e-IRGSP7 has provided the secretariat to the governing bodies of e-IRG (Chair, Executive Board, e-IRG plenum), supported the day-to-day operations and organisation of e-IRG events. e-IRGSP7 also provided support to e-IRG’s policy activities and provided communication and liaison activities to distribute the outcomes of e-IRG.
e-IRGSP7 has provided support services to the e-IRG and organised all e-IRG workshops and delegates meetings. Four e-IRG workshops have been implemented under the French, Czech, Swedish and Spanish EU presidencies:
- The FR workshop focused, on a sustainable EOSC and the role of e-Infrastructures, the twin “green and digital” transition in e-Infrastructures and the cross-e-Infrastructure collaboration and coordination (network, computing, data)
- The CZ workshop focused on the coordination and collaboration among EU e-Infrastructures, Energy crisis and e-Infrastructures, Data Infrastructures and EU Data Spaces, and interlinking/interaction between data, publications and PIDs.
- The SE workshop celebrated the 20 years of anniversary of e-IRG, which was a milestone event for e-IRG showcasing its impact over its long history, and then focused on the Authentication and Authorisation Infrastructures coordination in the ERA and beyond, Cybersecurity and critical infrastructures and coordination among generic and thematic infrastructures in the new ERA .
- The ES workshop focused on e-Infrastructures for strengthening European unity (including EDICs & ERICs), skills in the frame of e-Infrastructures and the diverse ecosystem of EOSC nodes.
All e-IRG Workshops received very positive ratings. "Communiqués" for all e-IRG Workshops have been created, summarising the outcomes of these workshops.
e-IRGSP7 has supported e-IRG’s policy-activities with the development of the e-IRG White Paper 2022, entitled “Realisation and enhancement of coordination and collaboration in the e-Infrastructure landscape covering the full spectrum of e-Infrastructures (networking, computing, data) and related services”, which was published in January 2023. The document addresses the coordination between EU e-Infrastructures and is taking further the topic of coordination inside the ERA, this time focusing on the EU level, which is a core concept of the e-Infrastructure Commons. With its White Paper 2022, e-IRG is providing an analysis and recommendations towards the coordination and collaboration among the EU e-Infrastructures. The White Paper is an outcome of an iterative process with all major EU e-Infrastructure-related initiatives - namely EGI, EUDAT, GEANT, OpenAIRE and PRACE, as well as the EOSC Steering Board, the EOSC Association and the EC. All these contributed to the creation of the White Paper responding to a related questionnaire and through their participation in a series of e-IRG workshops and meetings. e-IRGSP7 drafted the questionnaire, performed the analysis, and also acted as the main editor of White Paper 2022, under the guidance of the e-IRG Chair, the EB and the e-IRG plenum, which approved the document. One of the e-IRG White Paper 2022 recommendations was the creation of the e-Infrastructure Assembly. After a series of preparatory meetings with all stakeholders, the e-Infrastructure Assembly was established in June 2023. The Assembly is composed of representatives from EGI, EUDAT, GEANT, OpenAIRE and PRACE and the e-IRG Chair is invited as an observer. In June 2023 e-IRG agreed on the participation of one e-Infrastructure Assembly member and one Board member of the EOSC-A in its closed meetings, based on “Terms of Observers”, in line with the e-IRG bylaws. The scope of work of the Assembly was presented by the e-Infrastructures in the September 2023 e-IRG delegates online meeting and the first face-to-face meeting of the e-Infrastructures Assembly took place at UPV in Valencia in November 2023. The discussions focused on the sustainability of e-Infrastructures and the need for dedicated funding calls in the next RI Work Programmes (2025-2027), but mainly in the next Framework Programme (FP10).
Other e-IRGSP7 achievements, included the support to the liaison with the EOSC SB, ESFRI and the ESFRI-EOSC TF, the organisation of 4 e-IRG Cafes, and the active participation and contribution of e-IRGSP7 in all EOSC coordination activities and the EOSC Macro Roadmap. Finally, the migration to a new website and set of tools.
