Guide to Research and Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation

Research infrastructures, centers of competence and science parks
Why should research infrastructures be part of smart specialisation?
Research infrastructures (RIs) are a driving force behind innovation. The term 'research
infrastructures' refers to facilities, resources, systems and related services that are used by
research communities to conduct top-level research in their respective fields. This definition
covers: major scientific equipment or set of instruments; knowledge based-resources such as
collections, archives or structured scientific information; ICT-based e-Infrastructures
(networks, computing resources, software and data repositories) for research and education;
any other entity of a unique nature essential to achieve or enable excellence in research.
Research infrastructures may be 'single-sited' or 'distributed' (a network of resources).
There are at least 300 such Research Infrastructures, which have strong international
visibility, attracting world class researchers. They represent an aggregate European
investment of more than €100 billion. Some 50,000 researchers a year use them to produce
3,000 to 6,000 high-impact research papers annually – as well as a chain of patents, spin-off
companies and industrial contracts.
Their know-how helps European industry develop new pharmaceuticals and highperformance
materials, monitor the earth’s ocean and air, and track the changing social
attitudes and behaviour of our fellow-citizens. They help provide the answers we will need to
solve our grand societal challenges – energy supply, climate change, healthcare for all. They
propel collaboration across borders and disciplines. They promote mobility of people and
ideas, and enhance quality in education. The resulting innovation ecosystem spurs new ideas,
solutions and innovations of benefit to the European economy and society, as well as science.
Consequently, the development of regional Research Infrastructures (in particular Regional
Partner Facilities and Cross Border facilities) should create a particularly important way of
capacity building, should help to concentrate regional human capital (e.g. training attracting
international researchers and technicians) and thus stimulate turning science and innovation
into a key instrument of regional development, in terms of socio-economic returns. The
concept of regional Research Infrastructure includes:
• Regional Partner Facilities (RPF) 61 which means facilities associated with pan-European
single site or distributed Research Infrastructures, and
• Cross Border Facilities (CBF) which means independent regional or national facilities
with cross-border dimension, open to international use.
Research Infrastructures are often integrated in a wider eco-system encompassing science
parks, incubators, sectoral excellence centres, living labs, prototyping centres, intellectual
property right (IPR) centres, technology transfer offices, etc which often facilitate the
commercialisation of research results into market applications.
61 A Regional Partner Facility (RPF) to a research Infrastructure of pan-European interest must itself be a facility
of national or regional importance in terms of socio-economic returns, training and attracting researchers and
technicians. The quality of the facility including the level of its scientific service, management and open access
policy must meet the same standards required for pan-European Research Infrastructures. The recognition as a
RPF should be under the responsibility of the pan-European Research Infrastructure itself (or the members of a
to-be ERIC) based on regular peer-review.
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