Collaboration between European Research Infrastructures (RIs) is essential to advancing scientific excellence, accelerating innovation, and addressing complex scientific challenges. EATRIS strongly believes in the power of partnerships to optimise resources, foster interdisciplinary solutions, break down siloes and therefore strengthen the translational research pipeline. By working with other RIs, we enhance our ability to support researchers in bridging the gap between scientific discovery and patient benefit.
CROSS-RI COLLABORATIONS CREATE SYNERGIES THAT STREAMLINE OPERATIONS, AVOID DUPLICATION OF EFFORTS, AND ENSURE THAT NATIONAL AND EUROPEAN RESEARCH COMMUNITIES CAN ACCESS THE BEST EXPERTISE AND TECHNOLOGIES AVAILABLE
Key Areas of Collaboration
EATRIS actively engages in cross-RI collaborations across multiple domains to enhance research quality and impact. One core area is the exchange of best practices, which allows RIs to harmonise methodologies and ensure consistency across European RIs. Quality and standards play a crucial role in ensuring reliable and reproducible research, with RIs working together to establish guidelines that improve scientific rigor. Another major focus is the development of education and training initiatives, which strengthen researchers’ skills and foster knowledge-sharing between disciplines. Lastly, joint advocacy efforts amplify the voice of RIs at the European level, ensuring that policy–makers recognise the strategic value of these collaborations in advancing biomedical research and innovation.
Two Levels of Collaboration
Cross-RI collaboration takes place at two distinct levels. At the European level, the EATRIS’ Coordination & Support (C&S) team facilitates collaboration across different RIs, such as through the EU-AMRI alliance (with BBMRI-ERIC and ECRIN-ERIC) and other joint initiatives with Life Science RIs like ELIXIR, EU-OPENSCREEN, and Euro-BioImaging.
At the national level, EATRIS actively supports cross-RI collaboration between its national nodes and other RIs within their respective countries. This is achieved through initiatives such as the EATRIS Cross-RI Collaboration Support Programme (EATRIS-CONNECT Project), which encourages national nodes to build partnerships with other ERICs National Nodes, national RIs, and RI networks. These efforts allow for joint events, shared training programs, interdisciplinary projects, and coordinated funding applications, maximising the impact of national translational research.
Contact for Collaboration
For more information on Cross-RI collaborations at EATRIS or to explore partnership opportunities, please contact EATRIS’ Member Engagement Officer Eliis Keidong at eliiskeidong@eatris.eu
Examples of Collaborations
EATRIS has led and participated in multiple successful collaborations. For example the EU-AMRI initiative together with BBMRI-ERIC and ECRIN-ERIC encompasses over 700 research institutions and university hospitals across 29 European countries and offer a comprehensive workflow for researchers in biomedical science. In addition to service provision the three ERICs actively participate jointly in EU projects, perform join advocacy efforts and collaborate on education and training. To find out more about the EU-AMRI initiative, visit eu-amri.org.
Additionally, EATRIS’ is in partnership with CERN on the TRUSTroke project which proposes a trustworthy, privacy-preserving AI-based platform to assist in managing ischemic stroke. By integrating clinical and patient-reported data, this project highlights how combining strengths from different disciplines can lead to innovative solutions in healthcare. To find ourt more about the TRUSTroke project, visit https://trustroke.eu.
At the Life Science Cluster level, EATRIS collaborates with other RIs through initiatives such as the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), which funded projects such as EOSC-Life and OSCARS to enhance data sharing, interoperability, and innovation management in biomedical research.
EATRIS participates in the Life Science Research Infrastructure (LSRI) Strategy Board that gathers all Life Science Research Infrastructures, as well as the ERIC Forum. Most recently leading the Gender Equality Mainstreaming task in the ERIC Forum 2 Project.
Image: the launch of EU-AMRI on 5 April 2022 in Brussels
