Strengthening collaboration via the IT ERIC Forum towards an updated national data strategy
On May 30th, 2025, the conference “Generating and Using Data in the Digital Decade” took place at CNR in Rome, also thanks to the support of CERIC and E-RIHS. The event focused on interoperability, reusability, and security in the management of both research and non-research data. Key topics included the Italian and European regulatory frameworks for data collection and processing, the integration between initiatives, such as EOSC and ESFRI, and the strategic role of national nodes and EOSC nodes in governance and investment.
Two roundtables focused, respectively, on the management of fully open scientific data – particularly in its interaction with the EOSC framework – and on “non-exclusively open” data—such as health, social, linguistic, and cultural data, at the intersection of diverse actors and agendas, with specific attention to European Data Infrastructure Consortia – EDICs.
Both sessions highlighted the complexity of the digital ecosystem and the need for coordination to avoid duplication and promote long-term sustainability. The role of human capital and collaboration between institutions, research organisations, and industry was also emphasised.
A successful collaboration example of the Science Clusters is the OSCARS project, where CERIC is involved as a partner. In one of the event’s roundtables, OSCARS coordinator, Giovanni Lamanna, introduced the Science Clusters – ENVRI for the environmental sciences, ESCAPE for astronomy, nuclear and particle physics, LS-RI for the life sciences, PaNOSC for photon and neutron science, SSHOC for social sciences and humanities – and their collaboration in OSCARS to strengthen their role in the European Research Area by consolidating their past achievements into lasting interdisciplinary FAIR data services and working practices across scientific disciplines and communities, and by fostering the implementation of Open Science projects and services.
Overall, the conference underlined the need for coordinated action at the national level to shape a coherent Italian strategy within the evolving European data ecosystem, while acknowledging ongoing challenges and potential risks.
As stated by Carlo Rizzuto, Chair of the CERIC General Assembly, “ERICs are institutions; EDICs are projects. ERICs must not forget that they are European institutions, part of the European Research Area, with a multi-decade horizon. The Italian ERIC Forum is ready to support and help consolidate coordinated actions in the future”.
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