EOSC Architecture and Interoperability Framework
European Comission
ExpectedOutcome :
Project results are expected to contribute to all the following expected outcomes:
- Robust governance structure, coordination and maintenance of the EOSC Interoperability Framework and guidelines to support operations.
- Well-established design, specification and review processes for the EOSC architectural building blocks that compose the EOSC Interoperability Framework.
- Independent, multi-stakeholder Architecture Board collecting feedback and functional requirements from cross-community use cases to share, access, analyse and re-use resources via services.
- Support for standards development, adoption and certification. EOSC cannot enable FAIR and support interoperability without standards to describe and understand digital objects.
- Scientific and research community engagement for the EOSC Interoperability Framework. Scope :
The EOSC Architecture and Interoperability Framework coordination and governance seeks to ensure that interoperability is built, encouraged and maintained with structure, fairness and transparency.
Achieving interoperability is essential in order to federate services, integrate data and enable interoperation with applications or workflows for analysis, storage and processing. The EOSC Interoperability Framework (EOSC IF) provides the procedures and services required to support a flexible framework of standards and guidelines that facilitate the interoperability and composability of EOSC resources in the EOSC-Exchange via the EOSC-Core. The overall EOSC architecture should be overseen by an independent Architecture Board.
Proposals are expected to cover the following activities:
- Provide structure to manage, update, circulate and promote the EOSC Interoperability Framework and guidelines to support and enable interoperability within EOSC. Such a governance structure should include:
- A high-level body that has the oversight and the responsibility for the EOSC IF, is formally responsible for endorsing new and/or deprecating guidelines into the EOSC IF.
- Independent sub-groups that can assess that requests for inclusion into the EOSC IF are compliant with a minimum set of requirements namely: maturity, community uptake, the existence of a group that maintains the item that has been proposed for inclusions and some governing model that allows for its evolution.
- Coordinate the establishment of IFs and the making of existing IFs available through a library/repository, support the dialogue on establishing IFs. The EOSC Interoperability Framework governance should define:
- A process for submitting, consulting and accepting guidelines/other frameworks.
- A structured proposal template and library providing information about the EOSC IF and guidelines.
- Community consultation to achieve ratification.
- A registry/repository for accepted guidelines and frameworks, where artefacts will be curated using an agreed EOSC profile.
- Publicity, documentation and training about EOSC IF.
- Support communities in making their IFs available through EOSC IF library.
- Provide organizational framework for establishing an independent, multi-stakeholder Architecture Board that can collect feedback and recommendations from the stakeholders, oversee and advice the EOSC MVE[1] deployment and operation.
- Define processes and guidelines to enable EOSC Core delivery and to ensure openness of EOSC so that it can adapt with the evolving requirements of the EOSC stakeholders.
The activities should demonstrate alignment with those of the EOSC Partnership and the EOSC MVE platform operators. Proposals should involve and be driven by one or more representatives of the relevant actors of the field, in particular those directly involved in the EOSC Partnership.
Activities should be aligned with those of the scientific communities, many of which have already their interoperability practices in place. The Architecture Board should work in close cooperation with the EOSC MVE platform operators and act as advisory function to the architecture deployment.
The beneficiaries are expected to work closely with the national Competence Centres, liaise with the EOSC Association working groups and task forces producing interoperable specifications and align to relevant community governance (e.g., RDA, IETF, Science Clusters, etc.), to ensure that a sustainable governance framework is adopted that collaborates with the other relevant bodies in the field.
[1]Managed Services for the European Open Science Cloud platform - CNECT/LUX/2022/CD/0023
General conditions
- Admissibility conditions: described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes
Proposal page limits and layout: described in Part B of the Application Form available in the Submission System
- Eligible countries: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
A number of non-EU/non-Associated Countries that are not automatically eligible for funding have made specific provisions for making funding available for their participants in Horizon Europe projects. See the information in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide .
Other eligibility conditions: described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes
Evaluation and award:
- Award criteria, scoring and thresholds are described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes
The following additions to the general award criteria apply due to the scope of this topic:
Additional sub-criterion for Impact:
The extent to which the proposed work incorporates the necessary coordination efforts and resources with other relevant projects and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) governance structure in the context of the EOSC Partnership.
Submission and evaluation processes are described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual
The granting authority can fund a maximum of one project.
- Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes
- Legal and financial set-up of the grants: described in Annex G of the Work Programme General Annexes
Beneficiaries will be subject to the following additional access rights: Each beneficiary must grant royalty-free access to its results to the EOSC Association for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the European Open Science Cloud. Each beneficiary must also provide directly to the EOSC Association the information the beneficiary deems necessary for monitoring and developing policies and strategies for the European Open Science Cloud.
Eligible costs will take the form of a lump sum as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021 authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme – the Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (2021-2027) – and in actions under the Research and Training Programme of the European Atomic Energy Community (2021-2025). [[This decision is available on the Funding and Tenders Portal, in the reference documents section for Horizon Europe, under ‘Simplified costs decisions’ or through this link: https://ec.europa.eu/info/funding-tenders/opportunities/docs/2021-2027/horizon/guidance/ls-decision_he_en.pdf]].
Specific conditions
- Specific conditions: described in the [specific topic of the Work Programme]
Documents
Call documents:
Standard application form — call-specific application form is available in the Submission System
Standard application form (HE CSA)
Standard evaluation form — will be used with the necessary adaptations
Standard evaluation form (HE CSA)
MGA
RAO decision authorising the use of lump sum funding
Explanatory slides for applicants on the specificities of lump sum funding
Detailed Budget Table (HE LS) for estimation of Lump Sum Funding
Additional documents:
HE Main Work Programme 2023-2024 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2023-2024 – 3. Research Infrastructures
HE Main Work Programme 2023-2024 – 13. General Annexes
HE Framework Programme and Rules for Participation Regulation 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual