Last November, the European Commission published an Update to the European Charter for Access to RIs. In this interview, we discuss this important document with Ilari Pulli (Euro-BioImaging), who participated in its consultation reviews for the ERIC Forum.
When we talk about ‘access’ in relation to Research Infrastructures, what are we referring to?
Access is all about opening doors to cutting-edge facilities, services, and data for scientists from academia and industries, be it physical on-site, remotely or by admission to virtual resources. It’s about empowering state-of-the-art science and innovation, while embracing the open science and FAIR data principles.
Why is access a huge topic for the ERIC Forum and the ERICs?
Open access European Research Infrastructure Consortia, ERICs, are more than support systems for science—they boost innovation and discovery. By promoting fair, open, and sustainable access, ERICs enable academic and industry researchers and developers to tackle important research questions at the frontiers of science, pushing the boundaries of knowledge and innovation.
What are the main challenges when it comes to access?
The challenges may often boil down to resources, funding for access, for ensuring fair access for all, and securing long-term sustainability. It is also very important to be able to ensure capacity to respond to emerging priorities like economic and research security and competitiveness.
What was the reason for conducting the review, and what are the key areas that were addressed?
This review of the Charter was about bringing the document up to date. The revised Charter reflects the growing importance of open science and resilience. It promotes FAIR principles, addresses security and autonomy, and takes a closer look at how to meet the needs of industries and SMEs.
What is the added value of this document?
The updated Charter reflects the status of RI access of today: open, resilient, and effective research infrastructures, ensuring Europe stays at the forefront of global innovation and discovery. It provides a framework to enhance access to and collaboration with RIs across Europe strengthening the European Research Area (ERA) by describing the reference principles and guidelines for updating and defining access policies to RI services.
As defined by the European commission:
“While not having any legally binding nature, Research Infrastructures are encouraged to use this Charter as a reference when updating existing or defining new Access policies. In addition, the funding organisations of Research Infrastructures are invited to promote this Charter’s provisions. The update of the Charter published in 2015 is part of the ERA Policy Agenda 2022- 2024.”
How has the ERIC Forum contributed to the update of this document?
The ERIC Forum brought relevant reflections to the Charter during the review consultations. Key aspects that were discussed were for instance the relevance of open science and data, and the growing demand of industry access to relevant research infrastructures.
What is the behind-the-scenes story of the review process for this document?
The review was conducted by the European Commission, with input from ERIC Forum, ESFRI and research infrastructure communities. With input from the relevant stakeholders, the Charter was updated to reflect the state-of-the-art regarding access to European research infrastructures.
Link to the updated document: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/ec4692ae-ac6f-11ef-acb1-01aa75ed71a1/language-en