Research infrastructure services advancing frontier knowledge (bottom-up)

The main goal of this opportunity is to enable breakthrough research by providing access to top-level research infrastructures across various scientific fields. It aims to improve and harmonize services offered by research infrastructures, foster collaboration across disciplines, and train new generations of researchers. The initiative also promotes better data management according to FAIR principles and supports the sustainability of access schemes. Efforts are focused on scientific domains not previously addressed by similar opportunities, with a geographic scope covering EU Member States, Associated Countries, and select international partners.

• Projects must provide trans-national (on-site or remote) and/or virtual access to research infrastructure services.
• Activities should support curiosity-driven research across broad scientific domains.
• Proposals must include access provision activities.
• Projects must involve interdisciplinary research infrastructures of European interest.
• At least one ESFRI Landmark or ERIC must be a beneficiary.
• Projects must follow the European Charter for Access to Research Infrastructures and address data management and interoperability, including connections to the European Open Science Cloud where relevant.

Example Projects:

• A project offering remote access to advanced microscopy facilities for researchers from different European countries.
• An initiative providing virtual access to integrated climate data platforms, involving several European research centers and one ESFRI Landmark.
• A collaboration that opens a network of biobanks to interdisciplinary teams and ensures data is managed according to FAIR principles.

• Unit costs for trans-national access to research infrastructures
• Unit costs for virtual access to research infrastructures
• Personnel costs related to access provision
• Training activities for users and staff
• Costs for improving and harmonizing infrastructure services
• Expenses for data management and interoperability solutions
• Costs for connecting infrastructures to the European Open Science Cloud
• Operational costs directly linked to access provision
• Travel and subsistence for researchers accessing infrastructures (if applicable)

Restrictions: Only 80% of eligible costs are covered. The list of services and the number of access units made available must be included in the proposal.

• Budget for this Call: 3,000,000€
• Number of Grants attributed: 1
• Budget per grant: 3,000,000€

• Applicants must be legal entities established in EU Member States, Associated Countries, or, exceptionally, in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, India, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Switzerland, or the USA (if providing access to EU/Associated Country researchers).
• Proposals must include access provision activities.
• Projects must involve at least one ESFRI Landmark or ERIC as a beneficiary.
• Applicants must address data management, interoperability, and connection to the European Open Science Cloud where relevant.
• Proposals must follow the European Charter for Access to Research Infrastructures.
• Projects should support curiosity-driven, interdisciplinary research.
• Eligibility may depend on collaboration within networks or partnerships involving relevant research infrastructures.