Overview of the European Strategy in Research Infrastructures

The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) was established in 2002, with a mandate from the EU Council to support a coherent and strategy-led approach to policy-making on research infrastructures in Europe, and to facilitate multilateral initiatives leading to the better use and development of Research Infrastructures (RI), at EU and international level. ESFRI has recently presented its updated 2016 Roadmap which demonstrates the dynamism of the European scientific community and the commitment of Member States to develop new research infrastructures at the European level. This work is focused on the identification of the new features and conclusions of the ESFRI Roadmap 2016 in terms of the methods and procedures that led to the call, the evaluation and selection of the new ESFRI Projects and the definition and assessment of the ESFRI Landmarks. An analysis of the impact of research infrastructures on structuring the European Research Area as well as the global research scene, and of the overall contribution to European competitiveness are also discussed focusing on data intensive RI and eInfrastructures projects.