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Strategic workshop on research communities and research

infrastructures in the Humanities(some observations)

Strasbourg (France), October 29-30, 2010

Prof. Algis Krupavicius

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RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES AND THE EUROPE 2020 STRATEGY

• By 2015 the EU should have completed and/or launched 60% of the ESFRI Roadmap projects.

• This means that the €100 billion total in RI investment in Europe today will be increased by about €20 billion by 2020.

• But quality is at least as important as quantity. RIs are dedicated to providing scientific communities with world-class facilities.

• EFFECTIVE COOPERATION AMONG EU, NATIONAL AND REGIONAL FUNDERS WILL PROVIDE A STABLE BASE FOR BUILDING, MAINTAINING AND OPERATING RIs.

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Goals and Actors• MAIN GOAL - RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES AS

TOOLS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF AN INNOVATIVE EUROPE

• EU Member States: bilateral and multilateral links between the main national research organisations; national roadmaps for RI;

• Europe: ESFRI Roadmaps, ESF and RI Database Portal, Networks of RIs funded under RTD Framework programmes (ESS and SHARE), e-Infrastructure Reflection Group, EIROforum- European Intergovernmental Research Organisations (not SSH), EUROHORCs;

• Europe (standards): EuroCRIS, CERIF, ERIC Legal Framework.

• International: OECD's Global Science Forum, Roadmaps of US, Australia

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ESF and RIs• Research infrastructures (RIs) are a strategic

issue at the European Science Foundation. ESF regards the provision of high-quality research infrastructures within Europe as a key element in the development of the European Research Area (ERA). 

• RIs have been singled out as one of the main priorities within the EUROHORCs – ESF Vision on a Globally Competitive ERA and their Roadmap for Actions.

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SCSS and RIs• The SCSS inputs for the research infrastructures portal –

hosted by the European Commission. • SCSS Science Position Paper ‘Vital Questions: The

Contribution of European Social Science’ (2009) has highlighted the relevance for social scientists of three major projects: the European Social Survey (ESS); the Council of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) project to link European social science data archives; and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). 

• The case of ESS is particularly significant as the development of the infrastructure was originally nested in ESF, managing to secure support from the ESFRI at a later stage. 

• In February 2010 a recommendation to establish a working group dedicated to research infrastructure issues within SCSS.

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Notes on Standing Committee for the Humanities Strategic Workshop

• These remarks are based on a wrap up made by Dr. Arianna Ciula (Science Officer – Humanities Unit) & Prof. Claudine Moulin (SCH member – University of Trier and Trier Center for Digital Humanities):

• Typology of RIs;• Ecosystem of RIs;• Priorities;• Future of RIs.

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Themes of workshop

1. Research communities and adoption of research infrastructures

2. Re-purposing/re-use of data 3. Text vs. Non text 4. Disciplinary vs. interdisciplinary

resource

5. Integrating extant resources

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• Bridge traditional RIs in the humanities (archives etc.) with digital RIs

• Research input and engagement of researchers in producing RIs

• Definition/taxonomy/typology of RIs

• Best practices and awareness

• Wide access and national languages

• Evaluation of alternative research outputs (e.g. digital publications, scholarly-driven digital resources)

• Training

• Priorities

Support to young researchers to be dealt with across sections

TOPICS forSCH Science Policy Publication on RIs

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Definitions of RIs

• Reflections on definition/typology of RIs:• Primary raw (? )• Secondary enrichment (example from Irish

National Archives), added value, qualitative approach

• Interconnection and bridges: thesauri, co-references, conceptual models, semantic web

• Subject/institutional etc. (Uppsala- Gender and Work database)

• But ‘research infrastructures’ refers to facilities, resources and related services used by the scientific community to conduct top-level research in their respective fields.

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Ecosystem of RIs

• Ecosystem of RIs (infrastructures for infrastructures) or RIs as organism• Pan-European• Research community-driven• Local/institutional (e.g. Competence centres)Quality of data, process, instruments.... (scholarly

reliability, transparency of standards, methods,...)Ownership vs. licensing Multilingual resources (CLARIN) Multimodal and multidimensional (2-3D)

resources (arts and architecture etc.) Ethical issues (connection to/learn from

social sciences data)

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Priorities (i)

– Survey/study of existing standards/tools/licences (need not to re-do) and filter

• RIs to• build on communities (consensus)• offer open access to data (process and raw)• develop standards, to act as trusted repositories

funding to create and maintain long term• With an eye to facilitating research across interests and

communities

• connect the silos (mash-ups, portals etc.)

• Involvement, training and ‘translators’• Build on models, best practices, early adopters

(e.g. archaeology/linguistics)

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Priorities (ii)

• Recognition of interdisciplinary research (it’s possible!)

• Evaluation issues (expectations, economic, social benefits)

• Advocacy (emerging cross-disciplinary fields; academic recognition) and authorities/champions/ambassadors

• Partnerships across communities and institutions (scientific/libraries/archives/museums) equal partners, common meta-language, two/multi-way collaboration

• Enhance networked dimension

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From Present Future

• Reliable dynamic correlation across resources, data... (happening)

• New (also virtual) research infrastructures based on existing framework (tools etc.)

• Easy to adopt/use• Ground on methods and common interests go

beyond disciplines and tackle new research questions

• Outreach and interactive cycle (social networks)

• Grand challenges (humanities-driven)

• New culture (beyond academic circle)

• And....?

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Main Challenges Facing RIs Development: an example of the Roadmap Projects

• COSTING AND FUNDING• COORDINATION WITH EXISTING AND

OTHER NEW RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURES (INCLUDING POLITICAL SUPPORT)

• CHOOSING A SITE GOVERNANCE AND/OR ADMINISTRATION

• DATA MANAGEMENT AND LONG TERM ACCESS OF DATA

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Data management: a special issue

• Data collection;• Digitalization;• Interoperability of data;• Interoperability between fields

and languages;• Control access/location services;• Harmonisation of data access

policies

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Next steps or questions

• How to update RI Database Portal- an inventory of national and pan-european RIs is still needed.

• ERICs: what might be a role of the ESF here?

• Is the ESF able to coordinate RIs policies of member organisations?

• etc.

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