EOSC Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA) i Multiannual Roadmap (MAR)
In March 2021, the European Commission published the EOSC Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda (SRIA). The SRIA document is based on years of experience from European projects activities carried out for the EOSC, the findings of working groups, analyses and the outcomes of open consultations on technical documents and reports on open data access.
The SRIA consists of nine sections, an important part of which is devoted to the Guiding Principles and covers the main EOSC guidelines for the next few years, including:
- Multi-stakeholderism;
- Openness: “as open as possible, as closed as necessary”;
- FAIR guiding principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable);
- Federation of infrastructures;
- Open Science services.
One of the key elements of the SRIA is the “Multiannual Roadmap” (MAR), published in Section 8, which lays down the premises for the Horizon Europe programme in what concerns infraEOSC calls. The MAR is subject to regular social consultation.
EOSC Partnership
The EOSC partnership between the European Commission and the EOSC Association was established in 2021 to achieve the objectives set out in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). It is a co-programmed partnership, which means that both parties are committed to achieving specific substantive objectives.
The document defines the tasks to be accomplished by 2030. The European Commission has committed itself to fund projects worth a total of €490 million over this period, and the Association has committed to provide non-financial contributions (so-called in-kind contributions) worth €500 million. The document also specifies fundamental regulations for reporting on these contributions (in the form of the Additional Activities Plan), as well as for monitoring EOSC progress indicators (as Key Performance Indicators, KPI).
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) aims to develop a research environment in Europe
About EOSC
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) aims to develop a research environment in Europe that aligns with Open Science principles and utilises cloud-based solutions. This environment will facilitate efficient research by enabling researchers to easily find, reuse and share data, tools and services.
The idea was born in 2015 as a way to accelerate research and innovation. The EOSC project was initiated by the European Commission in order to build a competitive knowledge-based economy by developing dedicated infrastructure that would ensure open access to research data. Today, the EOSC initiative involves not only the European Commission but also the governments of EU Member States and Associated States, as well as a range of research institutions.
In the virtual EOSC environment, data will be stored, shared and reused by researchers from diverse countries and scientific disciplines, in accordance with FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable).
Until now, the EOSC has been implemented in two phases. In the initial phase
of implementation (2018-2020), the European Commission invested approximately €250 million in EOSC-related projects selected through calls for proposals launched under Horizon 2020. In the current phase (2021-2030), the EOSC implementation is taking place in the context of the co-programmed EOSC Partnership.
Tripartite Collaboration
The strategic development of EOSC is coordinated by the European Union, represented by the European Commission, EU Member States and Associated Countries, as well as the EOSC Association, an organisation of universities, research funding agencies and IT service providers. Member States and Associated Countries appoint delegates to the EOSC Steering Board, an expert group at the European Commission.
Tripartite collaboration is held through so-called Tripartite Events: once per year, representatives of the EC, EOSC Steering Board and the EOSC Association meet for a European-level debate on EOSC development strategy and the future directions of tripartite collaboration. Similar events are held at a national level. Known as National Tripartite Events, they bring together representatives of all interested parties (the European Commission, the EOSC Association, government representatives and various national stakeholders).
European Commission
The European Commission supports the development of the EOSC ecosystem, including through the INFRAEOSC (Enabling an operational, open and FAIR EOSC ecosystem) calls for proposals.
EOSC Association
The EOSC Association was founded in July 2020 by four organisations: GÉANT, CESAER, CSIC and GARR. Today, it has more than 150 Members and 60 Observers. Research institutions, research funding agencies and IT service providers can apply for membership. The ambition of the Association is to drive progress in Open Science, inspire education, stimulate innovation, and promote accessibility and transparency in research.
It is possible to join the EOSC Association as a:
- Member – participating in its activities and decisions (voting rights);
- Observer – participating in its activities but without voting rights;
- Mandated Organisation – appointed by a national government.
The Association consists of various Task Forces, each with a mission to address a specific EOSC implementation area and to develop relevant solutions through a process of debate.
EOSC Steering Board
The EOSC Steering Board is an expert group of the European Commission focused on EOSC. It consists of government representatives delegated by EU Member States and Associated Countries. Its key mission is to coordinate Open Science activities at the government level. This involves tasks such as creating a system for monitoring national contributions to the EOSC and formulating guidelines for European, national and institutional Open Science policies.
As of 2021, Poland is represented on the EOSC SB by:
- Aneta Pazik-Aybar (National Science Centre), chief delegate
- Marcin Michałowski (Ministry of Education and Science), deputy delegate
