ICRI2014 - Supporting International Research Infrastructures
The ICRI is a bi-annual event usually (but not exclusively) organised by the country holding the rotating Presidency of the EU. Greece held the Presidency during the first semester of 2014, and hosted the event in April 2014. Funded by the EU, the ICRI2014(opens in new window) (International Conference on Research Infrastructures 2014) project, coordinated by the “Athena” Research and Innovation Centre(opens in new window), provided the necessary resources for organising and running the event. The Conference's objective is to offer a high level international forum where key stakeholders can meet, discuss and contribute to bringing forward global issues related to Research Infrastructures. The conference promoted a plan for global governance towards interoperable and sustainable RIs. Outcomes included a set of recommendations facilitating European Research Infrastructures including e-Infrastructures and supporting Horizon 2020. The ICRI2014 project ran between mid-2013 and mid-2014. The well-attended ICRI 2014 event took place in Athens, and was generally considered a success. More than 750 attendees represented over 60 countries and/or international research organisations, with nearly 80 % being from the EU. Participants represented a wide variety of research interests. The programme included 105 distinguished speakers from 32 countries. The exhibition area encompassed 26 booths, including a special Research and Art area, allowing delegates from both fields to share experiences and build networks. The meeting was generally rated positively by the attendees who submitted a response (11% response rate). Facilities and the programme were in particular very well rated. Greek media reported the event at a higher than expected rate. Key outcomes included a consensus on the need to foster global cooperation in RIs. Attendees recommended that goals for establishing RIs should be agreed beforehand via an efficient and transparent international process. Further statements addressed the importance of technology reconciliation, the potential for ICRI to act as the main international forum and expectations of increasing the participation of women. The ICRI2014 project successfully organised the ICRI 2014 event, which had a theme of global cooperation.