The Distributed System of Scientific Collections, known as DiSSCo, successfully concluded its transition phase with a significant milestone event in Leiden. Specifically, this important moment took place on the 1st of April and was marked by a dedicated Wrap-up Event hosted at the Naturalis Biodiversity Center.
During the event, key stakeholders, project members, and partners from across Europe came together. The main objective of this gathering was to reflect on the achievements of the transition phase, share insights, and discuss the next steps for the initiative.
Ultimately, the conclusion of this phase represents a pivotal step in DiSSCo’s journey toward building a unified and accessible European infrastructure for natural science collections.
The DTP Wrap-Up Event was the perfect moment to share lessons learned. These came from the 18-month transition project, which supports the creation of the European Research Infrastructure—DiSSCo’s main goal.
The day featured a roundtable discussion. Ana Casino, Executive Director of CETAF, moderated the session. In particular, five National Node representatives took part. They came from Belgium, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Each of them shared their unique perspective on the future of DiSSCo. Their focus was especially on the next stage, known as the Construction Phase.
Over the course of the one-hour discussion, they covered two main topics. First, the representatives talked about what makes their National Node unique. They reflected on specific national characteristics. Then, they briefly discussed the upcoming Construction Phase. In doing so, they highlighted key components needed to join the DiSSCo ERIC—technical, organisational, financial, and more.
On April, 2nd, the 7th Interim General Assembly opened the day to handover the governance to the DiSSCo Interim General Assembly, chaired by Edwin Van Huis, the ultimate governance body of DiSSCo becoming an ERIC.
