The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) is a flagship initiative of the European Union designed to provide Europe’s 1.7 million researchers and 70 million science and technology professionals with a unified, virtual environment for storing, accessing, sharing, and reusing research data across disciplines and borders. Built through Horizon Europe-funded projects and collaborative public-private partnerships, EOSC offers a federated infrastructure for FAIR-compliant data sharing and reuse. It integrates repositories, computational tools, and cloud services into a seamless ecosystem, enabling researchers to connect with interoperable services and resources. The EOSC Marketplace further facilitates private-sector involvement by allowing companies to offer data storage, computing, and analytics solutions while adhering to open standards that prevent vendor lock-in. Private companies are also encouraged to contribute through co-developing tools, offering training services, and exploring commercial opportunities in areas such as data curation, visualization, and consulting. EOSC actively promotes responsible data governance, ensuring compliance with privacy, security, and intellectual property frameworks. By balancing openness with the protection of sensitive data, EOSC supports a data-driven research culture that breaks down silos and empowers both public and private actors across Europe’s innovation landscape.
European Open Science Cloud (EOSC)
Abstract
Country | European Union |
Start date | 2016 |
Annual Budget | €1 B |
Responsible organisation(s) | European Commission |
Target group(s) | Researchers, academic institutions, private sector companies, and the broader scientific community in Switzerland |
Policy instrument type | federated environment and Infrastructure for the sharing of research data, including sensitive data |
With the adoption of the Digital Single Markets strategy on 6 May 2015, the Commission announced the launch of a cloud for research data – the ‘research open science cloud. The European Open Science Cloud aims to create a trusted environment for hosting and processing research data to support EU science in its global leading role. Commissioner Moedas first flagged the initiative at the ERA of Innovation Conference, in June 2015. In a joint blog post, Commissioners Oettinger and Moedas further explained that the initiative will combine existing and future data infrastructures, offering secure and seamless access to European researchers for storing, managing and processing data from different sources. The Commission appointed a High Level Expert Group on the European Open Science Cloud to advise on the scientific services to be provided on the cloud and on its governance structure. The European Council and Member States welcomed the initiative in the Conclusions on Open, data-intensive and networked research as a driver for faster and wider innovation, adopted at the Competitiveness Council of 28-29 May 2015. Among various conclusions supporting the building blocks of the EOSC, they contain clear indication of support. The European Parliament also called on the Commission to move ahead with the initiative. The Parliament adopted a REPORT on Towards a Digital Single Market Act, in the plenary vote of 19 January 2016.
To develop a ‘Web of FAIR Data and Services’ for science in Europe, enhancing research productivity, innovation, and reproducibility.
To integrate existing networks, data and high-performance computing systems and e-infrastructure services across scientific fields, within a framework of shared policies, standards and investments.
To make research data openly available can help boost Europes competitiveness, especially for start-ups, and companies who can use data as a basis for R&D and Innovation, and can even spur new industries.
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