DEVELOPING WORLD CLASS RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES

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DEVELOPING WORLD CLASS RESEARCH
INFRASTRUCTURES (Research Infrastructures and
their Structuring Dimension within the European
Research Area) NORBERT KROO Chair of the Expert
Group and the Hungarian Academy of
Sciences Brdo, 2008.03.05
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BASELINE

• Knowledge in general and scientific knowledge in
  particular is the basis of competitive, modern
  economies.
• Europe's ability to sustain a competitive edge in
  knowledge creation and innovation is at the core
  of the Lisbon Strategy
• Key to develop a European research and innovation
  framework facing challenges of a globalisation
  environment of research, technology and economy.
• The development of ERA is vital within this
  process.
• With the Green Paper on new perspectives for the
  ERA the EC launched the debate about ways to
  accelerate its realization.

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On the topics (1)

• The Green Paper focuses on those Research
  Infrastructures (RIs) which, because of quality,
  rarity, cost, impact and operation modes, are
  valuable for all EU researchers, and attract also
  international researchers Pan-EU RIs
   large facilities and networks of smaller
  ones 
• All EU Countries and the EC must join forces, to
  acquire and operate them, making them accessible
  to all good researchers
• What are the best and most effective policies to
  achieve this? And which are the bottlenecks? How
  to develop strategies to progress?

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On the topics (2)

• We are faced with a wide spectrum of issues
• Single site, complex, unique facilities and
• Networks of complementary centres
• From Globally unique, to Regionally distributed
• Underlying and growing use of e-infrastructures
• Opportunities but difficulties of interaction
  between basic research and industry
• The use of EU,national, regional and other
  funding instruments contributions / loans / etc.

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Policy overview and trends at EU level

• EC Framework Programme up to now main financing
  instrument supporting networking, joint research
  activities and trans-national access to
  state-of-the-art facilities
• Major role for European Strategy Forum for RIs
  (ESFRI) and e-Infrastructure Reflection Group
  (e-IRG) in development of European RI-policy
• ESFRI-roadmap significant step forward towards a
  coherent European policy approach for large RIs
• Preparatory phase of FP7 facilitating
  instrument for construction or upgrade of some of
  the ESFRI projects

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Expert group on Research Infrastructures (RIs)

• Set up in July 2007
• - To provide an overview of recent initiatives,
  current challenges and existing trends
  regarding RIs
• - To analyse the issues identified in the Green
  paper regarding RIs and propose a number of
  policy options
• Preliminary results ? Lisbon, 8-10 Oct 07
• Final report ? 31 December 2007

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Todays challenge

• Need for a process that turns ideas (ESFRI,
  e-IRG, Member states roadmaps, Regional plans)
  into practice
• Complement the what with the who
• Issues to be taken on
• Prioritization
• More and better funding
• Legal framework
• Management and access
• E-infrastructures
• The global level

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Prioritization is needed...

• Budget constraints ask for prioritization
• costs of new upgrades 15 B 2 B/yr
• costs of existing ones 100s of B past
  investment, 10s of B operation per year
• Decision making process
• ESFRI-roadmap essential but improve assessment
  methodology ? transparency of procedures and
  involvement of relevant stakeholders
• Member States to continue playing key role ?
  develop national RI planning integrating both
  small and medium sized RIs with large-scale
  facilities ? synergy with ESFRI ? important
  component for coherent RI policy

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More and better funding

• Ensure better resource allocation ? set up
  general guidelines for evaluation of RIs
• Simulate innovative use of various financing
  instruments and mechanisms (Structural Funds,
  RSFF, PPPs, tax incentives, ERA-NET-PLUS, Article
  169 of the EU Treaty,)
• Increase funding level for RIs
• at Member State level for both implementation of
  new ESFRI projects and adequate support for
  existing RIs
• significant increase of EU funding is essential
  to provide catalytic and leveraging effects

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Creating a legal framework

• Creation of intergovernmental organizations (e.g
  CERN, EMBL, ESO) are useful, but sometimes
  considered as lengthy difficult and cumbersome
• Develop a new easy to use legal framework at a
  European level through an EC regulation ? new
  type of legal structure

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Creating transparent principles for management
and access

• Develop guidelines for the management of
  pan-European RIs, as well as general access
  policy criteria (no one-fit-all solutions)
• Improve synergy between the Ideas, People, and
  Capacities specific programmes of the EU
  Framework Programme to further stimulate the
  visibility of RIs as valuable instruments for the
  ST European system.

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Deployment of the e-infrastructure

• Boost creation of virtual collaborative
  communities of researchers
• Further develop world leading European Network
  with global perspective, smooth access and
  coordinated high performance computing provision
  (GEANT, Grid, )
• Develop trustworthy management system ? access to
  resources, generic virtual presence tools
• Put in place education and training programmes
• Develop coherent / managed layer of scholarly /
  academic resources and address the issues of
  establishing, managing, joining up research
  repositories

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Europe participating in global Research
Infrastructures

• Identify or create an appropriate forum where
  global RIs can be discussed and carried forward
  at an appropriately high-level and where Europe
  should speak with a common voice
• Develop a set of strategic guidelines to help
  prioritise European involvement in global RIs
• European Commission should stimulate the creation
  of specific mobility (access) schemes to enable
  researchers to engage with RIs outside Europe
  and vice versa

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Towards a strategic coordination mechanism for
RI-s(1)

• To ensure the effective implementation of a
  coherent policy for pan-European RIs there is a
  need for a strategic coordination mechanism at
  EU level, involving all relevant stakeholders
• facilitate a strategic evaluation of RI
  initiatives
• better addressing funding issues
• resolution of problems of location of new RIs
• take into account small and medium-sized RIs
• fully integrate the e-infrastructure strategy

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Towards a strategic coordination mechanism for
RI-s(2)

• It could be a European Research Infrastructures
  Programme developed e.g. on the model of the
  successful European Fusion Programme with well
  integrated national and European actions
• the European Commission would be in the best
  position to take a central role in developing
  this strategic coordination mechanism

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INSTEAD OF A CONCLUSION HIGHER FINANTIAL SHARE OF
THE EU IN RI-S A STRONG E-INFRASTRUCTURE A
STRONGER EU-COORDINATION AND SINGLE VOICE MORE
HOMOGENEOUS DISTRIBUTION OF RI-S NETWORKING OF
SMALLER RI-S A SIGNIFICANT SHARE OF THE
STRUCTURAL FUNDS NUMEROUS ACTIONS IN CONNECTION
WITH GOVERNANCE AND OF LEGAL CHARACTER
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THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION

HUNGARIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES