The European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (E-RIHS) is a distributed infrastructure dedicated to furthering research and innovation in heritage science, the interdisciplinary domain of the scientific study of heritage. Heritage science encompasses all forms of scientific enquiry into objects, buildings and landscape sites that are endowed with cultural and/or historical importance. It draws on diverse disciplines across arts, humanities, sciences and engineering, and focuses on enhancing the understanding, care and sustainable use of heritage in times of global change so it can enrich people’s lives, both today and in the future.
Europe is a global leader in heritage science, with a well-established reputation for innovative research that combines complementary knowledge and skills from many diverse disciplines. ERIHS seeks to enhance this role by providing greater access to expertise, know-how, research capacity and resources through four main platforms, representing diverse facilities and their associated expertise:
• E-RIHS ARCHLAB – archives of scientific information and physical reference collections;
• E-RIHS FIXLAB – a diverse portfolio of fixed analytical facilities;
• E-RIHS MOLAB – a series of mobile laboratory units;
• E-RIHS DIGILAB – digital knowledge and data repositories, collaborative tools and online facilities.
Beyond coordinating external researcher (user) access to a formidable range of expertise, instruments, and data relative to heritage artefacts, collections and their historical context, E-RIHS generates and disseminates new research activities and knowledge, engages audiences, enables training, supports the development of standards and policies, and makes available a wide range of specialized services and products. Through this, E-RIHS fosters a culture of interdisciplinary exchange, discussion and cooperation.
By unlocking the potential of research on heritage of all types, E-RIHS, helps to develop a deeper understanding of the origins and significance of heritage, mechanisms of material change and degradation, the effects of conservation treatments, and the impacts of environmental change on tangible cultural heritage. It facilitates testing and development of materials and tools for improved conservation and interpretation, and drives innovation through adapting and applying cutting-edge technology, interweaving natural science and engineering approaches with those from humanities and social science, and by identifying challenges and gaps in knowledge and resources.
E-RIHS aspires to become a global entity by building on the internationally leading status of European heritage science. In the fullness of time, E-RIHS will establish an infrastructure that will integrate partners and facilities from outside the EU and reach a worldwide community of external researchers (users).
E-RIHS PP worked for preparing the establishment of E-RIHS ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium), thus, along with the planned deliverables, the base documents for the application of the Step 1 submission were also prepared, and precisely: the Statutes, the Scientific and Technical Description and the Financial Annex. For this latter, a specific Costbook was derived from the Financial Plan.
The two major objectives of E-RIHS PP in view of its mission were:
A. to develop a sound business case, including a sustainable financial plan, for implementing an inclusive E-RIHS ERIC with the support of as many as possible founders from Member States and Associated Countries, addressing all the issues highlighted by ESFRI in their evaluation report of 2016;
B. to produce a strong implementation plan for the E-RIHS ERIC.
Objective A was achieved as described in Deliverable 11.1 the E-RIHS ERIC Business Plan version 1.0.
Objective B was achieved as described in D11.2 the E-RIHS ERIC Implementation Plan version 1.0.
