Speaker
Ana Helman
(European Science Foundation)
Description
It is increasingly recognised that excellent research requires excellent research infrastructures which lead its development in new directions and create an attractive environment for world-class researchers.
The Mapping of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape (MERIL) project is a pan-European effort to produce a comprehensive inventory of research infrastructures of major relevance in Europe across all scientific domains, accessible to the public through an interactive online portal. The project was initially funded for two years (2010-2012) by the European Commission under the coordination of the European Science Foundation (ESF), and is currently supported by the ESF’s Member Organisations. The online portal (https://portal.meril.eu/) is available to the community, and current efforts are dedicated to consolidating and expanding the database.
The presentation will address the present status of the MERIL database in particular with respect to accelerators facilities. We will outline the process for the collection of data and present its outcomes with an overview of the information available online. We also propose to discuss with the broad community involved in research, management and funding of accelerator facilitates, on future actions that will facilitate the integration of relevant information into the MERIL database and its effective use by all interested stakeholders. In particular, we will illustrate which kind of evidence - based support the MERIL platform can offer in the identification of stakeholders’ needs, assessment and evaluation of infrastructures, optimisation of operations, development of roadmaps, etc. More generally, examples of the use of the MERIL portal to promote individual research infrastructures, encourage cross-border and cross-sector collaboration and education, and a more efficient use of resources within the European research community will be provided.
