4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup
Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructures Ecosystem
We are happy to announce the 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup, which will take place in person on 22 September 2026 in Cork, Ireland, ahead of the 97th ESFRI Forum Meeting. The event will bring together representatives of ESFRI Research Infrastructures, ESFRI delegates, European institutions, industry, and the wider research and innovation community.
Background
The European Research Area (ERA) Policy Agenda 2025–2027, adopted in May 2025, is designed to reinforce national research and innovation policies and to address diverse complex global challenges Europe is facing. In a context marked by growing geopolitical tensions, economic competition, technological transformation, and climate-related pressures, strengthening Europe’s resilience and strategic autonomy has become a central priority.
The Agenda sets out 11 structural policies, to be implemented jointly by the European Commission, Member States, Associated Countries and stakeholders over the period 2025–2027. Among these, research infrastructures are addressed through a structural policy combining long-term and recurrent activities. ESFRI stakeholder engagement, beyond traditional ESFRI stakeholders, is explicitly foreseen in the ERA Policy Agenda activities.
Building on the foundations laid by the ESFRI White Paper and the European Research Area Policy Agenda, ESFRI's efforts and engagement have established a strong foundation for collaboration with a diverse range of actors. Key strengths of ESFRI's approach include a clear framework for engaging various stakeholders, broad support from delegations, and a well-organized support structure with relevant expertise.
The ESFRI Stakeholder Forum is a platform to attract stakeholders, raise awareness across the research infrastructure landscape, and facilitate cooperation and mutual learning for new and improved research infrastructure services. The main objectives of the ESFRI Stakeholder Forum are to create a structured, constructive two-way communication channel with a broad community of stakeholders, to promote better integration of research infrastructures in related communities and to contribute to improved services of the research infrastructure.
Implementation: Previous Stakeholder Forum Meetups
The ESFRI Stakeholder Forum has organised three Meetups to date, fostering dialogue and collaboration across the research infrastructure landscape. The first and second Meetup focused on sustainability, funding models, interdisciplinarity, industry engagement, and synergies between research and technology Infrastructures. Discussions highlighted the importance of diversified funding streams, improved coordination across national and EU instruments, enhanced visibility of research infrastructure services, and strengthened collaboration with industry.
The 3rd ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup, held in Kraków on 10–11 June 2025, built further momentum and recorded a high level of participation, confirming the growing relevance of the Stakeholder Forum as a platform for dialogue. The event focused on strengthening sustainability and innovation through enhanced collaboration between research infrastructures and industry, as well as on exploiting synergies across funding sources. Discussions highlighted the need for more strategic and coordinated funding approaches, improved alignment between national and EU instruments, and new models combining public and private investment to address underfunding of operational costs and human resources. The importance of fostering closer interactions between research and technology infrastructures, enhancing industrial engagement, and promoting mobility for knowledge transfer were also emphasised by the stakeholders. The conclusions reinforced the role of ESFRI in supporting predictable, strategic funding opportunities and in facilitating coordination across the European research infrastructure landscape.
Together, these discussions have provided the foundation for the 4th Meetup, which moves the discussions from sustainability towards strategic consolidation. Building on this momentum, the 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup is scheduled to take place in person, on 22 September in Cork, Ireland, during the Irish presidency of the Council of the European Union. Conveniently timed to coincide with the 97th ESFRI Forum Meeting.
Scope of the event
The 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup, “Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape”, aims to frame a policy-oriented discussion on strengthening coordination, resilience, and strategic alignment across the European research infrastructure landscape, within the integrated European research and technology infrastructure ecosystem.
The event will address consolidation through integrated user access programmes, as well as research data autonomy, while exploring synergies across domains, coordination with technology infrastructures, e-Infrastructures, and emerging European instruments such as EDICs. The discussions will contribute to the implementation of the ERA Policy Agenda 2025–2027 and feed into the preparation of the ESFRI Roadmap 2026 and the ESFRI Strategy Report.
Participants
The 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup is expected to bring together a diverse range of participants, including:
- ESFRI delegation members.
- Officials from relevant ministries and government agencies (Irish High-level officials) and from European Commission services (DG RTD, DG Connect, Digital Europe and other relevant EU programmes).
- Representatives from ESFRI Research Infrastructure Landmarks and Projects and European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERICs), the ERIC Forum, and the EIRO Forum
- Participants from large organizations, including universities, research and technology organizations and industrial partners.
- Technology infrastructures, e-Infrastructures, University Association members
- Relevant European initiatives (e.g., EDICs, EOSC and other relevant data spaces)
General Objective
The general objective of the 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup is to foster structured dialogue in support of the strategic consolidation, coordination, and resilience of the European research infrastructure landscape. Through focused discussions on access and databases at risk, the event aims to gather stakeholder perspectives, contribute to a research and innovation continuum, reduce fragmentation, and strengthen European strategic autonomy.
Specific objectives of the 4th Stakeholder Forum Meetup
- To explore approaches for strengthening access through access programmes and strengthening the continuum from research infrastructures to technology infrastructures,
- To examine challenges and opportunities related to research data sovereignty, the sustainability of databases, data governance approaches and the reduction of strategic dependencies,
- To identify practical coordination mechanisms, secure and interoperable frameworks, and consolidation pathways — including clustering models and lifecycle considerations — within and across research infrastructure domains,
- To gather stakeholders’ input on coordinated investment approaches and governance considerations, including alignment with European and national policy developments,
- To provide structured input to ESFRI’s strategic reflections, including the ESFRI Roadmap 2026 and the ESFRI Strategy Report.
Main Topic: Strategic Consolidation of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape
The central theme of the 4th ESFRI Stakeholder Forum Meetup is the strategic consolidation and positioning of research infrastructures across the European research and technology infrastructure ecosystem. Consolidation is understood as coordination, continuum and strategic alignment across research infrastructures within the broader infrastructure ecosystem, encompassing technology infrastructures, e-Infrastructures and emerging European instruments such as EDICs. It includes improved lifecycle governance, avoidance of duplication, and more coherent investment planning across the infrastructure landscape. Furthermore, coordination is key in ensuring that European research and technology infrastructures operate as a coherent and competitive ecosystem.
This topic will be addressed along the following dimensions:
- Drawing on ESFRI monitoring exercises and landscape analyses, the discussion will consider how existing instruments can provide a clearer overview of the research infrastructure landscape, identify overlaps or fragmentation, and inform coordinated development pathways.
- The interaction with private and public partners, including industry, will explore the ways in which research infrastructures can collaborate with private and public partners to drive innovation and sustainability. The event will explore how stronger engagement with these stakeholders can contribute to innovation uptake, financial sustainability, and the long-term resilience of research infrastructures, while maintaining their public mission.
- Particular attention will be given to synergies and complementarity between research infrastructures, technology infrastructures, e-Infrastructures, and emerging European instruments such as EDICs. The discussion will consider how clearer delineation of roles, interoperability frameworks, and joint strategic planning can strengthen the overall infrastructure ecosystem.
- The consolidation agenda also includes reflection on coordinated investment approaches, common procurement where relevant, and improved alignment between national and European funding instruments.
- The implications of FP10 and evolving EU policy frameworks for long-term sustainability and resilience.
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.
Structure of the event:
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. The sessions will allow a look at concrete cases from the different science domains to keep a practical focus that is close to current challenges. 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.
