4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup

4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup
Cork, Ireland
22.09.2026

Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape

We are happy to announce that the 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup will take place on 22 September 2026 in Cork, Ireland, at the National Maritime College of Ireland, during the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union and ahead of the 97th ESFRI Forum meeting.

The event will bring together representatives of ESFRI Research Infrastructures, ESFRI delegates, European institutions and flagship initiatives, industry partners, and the wider research and innovation community.

Under the title “Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape”, the event will provide a platform for dialogue on strengthening coordination, resilience, and strategic alignment across the European research infrastructure landscape.

The programme will focus on two key sessions to streamline the discussions. The first session will explore how integrated user access programmes can support a more coherent Research Infrastructure 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. 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 full agenda will be available at a later stage. You can read about the core themes and the main structure of the event here.

Please refer to the concept note for more information. 

 

 

 

The Meetup Program Committee is currently working on designing the best possible experience for the Stakeholders, including insightful content and engaging speakers. The Agenda of the Meetup will be announced in due time. For now, please find below the core structure and themes of this meetup. Enjoy!

Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructure landscape

The 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup will take place as a full-day, in-person event, opened by the ESFRI Chair with an introduction outlining the strategic context and objectives of the meeting, including the need to advance the consolidation and coordination of the European research infrastructure landscape in line with current European policy priorities. The programme will be structured around the two main sessions, with each session combining a moderated panel discussion with interactive breakout sessions to enable in-depth exchange among participants. Following the breakout discussions, designated rapporteurs will present summaries of the key messages and recommendations in a plenary format, ensuring that outcomes are consolidated and feed into ESFRI’s broader strategic reflections. The two main sessions are presented in detail below:

Session I: Access across the Research Infrastructure Landscape

Consolidating the Research Infrastructure landscape through integrated user access programmes

This session will explore how integrated user access programmes to research infrastructures can support a more coherent Research infrastructure landscape. The discussion will consider how thematic or mission-oriented access could bring together multiple research infrastructures to provide coordinated efforts around specific scientific or innovation challenges. Particular attention will be given to the creation of single-entry points for users, including innovative companies and public and private partners, including industry, as well as to strengthen the continuum between research and technology Infrastructures. The objective is to assess how access can evolve from unique infrastructure-level schemes towards structured programmes that reduce fragmentation and simplify access pathways for research and innovation users.

Session II: Databases at risk and Research Data Sovereignty

Reducing dependencies through consolidated and federated approaches, and trusted international collaborations

This session will address the strategic importance of safeguarding critical research databases, especially in domains such as environment including climate, life sciences including health or social sciences. In a context of increasing geopolitical complexity and technological interdependence, particular attention will be given to reducing dependencies of critical research databases. The discussion will explore how consolidated and federated approaches — including European federated data ecosystems like the European Open Science Cloud — can enhance resilience, interoperability, and secure data stewardship across the research infrastructure landscape. The session will also reflect on enforcing sovereignty in combination with openness, seeking to balance strategic autonomy with the principle of being “as open as possible, as closed as necessary” in trusted international collaboration.”

 
Event Programme
09:00

Registration and welcome coffee
José Luis Martínez Peña, ESFRI Chair

Irish Opening Speaker
Colm O'Riordon, Head of Department INSPIRE Secretary General 
10:14

European Commission policy updates
Michael Arentoft, Head of Unit, Open Science and Research Infrastructures, DG R&I, European Commission
10:27

Setting the scene
Strategic consolidation and positioning of research infrastructures in an evolving landscape
José Luis Martínez Peña, ESFRI Chair 
10:40

Session 1. Access across the Research Infrastructure Landscape  Consolidating the Research Infrastructure landscape through integrated user access programmes 

Keynote
Annika Thies, Head of EU Project Office, DESY
10:53

Panel discussion

Angles to be covered:

  • From individual RI access to integrated access programmes
  • User-centric access and single-entry points
  • Access for industry, including SMEs, startups and scaleups
  • Strengthening the RI-TI continuum
  • Reducing fragmentation
  • Governance and sustainability of access programmes 

Moderator:
Michael Ryan, Head of International Division, Research Ireland 

Panellists:

  • Jonathan Ewbank, Director-General, ERINHA
  • Sylvain Charbonneau, President and CEO, Canadian Foundation for Innovation
  • Jimmy Murphy, Senior Lecturer, University College Cork, Ireland
  • Michel Boër, Director-General, AnaEE-ERIC
  • Barbara Schramm, Head of Department Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf 

Discussant: Dr. Elena Hoffert, ESFRI Vice-Chair

 
11:43

Interaction with the audience 
Q&A session
12:00

Lunch
13:30

Session 2. Databases at risk and Research Data Sovereignty Reducing dependencies through consolidated and federated approaches and trusted international collaborations 

Keynote
Shelley Stall, Vice President, Open Science Leadership, American Geophysical Union
13:43

Introducing the thematic break-out sessions

  • One Health: Jana Klánová, Project Coordinator, EIRENE
  • Climate: Peter Thorne - Professor of Physical Geography (Climate Science), Maynooth University, Ireland
  • Social Sciences and Humanities: Bonnie Wolff-Boenisch - CESSDA Director and ERIC Forum Chair
14:10

Break-out sessions

  • One Health
  • Climate
  • Social Sciences and Humanities
15:00

Coffee break
16:30

Feedback and conclusions from the break-out sessions
Rapporteurs
16:50

Panel discussion

Angles to be covered:

  • Databases at risk: what makes a database “critical”; what are the biggest vulnerabilities
  • Reducing strategic dependencies
  • Federated approaches and European data ecosystems Research and knowledge security
  • Strategic autonomy vs. trusted international collaboration 

Moderator:
Aastha Mathur, Head of Image Data Services, Euro-BioImaging

Panellists:

  • Philippe Sanseau, Executive Head, Global Biodata Coalition
  • Sara Garavelli, Director, EOSC-A,Strategic European Engagement & Coordination Development Manager, CSC -   
  • Helen Glaves, EPOS ERIC and Senior data scientist, British Geological Survey
  • Roberto Di Cosmo, Founder and Director, Software Heritage
  • Matija Strlič, Chair of the ESFRI SWG SSH and Deputy Director of UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage 
17:50

Questions from the audience
18:10

Closing Remarks

  • Mick Gillooly, Director of Ocean Climate and Information Services, Marine Institute
  • José Luis Martínez Peña, ESFRI Chair 

The National Maritime College of Ireland (NMCI) is the first third level college in the country to be built under the Government’s Public-Private Partnership scheme. A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a partnership between the public and private sector for the purpose of delivering a project or service traditionally provided by the public sector.

The Practical Information Note (PIN) can be downloaded at: PIN_ESFRI_Meeting_Cork_Ireland_4

Website

The Practical Information Note (PIN) can be downloaded at: PIN_ESFRI_Meeting_Cork_Ireland_4

 A list of hotels in Cork City will be sent to registered and accredited participants.