Conference report: Joint nordic focus on research infrastructures

The conference "Joint Nordic Focus on Research Infrastructures – Looking to the Future" was held in November 2013 as part of the programme during the Swedish chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The two-day conference focused solely on Nordic collaboration on research infrastructures. It covered three subject-specific areas of research: Climate & Environment, Health & Welfare and Materials & Molecules.

There were also two interdisciplinary themes which addressed issues relating to all research infrastructures, namely e-Science/e-Infrastructure and Training/Education for research infrastructures. The conference was organised in the form of workshops that addressed burning questions within each topic. The outcome was a set of “Mission Statements”, one for each of the conference topics. The statements outline each field and describe the roles that research infrastructures have within the field, their potential for supporting world-class research and the challenges they face.

Most importantly, the statements indicate the potential for enhanced Nordic cooperation on research infrastructures, as well as for Nordic added value and increased global competitiveness for the Nordic/Baltic region. The “Action Points” in the statements were highlighted, debated and assessed during the conference workshops. The conference was organised by the Nordic Council of Ministers, the Swedish Ministry of Education and Research, the Swedish Research Council and NordForsk.