The European Research Infrastructures (RI) landscape encompasses different categories of players and stakeholders (RI operators, managers, users (researchers, industry) decision makers, funders). Past efforts were directed towards gaining insight into available RIs, national RI road mapping practices, and planning of pan-European RIs.
Responding to the needs of users of physical RIs, CatRIS made available information about RI services offered in Europe. Such information will improve visibility of services, foster European and international collaborations, and enhance RI accessibility, usage, and impact by developing a service catalogue structure, interoperable with the EOSC Portal, to respond to users’ needs.
CatRIS engaged actively with the whole RI community, whose needs were at the centre of the project, to gather specifications and input for the development of the catalogue. Through the use of a rating system and feedback loops on its contents, CatRIS also d as a bottom-up channel to facilitate the identification of potential gaps of European RI services. CatRIS thus operated as an open “network of networks” branching out to RI communities across borders and beyond.
EFIS Centre led the activity broad-based consultation and needs elicitation process, aimed at gathering insights from stakeholders’ experts. The outcome of these consultations supported the significant conceptual, technical and ontological developments to establish a coherent database structure and the definition of the related functionalities, classifications, user interfaces, etc. EFIS also covered a key role in stakeholders’ outreach and engagement, in the context of the work package on Communication, dissemination and exploitation activities.
