The RI-VIS project has just published three white papers that provide recommendations on how to increase collaboration between European research infrastructures and counterparts from Africa, Latin America and Australia. The papers are targeted at funders, policy makers and research infrastructure managers and collate the insights of 21 experts from research infrastructures and policymakers from the respective regions.
International cooperation on the level of research infrastructures is key to addressing major global challenges including climate change, infectious disease, food security and natural disasters. The EU-funded RI-VIS project, a consortium of 13 partners from European research infrastructures, aims to increase the visibility of European research infrastructures and raise awareness in new communities beyond Europe. As part of this goal, RI-VIS has just published three white papers providing region-specific recommendations to funders, policy makers and research infrastructure managers on how to increase international collaboration among research infrastructures. Each white paper focuses on specific regions: (1) African-European, (2) Latin American-European and (3) Australian-European cooperation, respectively.
The papers collate the insights of a total of 21 experts from research infrastructures, policy-makers and relevant governmental institutions from different regions collected through in-depth interviews. Each paper is structured into sections that cover examples of successful collaboration, lessons learned and possible challenges as well as a summary of key recommendations.
Even though many of the recommendations given are specific to the respective regions, some prominent themes emerge in all three white papers. These include issues such as funding, the importance of aligning scientific priorities and mutual benefits. Other key recommendations cover collaboration frameworks, global challenges, access, personal relationships, staff recognition and communication platforms.