The International Conferences on Research Infrastructures (ICRI) will take place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 3 to 5 October 2016. The conferences will be co-organised by the South African Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the European Commission.
Building on the conclusions of previous ICRIs, and the ongoing debates on Research Infrastructures in international fora a more structured approach to collaboration on global Research Infrastructures will be discussed with the international community. Here, the strategic importance of Research Infrastructures and exploring their role as a tool for Science Diplomacy will be underlined.
Research infrastructures are core enablers of competitive research, development and innovation, advancing the frontiers of our knowledge. They are often, by nature, cross-border and exploitable by multiple disciplines. Research Infrastructures are also highly data intensive, with more and more virtually enabled access, leading the way to global exploitation.
The increasing drive towards open science and access to extensive research data provides opportunities and challenges to impact the concept of research. This, in turn, affects Research Infrastructures, their structure, requirements, and the way research infrastructures are developed and access to them.
How will truly global research infrastructures look in this continuously-evolving scenario? And how to best address challenges together, finding synergies and complementarities, and harnessing new opportunities? These questions are relevant in setting the scene and defining the role and impact of RIs.
For further information such as the program of the conference, please visit the ICRI 2016 website.