The ESFRI Roadmap 2016 was launched today. The roadmap identifies pan-European research infrastructures supporting long-term needs of the European research communities in all scientific areas. The launch event was organized under the Dutch Presidency by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) in close cooperation with ESFRI, the European Commission and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
The ESFRI Roadmap 2016 was released in a strategic report. The 210-page document contains three parts:
- Part 1 gives an overview of the 2016 roadmap and a full list of projects (21 in total, with six new projects) and landmarks (29 successfully implemented ESFRI projects);
- Part 2 presents descriptions of each individual ESFRI project and landmark; and
- Part 3 proposes an analysis of the current landscape.
EuroGOOS office has identified 15 ESFRI projects and landmarks, across all ESFRI domains, with a marine element relevant in the context of the development of the European Ocean Observing System, EOOS. This analysis will be furthered within the work of the EOOS steering group.
Part 3 on the landscape analysis gives a strategic overview of the state of play, challenges and opportunities for the European research infrastructures. Ocean observing infrastructures underpin research efforts across all the domains mentioned in the report, i.e. energy, environment, health and food, physical sciences and engineering, social and cultural innovation, and e-infrastructures. EuroGOOS is mentioned in the chapter on environmental infrastructures, as are a number of initiatives where EuroGOOS is playing a strong role, among others, EMODnet, SeaDataNet, Copernicus Marine Service, JERICO-Next, AtlantOS, etc. Furthermore, EuroGOOS is reflected in relation to the European Ocean Observing System, EOOS. The report makes a strong case for EOOS, highlighting that “economic constrains impose a flexible and multi-use approach, innovation towards cost-effective observing strategies, and prioritization among possibly conflicting needs”. The report states that Europe “urgently needs” an integrated and sustained EOOS to bring together “marine observations from coast to the open ocean and from surface to deep sea; promote multi-stakeholder partnerships for funding observing systems and sharing of data and align with global excellence, stakeholder needs and technological innovation, to fill the real need for cross-disciplinary research and multi-stakeholder engagement”.
View the full ESFRI 2016 Roadmap report online
Download the report here
