EBRAINS makes bid to enter the European Research Infrastructure Roadmap

The EBRAINS infrastructure for neuroscience ha

s officially submitted an application for inclusion in the ESFRI Roadmap 2021. EBRAINS offers researchers a comprehensive package of powerful tools, facilities and resources that have been jointly developed by scientists and engineers in the Human Brain Project, a ten-year European Flagship project running until 2023. ESFRI, the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures, plays a central role in establishing shared infrastructures for Science in Europe and helps guide decisions in research policy. The application of EBRAINS to the ESFRI Roadmap is supported by a ten-country strong coalition, led by France as Lead Country. Additional backing is provided in over 90 letters of support from European scientific institutions, medical associations and industry.

“This is a major step” underlines Pawel Swieboda, EBRAINS CEO and Director General of the Human Brain Project. “Seeking recognition as part of the ESFRI Roadmap is an important milestone in transitioning to an enduring, sustainable European research infrastructure beyond 2023, making EBRAINS a permanent part of the European Science” landscape.

European Research Infrastructures are central to foster stronger cohesion and collaboration between scientists in the European Research Area (ERA). They enable Science that needs facilities too large for individual institutions – or even single member states – to maintain. The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) helps to shape and stimulate their creation, and has contributed to the establishment of over 50 European Research Infrastructures during the last 18 years.

The influential ESFRI Roadmap regularly identifies the most impactful proposals for the next generation of entries into the EU’s infrastructure ecosystem. EBRAINS, the novel European distributed research infrastructure for brain science and brain-inspired technology, has now officially applied to join the list. The recently founded EBRAINS AISBL and Commissariat a l’energie atomique et aux energies alternatives, coordinator of the French Lead Country role in the project, have submitted an application, including the written support of a broad range of representatives from research institutions, medical professional organizations and industry, highlighting the opportunities and impact EBRAINS offers to their field.

“The impressive support we have received from ten countries and over 90 leading scientific institutions shows that the momentum is now clearly growing behind EBRAINS”, Swieboda said.

###