over hercules

lopende oproep

bijzondere opdracht

gebruikers

home > bijzondere opdracht > ESFRI >

European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI)

The development of new or upgrading of existing supermassive research infrastructure of pan-European importance is one of the basic pillars of the current policy of the European Commission on the further development of the European Research and Innovation Area. It is research infrastructure that is considered to be crucial for further developments within a research field. To this end a transparent and global vision of European needs has been developed in the form of a roadmap for research infrastructure in Europe for the next 10 to 20 years. The elaboration of this scientific roadmap has been entrusted to the ‘European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures’ (ESFRI). 

The first version of the “Roadmap for Research Infrastructures”, the ESFRI roadmap for short, with 35 project proposals was published in 2006. This roadmap is a dynamic process. Proposals already in an implementation phase or turning out te be not viable are removed from subsequent editions and new projects are added.

The first update of the ESFRI roadmap (version 2008) contained 44 project proposals. The second update (version 2010) contains 48 pan-European Research Infrastructures or major upgrades, corresponding to the needs of EU research communities in the next 10 to 20 years. The Roadmap was updated with six more projects, three in the area of Energy and three in the field of Biological and Medical Sciences. With the support of the European Ministers ten of the projects have entered the implementation phase by the end of 2010 while another sixteen proceed towards their implementation until the end of 2012.

The resources of the "Research Infrastructures" programme, which is part of the Seventh R&D Framework Programme, are used to further develop proposals put on the roadmap (refinement of the concept, setting up the management structure, preparation of the financing concept, etc), called the “Preparatory Phase”. 

To facilitate the joint establishment and operation of research infrastructures of European interest the European Commission designed a special legal form. The Community legal framework for a European Research Infrastructure Consortium (ERIC) entered into force on 28 August 2009.

Nuttige informatie: