On February 27 and 28, representatives of 28 ERICs and ERICs-to-be, alongside representatives from the European Commission, the EOSC Association, ESFRI, and EU Member States, will gather in Brussels to convene for the ERIC Forum Annual Meeting. The face-to-face meeting is dedicated to progressing the Eric Forum Project and the General Assembly. It is also an opportunity to engage with our key stakeholders.
This 2024 Annual Meeting will have Brussels as its theatre. Here, the ERIC community will meet with representatives from the European Commission, EU Presidency, the EOSC Association and ESFRI for a two-day discussion of policies inside and outside ERICs.
Jana Pavlic-Zupanc, leading the coordination of the ERIC Forum second implementation project, said:
The annual face-to-face meeting of the ERIC Forum community is a unique opportunity to discuss all activities underway in the project, and invite main stakeholders to join us in this discussion. It is a pleasure to be able to welcome over 80 participants from the Eric Forum community in Brussels!
The main theme of the meeting is the Second Implementation Project for the ERIC Forum, officially launched on 1 September 2023. Building on the guidelines drawn from the project’s first edition, ERIC Forum 2.0 reinforces practices standard to ERICs e.g., discussing international collaboration, access provision, upskilling ERIC staff, their contracts, as well as VAT exemption, resource management, or outreach and communication.
As such, these Meetings are an essential tool because thematic sessions allow detailed task updates and discussion among the project partners. Such face-to-face interactions strengthen ties between the people who represent the Forum community.
Another core theme is the Assembly discussion between the ERIC community, the European Commission and the EU Presidency. This Assembly is an opportunity to explore the ERIC community’s potential contribution to the sharing and managing of research data, information and resources that give a visage to the European research community.
Antje Keppler, current Chair of ERIC Forum, says:
With 28 ERICs now offering their services across all scientific domains to the European researchers, it is time that we present ourselves as the strategic assets that we have become. ERICs are central partners when it comes to coordination efforts, Open Science, mobilisation of FAIR research data for re-use via the EOSC, open access to quality-managed services and linking the ERA to our international partners.
The goal of the meeting will be to ensure that all key policy and project topics are addressed whilst strengthening cooperation with key stakeholders.
The Annual Meeting is an internal assembly. All the participants have received an invitation from the organiser (BBMRI).