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What is a Research Infrastructure?Example 1: ElettraElettra is an Italian synchrotron that offers scientistsfrom various fields and companies the opportunity toconduct research with light of particular characteristicsfrom infrared to X-rays. The multi-disciplinary laboratoryis located close to the Slovenian border nearTrieste. More than 1000 users from over 40 countriesperform each year experiments at about 25 beamlinesand experimental set-ups. Users gain access throughresearch proposals evaluated by international reviewcommittees. The con struction costs of the single-sitedfacility are estimated to be more than 250 M€, theannual operation costs are roughly 33 M€. Funding ismostly national, with some contributions from internationalpartners. Currently a sec ond light source, thefree electron laser FERMI@Elettra is in commissioningon the Elettra site. It has been reviewed as one of theRIFI case studies.Advancement of scientific knowledge,technology and innovation increasinglyrequires researchers to have access toparticular scientific installations calledresearch infrastructures (RIs).They provide unique instrumentation,tools, artefacts, or data for scientificwork at the cutting edge. In Europe,there are multiple facilities coveringdiverse scientific fields providing uniqueresearch opportunities to their users.Due to the large number of scientificcommunities and the complex researchneeds that RIs serve, a huge number ofvery different RI types with completelydifferent characteristics can be distinguished.The European Research InfrastructurePortal differentiates betweenmore than a hundred categories in ninemain scientific domains.RI types: Some examples• Scientific collections & surveys• Research vessels & aircraft• Wind tunnels & wave channels• Earthquake simulation laboratories• Ocean observatory networks• Astronomical telescopes• Research satellites• Clean rooms• Ecological habitats & field stations• Fusion test reactors (Tokomaks)• Data archives & repositories• Particle accelerators• SupercomputersExample 2: ENOThe ENO is the largest collection of telescopes inEurope. Sited at the Roque de los Muchachos andTeide Observatories of the Instituto de Astrofísicade Canarias on the Canary Islands of La Palma andTenerife, it consists of instruments from more than 60different institutions from 20 countries. The world’slargest optical infrared telescope, the Gran TelescopioCanarias (shown above) was inaugurated in July2009. An important part of the funding for this Spanishtelescope came from the Regional Development fundsand the societal reaction to the Observatory and thisnew telescope was the topic of one of the RIFI casestudies.17