Stakeholders Events

3rd ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup

The 3rd ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup: Sustainability of the Research Infrastructure ecosystem, will take place from noon of 10 June to noon of 11 June 2025 in Kraków, Poland, during the Polish presidency of the Council. Conveniently timed to precede the 92nd ESFRI Forum Meeting, this event will bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, creating a unique opportunity for meaningful discussions and networking.  

The 3rd ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup, "Sustainability of the Research Infrastructure ecosystem", aims to discuss ideas and best practices regarding the enhancement of the quality and sustainability of Research Infrastructures, foster trust and cooperation among stakeholders, and promote integration within the R&I ecosystem, including building effective synergies with Technology Infrastructures. 

The ESFRI Stakeholder Forum is a key platform to interact with European Research Infrastructure (RI) stakeholders, raise awareness across the R&I ecosystem, and facilitate cooperation and mutual learning. The Forum aims to attract a diverse range of stakeholders, seeking to look beyond traditional RI communities and foster new and improved services of RIs.

The Meetup of the Forum is a regular event that gathers diverse participants, including research infrastructures, policymakers, research organisations, and higher education institutions. The primary objective of the Meetup is to create a structured, constructive communication channel with a broad community of stakeholders, facilitating the exchange of ideas and expertise between research infrastructures and their stakeholders. The aim is to promote better integration of RIs with related communities, increase their visibility and relevance, and contribute to their long-term sustainability.

The first two ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetups, held in Brussels and Tenerife, brought together stakeholders to discuss key topics such as funding, access, and collaboration, highlighting the need for sustained two-way communication and identification of good practices. The previous meetups laid the groundwork for the 3rd ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup, building on discussions to inform the path towards sustainable research infrastructures.

The event aims to discuss ideas and best practices for enhancing a range of sustainability aspects of the European research infrastructures ecosystem. Through a combination of panel discussions, networking opportunities and break-out sessions, the event seeks to foster trust and cooperation among stakeholders, discussing current topics of mutual interest.

The opening session will provide an overview of the programme for the two days and highlight the crucial topic of sustainability of the RI ecosystem, building on recent ESFRI work on this topic, notably its reports on Long-Term Sustainability of Research Infrastructures (2017) and on Funding of Research Infrastructures (2025).

The event will be structured around two main sessions:

  • Driving Innovation and Sustainability through RI-Industry collaboration
  • Synergies from different funding sources

For each session, panel discussions will be organised, as well as breakout sessions, discussing questions from the audience, but also a number of pre-defined themes and questions. At the end of each set of breakout sessions, a rapporteur from each session will summarise the findings to the plenary audience.

In addition to the core programme, a series of site visits and networking opportunities will complement the event experience. On 11 June, an open panel discussion on “The Role of Research Infrastructures for Technological Sovereignty of the European Union”- organised by the Polish Presidency, SOLARIS and LEAPS - will take place at the Auditorium Maximum of Jagiellonian University.

That afternoon, participants who have signed up will have the opportunity to join one of the following guided visits:

  • Czartoryski Museum (15:10 & 15:25) – including highlights from the renowned Czartoryski collection (details)
  • Jagiellonian University Museum (15:30) – including access to rarely seen historical scientific instruments (details)
  • Tour of Synchrotron SOLARIS (16:00-18:20) – with transportation provided to and from the site (details)

In parallel, a series of internal ESFRI meetings will be held at SOLARIS, including:

  • Roadmap 2026 Group meeting
  • Executive Board and Working Group Chairs joint session
  • Implementation Group meeting

Followed by an optional guided tour of SOLARIS for the meeting participants.

This is an invitation-only event. If you would like to be considered for an invitation, please send us an email at info@str-esfri.eu.

You may find out more information on the ESFRI Stakeholder Forum and the outcomes of the previous Meetups at the dedicated Stakeholder Forum page.

Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.

Open Discussion Satellite Panel

The Role of Research Infrastructures for Technological Sovereignty of the European Union

We invite you to join a dedicated open discussion panel on the evolving role of Research Infrastructures (RIs) in supporting the EU’s strategic autonomy and technological sovereignty. You can register here.

 

 

 

 

 

 
2nd ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup

Watch the full video recording HERE

 

The 2nd ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup will take place on September 27th, 2023 in Tenerife, Spain. 

The discussions on this year's edition of the Meetup will specifically focus on three key areas: Funding, Access, Industry and interaction with Technology Infrastructures (TIs). Each session will start with a panel discussion, followed by group discussions where participants will address relevant questions also identified in consultation with stakeholders. There will be a common question posed for all three topics about how the next European Commission Work Programme 2025-2027 and the new Framework Programme should include them. The answers to this question will form the basis for the final session of the event.

 

Join the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum - fill in the Expression of Interest form!

Missed the 1st Meetup? Read more here and watch the video recording!

 
Consultation for RIs & Stakeholders | ESFRI's approach on RI Impact Assessment | 30 May 2023 | Online

Impact assessment (IA) is an important part of the policy-making process, as it helps evaluation of the potential effects of proposed policies on various stakeholders and the making of informed decisions about whether to adopt, modify, or reject a proposed policy.
 
ESFRI is conscious of the importance of RIs impact assessment, including on the sustainability of RIs, and, as requested by the Competitiveness Council's Conclusions (15429/22), has formed a drafting group to elaborate on the topic, tasked with preparing a report based on information collected from literature and questionnaires to the ESFRI member countries and RIs, in the context of the current ESFRI Workplan. 
 
The full draft of the Policy Brief is already available here. This report highlights the importance of understanding the differences between performance monitoring, which ESFRI started implementing last year, and impact assessment of RIs and provides recommendations for stakeholders, policymakers, funders, governments, RIs, ESFRI, and European Commission (EC).

To get more insights from key stakeholders in order to enrich and finalise this report, ESFRI organises an online Consultation Workshop on ESFRI’s approach to RI impact Assessment, on 30 May 2023, 11:30-13:00 CEST.

Participation is open to all, but registration is required. 

Please note that a separate Workshop on the same topic will be organised for ESFRI Delegates only. More information here.
1st ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup

The 1st ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup was recorded in full. Watch the video recording here.

After the fully digital High-Level Launch of the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum that took place on 24 March 2022 to mark its formal establishment, it is now finally time to meet in person and set the Stakeholders Forum deliberation and co-design processes in full motion.The 1st ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup will take place on 15 September 2022 at the Royal Belgian Institute (Museum) of Natural Sciences, in Brussels, as a full day event with physical presence.

ESFRI Stakeholders Forum Meetup is an annual event bringing together research infrastructures (RIs), decision and policymakers, municipality, socio-economic actors, research organisations and higher education institutions which may contribute to or run the RIs, or are potential users of RIs. It aims to attract stakeholders of RIs, raise awareness across the whole research and innovation ecosystem, and facilitate cooperation and mutual learning between RIs and their stakeholders. Expected results include proposals for new and improved services by RIs, with their enhanced use across various communities, contributing to the impact and long-term sustainability of RIs.

At the first Meetup, on 15 September in Brussels, the panels will discuss the good practices and bottlenecks hindering the enhanced use of the RI’s services or delivery. Furthermore, the needs and future opportunities will be flagged. The event will try to address the following general questions:

- How is the current cooperation with the RIs perceived by the various communities?

- How can the use of existing RIs be improved? Can good practices and bottlenecks be identified?

- What are the needs and opportunities for fostering cooperation with existing and new RIs?

 

Please note that participation is available by invitation only.

High-Level Launch of the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum

The ESFRI White Paper, adopted in 2020, prepared the ground for a broader engagement with stakeholders by envisaging the establishment of a platform for regular discussion among the different European research infrastructures’ stakeholders.  The ESFRI Stakeholders Forum (SF) will attract stakeholders and raise their awareness across the whole research and innovation ecosystem. The objective is to look beyond the traditional RI communities.

The High-Level Launch of the ESFRI Stakeholder Forum will take place on 24 March, 2022, as a fully digital, by-invitation only event to mark the formal establishment of the ESFRI Stakeholder Forum.

The High-level Launch of the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum was recorded in full. The video recording is available for viewing here.

Watch the recap video here

Download the Summary Outcomes (PDF).