e-Infrastructure strategy and the European Science Foundation

Thibaut Lery

^{Science Officer}

Chief Executive Officer Unit, European Science Foundation, 1 Quai Lezay-Marnesia,

67080 Strasbourg, France

e-mail: tlery@esf.org

Following a large survey on Researchers’ Requirements in the area of e-Infrastructure, tools and services and a Forward Look, an ESF foresight initiative on the future of computational science in Europe, we will present potential strategies and recommendations for the development of the European e-Infrastructure. Indeed, computer services will lead to a significant increase in the networking, scientific and collaboration activities within the next decade. Similarly, the number of virtual organisations is foreseen to increase. However, standardisation, quality control and security issues should be addressed in this context. It is foreseen that in the future effective exploitation of transnational connectivity and the resulting capability to make the correct decisions will become increasingly critical for the success of sustainable research strategies and of individual research projects. Therefore, the future development of e-Infrastructure must adapt to researchers’ needs and expectations in the context of Grids environment, large shared facilities and inter-operable networks.