{"id":33420,"date":"2020-10-22T14:09:41","date_gmt":"2020-10-22T12:09:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=33420"},"modified":"2025-11-11T14:10:37","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T13:10:37","slug":"eosc-shaping-europes-digital-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/lab-matters\/eosc-shaping-europes-digital-future\/","title":{"rendered":"EOSC: shaping Europe\u2019s digital future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Facing the global scientific and societal challenges of the 21st century increasingly requires the ability to access, assemble, analyse, and share research data. Often this involves working with extremely large datasets and increasingly with data originating from different scientific disciplines. Researchers need to access an array of digital tools and services, and must have innovative technologies to exchange data, software, and other research outputs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research institutions can address these challenges by developing IT infrastructures that help collaborators share data or analysis tools. They often make use of cloud technology that allows users to access data and computational power remotely. EMBL has well-established systems of this kind, such as the Embassy Cloud<\/a> at EMBL\u2019s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) and the EMBL 3D Cloud<\/a>. EMBL is very active in advancing data science and data management strategies across the organisation. EMBL now has a Head of Data Science<\/a>, and there are a variety of activities related to implementing and piloting software, services, and training to support data science across EMBL. This includes, for example, the data management tools being developed by EMBL\u2019s IT Services or the Genome Biology Unit\u2019s Computational Support, which are continuously being refined in collaboration with EMBL scientists. EMBL is also involved in an even more ambitious, pan-European project: the European Open Science Cloud<\/a> (EOSC).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An open environment<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EOSC is a joint initiative between the European Commission, the EU member states and associated countries, and other stakeholders, which aims to solve the above-mentioned data challenges by building a trusted and open virtual environment for the scientific community and others. Not restricted to one institution or scientific discipline, EOSC is expected to provide access to research data across scientific domains and geographical boundaries, including services addressing the whole research data life cycle. Developing iteratively over the coming years, the aim is that the EOSC will ultimately encompass finding, accessing, combining, analysing, processing, and storing data in line with open science and FAIR principles (see box).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe EOSC is about increasing the value of data,\u201d says Rupert L\u00fcck, EMBL\u2019s Head of IT Services and one of 11 expert members of the EOSC Executive Board. \u201cEurope is the largest producer of publicly funded research data in the world, and the EOSC is about bringing it all together to maximise its impact.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lightweight, scalable framework, the EOSC is a practical application of the ideas of open science and open data. It will be governed by a minimal number of rules to uphold these ideas, while allowing the freedom and flexibility to suit a wide user base across national borders and disciplines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A meeting place for knowledge<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

EOSC is expected to play a major role in implementing FAIR data and open science \u2013 both areas in which EMBL has been driving progress over the past few decades, for example by providing the open access data resources<\/a> at EMBL\u2019s European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI). With the organisation\u2019s experience and long history of providing open access to FAIR data on a large scale, EMBL is well placed to share its expertise and best practices with countries in Europe and beyond, and to take a leading role in developing and shaping the EOSC and its strategic direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spoken to a number of researchers, for example those involved in handling and analysing the Tara Oceans expedition<\/a> data, stored at EMBL-EBI,\u201d says Rupert. \u201cThey\u2019re very interested in the EOSC and are keen to know when they will be able to use its services and to combine their data with those from other domains. They want to jump on this service as soon as they can. It\u2019s very exciting to understand how useful the EOSC will be for researchers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participation in the EOSC will be voluntary and will require that the data and services made available comply with FAIR principles and European laws on the protection of sensitive personal information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\n Making research FAIR <\/h3> \n

There is a growing movement across disciplines to unlock the full potential of research data. One way to help achieve this is to make data as FAIR as possible. FAIR principles<\/a> encourage researchers to make data:<\/p>\n