The 4th European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Stakeholder Forum Meetup is about the “Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape - Advancing coordinated access and strengthening strategic autonomy over critical research data”. The event will provide a platform for dialogue on strengthening coordination, resilience, and strategic alignment across the European research infrastructure (RI) landscape. The event will bring together representatives of ESFRI RIs, ESFRI delegates, European institutions and flagship initiatives, industry partners, and the wider research and innovation community. The programme will focus on two key sessions to streamline the discussions.

• Session I: Access across the RI Landscape - Consolidating the RI landscape through integrated user access programmes

The first session will explore how integrated user access programmes can support a more coherent RI landscape by enabling coordinated access schemes, creating clearer entry points for users—including innovative companies and industry—and strengthening the continuum between Research and Technology Infrastructures.

• Session II: Databases at risk and Research Data Sovereignty - Reducing dependencies through consolidated and federated approaches, and trusted international collaborations

The second session will address databases at risk and research data sovereignty, examining how consolidated and federated approaches can help safeguard critical research databases, reduce dependencies, and reinforce Europe’s strategic autonomy while maintaining openness and trusted international collaboration.

Through panel discussions and interactive breakout sessions, the 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup will gather stakeholder perspectives and practical insights to inform ESFRI’s strategic reflections, including the preparation of the ESFRI Roadmap 2026 and the ESFRI Strategy Report.

The core themes and the main structure of the event is available here and the concept note here. The full agenda will be available at a later stage. All information about the 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup is available in the announcement on the ESFRI website. 

What is the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum?

The ESFRI Stakeholders Forum is a platform, established by ESFRI in 2022 with the ambition to instigate an open dialogue among the different European RI stakeholders, in order to reinforce the position of RIs as an essential pillar of the European Research Area (ERA). This concept was presented in the ESFRI White Paper adopted in 2020.

In the renewed ERA the participatory element is applied across the ERA, including ESFRI and RIs as to position them at the heart of the research and innovation ecosystem, and closely interlinking them with different actors, such as researchers, educators, policy makers, citizens, businesses and others. The Stakeholders Forum aims to engage these actors and facilitate regular discussion among them.

The Stakeholders Forum initiative reflects ESFRI’s intention to look beyond the traditional RI communities. The platform aims to attract stakeholders, raise their awareness across the whole research and innovation ecosystem, and facilitate their cooperation and mutual learning. Expected results are new and improved services by RIs, with their enhanced use across various communities. These stakeholders include, amongst others, decision and policymakers, municipalities, citizens, socio-economic actors, research organisations and higher education institutions with scientific communities participating in ERA activities, which may contribute to or run the RIs, or are their potential users.

If you are a representative of an organisation, association, agency or other entity that wishes to express an interest in identifying as an ESFRI Stakeholder and become a member of the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Platform, fill out the form ESFRI Stakeholders Forum - Expression of Interest. All information about the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum is available on the ESFRI website.