Many countries develop their own roadmap for research infrastructures intention to allocate limited resources for research infrastructures in a coordinated manner at the national level while taking into account developments at the international level.
There are many successful road maps available for analysis and review that present a range of options in terms of rationale, scope, and their construction process. Therefore, there is no preferred universal format for research infrastructure roadmap.
In the present report, we reviewed the process of several selected countries: Finland, Australia, Netherlands and the European Forum for Research Infrastructures (ESFRI), from the stage of mapping research infrastructures to final publication and revising of the roadmap. The report can be used for studying the process of building a roadmap of other states and allow the selection of appropriate outline for building research infrastructure roadmap in Israel.
ESFRI (The European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) – ESFRI roadmap is engaged in infrastructure at all European countries, in order to serve as a platform for discussion between countries and allow a consistent design that best exploits the capabilities and resources. So far three roadmaps were constructed by ESFRI in 2006, 2008 and 2010.
The process of building the roadmaps in 2006 and 2008 included collection of applications for future research infrastructures from the EU countries, and working committees and groups of experts from all areas of science and technology, dealing with the analysis of the scientific and technological needs by sector.
The 2006 roadmap included 35 new scientific infrastructures and update in 2008 added 10 new more infrastructures. In the 2010 update, ESFRI saw its main responsibility in the implementation of infrastructures that were included in earlier roadmaps and also made an update in the energy and biological sciences and medicine. The 2010 roadmap includes 38 infrastructures.
Representatives of ESFRI are working with governments and the EU to allocate the necessary resources for research infrastructures.
Finland and Netherlands had two roadmaps in 2008 and -2012/2013.
Road maps of Finland and Netherlands are a combination of large research infrastructures that are included in the European roadmap and infrastructures of research organizations in the country.
The process of building the roadmaps included: collecting requests to be included in the roadmap, a national steering committee of experts, panels of international experts and feedback from the organizations that submitted applications.
Finland’s roadmap includes 20 national research infrastructures that 13 of them are linked to ESFRI roadmap. Netherlands’ roadmap includes 25 national research infrastructures that 16 of them are of the ESFRI roadmap.
In Finland, the process of building the roadmaps included cost estimates. Finland spends about- yr/€ M 130 on national research infrastructures and about yr/€M 30 participation fee international research infrastructures.
In the Netherlands, the committee decided in 2008 not to include a financial part in order not to be influenced by economic considerations in determining the roadmap. In 2012 a budget of 80 million euros has been designated for the construction and upgrading of research infrastructures.
Australia roadmap was constructed in a different way reflecting the priority areas of research infrastructures at the national level, in order to develop Australia’s research capabilities and improve innovation and research results in the future.
So far three roadmaps have been published in Australia in 2006, 2008 and 2011. The process of strategic planning and execution of the research infrastructure investment in Australia is also different from other countries and is split into two steps: building a roadmap and the implementation of investment policies.
Road Map of Australia in 2006 included a set of priority research capabilities. Roadmap 2008 has been taken into account that some of the infrastructures have common needs and therefore several ability areas were grouped to encourage interaction and highlight the connections between complementary fields. Meanwhile, investment plan was prepared for each ability area, which presents recommended investment for research infrastructures and approved budget distribution of about $M500 between different ability areas for seven years from 2006 to 2011.
2011 roadmap describes ability areas of research infrastructure required to support excellent research crossing the Australia’s National Research Priorities (NRPs). The NRPs reflect areas of particular importance to Australia, in which focused research effort, has the potential to improve outcomes broader policy and bring national prosperity.
2011 roadmap covers national scale capability areas usually require an investment of 20 to 100 million for a period of five years for each capability area.
In all countries surveyed, it was decided to update the roadmap every two or three years to allow description of new developments and to examine whether the selection of infrastructure was correct.
