Page 7 - Roadmap

1. The preparation of the National Research Infrastructure Roadmap

1.1. The role and function of the ESFRI Roadmap

Established in 2002, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) identifies research infrastruc-
tures significant at European level and necessary for meeting the long-term needs of European research communities. It
aims to strengthen the coherence and strategic approach of the EU’s RI-related policy and to launch initiatives promoting
the more efficient use of RIs. Another aim is to make an overview (roadmap) of the current situation of the research in-
frastructures and future goals covering 10-20 years length of time. The first roadmap was published in 2006 and was up-
dated several times later on. Presently, the Roadmap 2016 is being updated to create the Roadmap 2018.

Cutting-edge research infrastructures are so extremely resource demanding (in terms of equipment, appliances, ICT, data
and human capacities) that no EU member state could operate them alone cost-effectively. The full budget spent on Eu-
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ropean RIs is around EUR 10 billion a year . The selection and establishment of RIs require a single strategic approach
at European level, which is coordinated by the ESFRI.

ESFRI RIs operate on the basis of a life-cycle model. Accordingly, there are ESFRI projects and ESFRI landmarks which
represent different stages of the life cycle. ESFRI projects are new initiatives selected on the basis of excellence and maturity
in a complex assessment process. The Roadmap 2016 contains 21 ESFRI projects, 9 of which were taken over from the
2008 roadmap and 6 from the 2010 roadmap, while 5 new projects were selected and 1 project was revised and modified.
ESFRI landmarks are infrastructures already started or soon becoming operational and will have a decisive role in boosting
the competitiveness of the European Research Area (ERA). The 2016 roadmap lists altogether 29 ESFRI landmarks.
Projects which cannot be realized in 10 years are removed from the Roadmap. Landscape analyses are further important
components in the roadmaps. They provide a comprehensive picture about the open European RIs available for the wider
audience as well as about all major new and ongoing projects in all research areas.

1.2 The importance of research infrastructures

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The European Commission’s report on the consultation on the long-term sustainability of research infrastructures high-
lights that “ensuring access to world-class research infrastructure facilities is crucial to staying at the forefront of science
and technology and remaining competitive in a global knowledge-based economy. But some science facilities are just too big
or complex for a single country to build and manage alone. The European Strategy Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI)
was set up in 2002 to help coordinate the development of large-scale research facilities in the European Research Area.”

To sum up, research infrastructures are important because they:
• provide a basis for scientific discoveries and for expanding our knowledge of the world;
• determine the international scientific competitiveness of a country;
• facilitate the reinforcement and expansion of human research capacities;
• strengthen cooperation and networking between researchers and research groups;
• promote knowledge-sharing between the research community and the business sector;
• provide potential answers to global challenges;
• generate significant socio-economic effects.

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Source: ESFRI Roadmap 2016
4 European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation: Report on the Consultation on Long Term Sustainability of Research Infrastructures,
May 2016

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