H2020 project "PaNOSC" making FAIR data a reality
1 December 2018
Large-scale research infrastructures produce huge amounts of scientific data on a daily basis. This poses storage and (re)usability challenges, which are best addressed by the “FAIR” paradigm: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Re-usable. Data policies and technologies need to be adapted and evolved on the basis of FAIR, to ensure that the broadest range of stakeholders benefits from a coherent ecosystem of data services.
The European Commission has been funding projects in all fields of social and scientific research for the development of the “European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)”, which now includes a catalogue of services for the storage, management, analysis and re-use of research data.
PaNOSC - the Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud - will contribute to the construction and development of the EOSC, providing a single access point to open, cross-disciplinary data for researchers in all scientific fields.
PaNOSC is one of five cluster projects funded by the European H2020 programme. It unites six strategic European research infrastructures -the ESRF , CERIC-ERIC, ELI-DC, the European Spallation Source, European XFEL and the ILL - with the e-infrastructures EGI and GÉANT.
The project started on the 1st of December 2018, and was officially launched on January 15th, 2019 at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble (France). It will run until December 2022 and is coordinated by the ESRF. It will work closely with national photon and neutron sources in Europe to develop policies, strategies and solutions based on FAIR data principles.
The solutions developed - for data preservation and open access, for data storage, analysis and simulation - will facilitate sharing and re-use of data in a seamless and easy fashion. Users will have access to all the tools and services available through a simple connection to the EOSC Service Catalogue.
PaNOSC will thus contribute to the creation of a data commons for neutron and photon science, providing services and tools for the host of scientists using, or soon to be using, data from photon and neutron sources. The exchange of know-how and experience in the practice of open science will play a crucial role in changing the culture.
To boost the paradigm shift, PaNOSC will be fostering communication with the other EOSC clusters, participating in science and scientific policy events, and developing e-learning resources for scientists and information technologists.