FOSSR ensures distributed governance by establishing the conditions and modalities for stakeholder participation and planning actions to ensure the long-term sustainability of the results achieved through the engagement of participating infrastructure beyond the end of the project, and ensures quality assurance of governance policies and processes.
Governance
FOSSR offers a variety of training opportunities during the project duration, including short courses, participatory sessions and advanced training programmes.
Emanuela Reale (CNR-IRCrES) – FOSSR scientific coordinator (until December 2023)
Giovanni Cerulli (CNR-IRCrES) – FOSSR scientific coordinator (from January 2024)
Maria Elisa Rosati (CNR-ISTC) – FOSSR Administrative Manager
Marco Sprocati (CNR-IRCrES) – FOSSR Manager of the infrastructure
Activities include:
Openness and integration
of national research infrastructure nodes for the social sciences, in line with relevant IR policies, the ESFRI (European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures) Roadmap, and the PNIR (National Research Infrastructure Plan)
Sustainability
long-term network of research infrastructure
Compliance
of strategic activities and exploitation of synergies
Involvement
of stakeholders
Strengthening
of the partnership
Harmonization
of data services and policies
Implementation
of multilevel policies and cooperative initiatives for Open Science, in accordance with European guidelines and policies (European Commission Open Science policy, EOSC, CESSDA ERIC, RISIS, SHARE ERIC, Italian National Open Science Plan)
Harmonization
of service level agreements (SLAs), in accordance with the RIs involved in the proposals (CESSDA ERIC, RISIS, SHARE ERIC)
Ethical and quality requirements
for research data (including certifications, training and support)
Policies and processes
of quality assurance
Coordination and cooperation
interdisciplinary and across ESFRI areas
The governance structure consists of the following bodies:
It is the governing body of the FOSSR research infrastructure network. It has political and strategic tasks. It defines the strategic objectives and lines of action for the development and sustainability of the initiative in the medium and long term. It overcomes organisational and functional problems. It promotes the project in the relevant institutional forums and manages relations with the main stakeholders.
It is the body responsible for coordinating the executive management of the project. The ExCO is in charge of coordinating and harmonising the project implementation activities, which are planned, controlled and managed within the individual WPs. It prepares progress reports for the monitoring, evaluation and reporting of project activities.
The SB is in charge of providing feedback and recommendations for the development of the FOSSR network’s activities at the scientific level, advising the Governing Board on objectives for the achievement of the network’s scientific goals, and analysing the scientific results and impact of the FOSSR network. It provides support for the definition of criteria, methods and systems related to the overall evaluation of the project and results.
The Stakeholders Advisory Board aims to ensure the involvement of end users and stakeholders in the governance of FOSSR, and to promote dialogue between research infrastructures, research communities and stakeholders in the social sciences. The members of the SAB provide the board with a broad societal representation, coming from ministries, public and private research institutes, agencies and associations from a wide range of sectors, from business to R&D.
The EC deals with ethical issues related to open science, in particular the re-use of research data produced, managed and made accessible through the FOSSR network. Specifically, it monitors empirical project activities that may have ethical implications, drafts guidance documents, and provides ethical advice to the scientific infrastructure and network, including the handling of any cases of alleged research misconduct.
He is in charge of implementing the strategic planning and management activities of the FOSSR network. In particular, it is in charge of: supervision and monitoring of the executive planning of project activities; legal and DMP issues; valorisation of intellectual property and project results; proprietary data and GDPR compliance; privacy assurance aspects; with external advice from the NRC’s Data Protection Officer; gender plan; quality assurance; long-term sustainability.