute in making steps forward. The importance of the e-Infrastructure Commons in providing an integrated environment for a "one-stop-shop" for RI users and the significance of openly sharing data around the globe are also key expected outcomes. The outcome of the session was edited into an e-IRG policy document.