EUDAT Porto Conference 2018

1. EUDAT receives funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme - DG CONNECT e-Infrastructures. Contract No. 654065 www.eudat.eu
Research communities
& the CDI
24 January 2018
Chair: Debora Testi, CINECA

2. With a network of more than 20 European research
organisations, data and computing centres in 14 countries,
the EUDAT Collaborative Data Infrastructure (CDI) is one
of the largest infrastructures of integrated data services and
resources supporting research in Europe
EUDAT CDI
The EUDAT CDI allows two types
of involvement:
• research communities, data and other
service providers can use the CDI
services
• computing and data centres can join
the CDI as generic or thematic service
providers

3. • EUDAT believes that research communities
should have a major voice in the CDI
governance
• Research communities have been central in
the EUDAT services co-design already in
EUDAT1 and EUDAT2020
• 24 data pilots
• 6 core communities as partners
• 87 community projects
Users Engagement

4. How can EUDAT best support the involvement of research
communities in the CDI? What are the appropriate
mechanisms to be able to influence the EUDAT agenda?
• EUDAT CDI is currently discussing the establishing of a
User Board to ensure that the needs of the research
communities are adequately captured by EUDAT future
developments
• The role of the User Board should be aligned with other
bodies in the governance of the CDI; bylaws should reflect
this alignment
User Engagement

5. • This session opens the discussion about how to
incorporate a User Board in the governance of the
CDI
• for which topics should the EB and the UB exchange information and
visions
• what should be the balance between binding and non-binding UB opinions
• how to organise the link with research communities
• …
User Engagement
Executive
board
Secretariat
Council
Advisory
board #1
Advisory
board #2
User board
…

6. ● Focus on the priorities of user communities for
development and operational requirements
● Focus on strategic topics (practical issues
should be covered through other mechanisms)
● Individual UB members could be a first entry
point to the CDI for research communities that
consider to join or that need advice
Role of User Board

7. ● Small number of members: about 5-7 ?
● Representatives of scientific domains
● One member for each scientific domain
○ Chemistry
○ Physics
○ Life Sciences
○ Earth and Climate Science
○ Humanities & Social Sciences
○ Engineering
○ ...
User Board membership

8. Terms of office and procedure for selection
● Length of term should ensure that membership is not
static (e.g., 2 years)
● Limited possibility of renewal (e.g., only once)
● Not all members to be replaced at the same time to
ensure continuity
● Selection of members through a transparent procedure
and harmonised bylaws with other boards
○ Executive board organises the selection process
○ Open call for (nomination of) candidates
○ Sub-committee formed by members of council and executive board to
perform the selection
○ Selected candidates are proposed to the Council for approval

9. ● Internal members only?
● How do we group domains to decide which domain
clusters should have a representative?
● How to ensure that overall the people involved in the
CDI governance do not form a closed circuit?
● ...any other comment?
Discussion points