FOSSR aims to maintain and strengthen the Italian nodes of three research infrastructures relevant to the social sciences, namely CESSDA-ERIC (Consortium of European Social Science Data Archives), SHARE-ERIC (Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe) and RISIS (Research Infrastructure for Research and Innovation Policy Studies), with the goal of establishing an Italian Open Science Cloud inspired by the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC). The goal of FOSSR is to provide resources for social science research aimed at the study of economic and social change.
FOSSR
"Fostering Open Science in Social Science Research is a project funded through funds from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRP) – NextGenerationEU"
The Project
Virtual environment
shared for data access that rests on a network of data centers distributed throughout Italy
Innovative tools and services
for data collection and analysis
Training courses
a series of learning sessions and programs at universities
The National Research Council (NRC) is in charge of the project, with tasks distributed among 9 partners including institutes and centers
Scientific coordinator Giovanni Cerulli, CNR-IRCrES
The duration of the project is 36 months starting in November 2022
The goals
The FOSSR project aims to promote the principles of open science in social science research in Italy by simplifying access to data through the creation of an online platform, the Italian Open Science Cloud.
Data access
Its main goal is to make access to social science data simpler, more transparent and streamlined by maintaining and strengthening the Italian nodes of a network of European-level research infrastructures (CESSDA-ERIC, SHARE-ERIC and RISIS). FOSSR will create an IT infrastructure consisting of a network of data centers in Italy, with an innovative virtual platform aimed not only at the scientific community, but also at students, civil society organizations and ordinary citizens.
Open Science Cloud
The project involves the creation of Open Science Cloud that will serve as an access and intermediary point between data producers and users. This Cloud will also provide access to data and various methodological content for data collection and analysis, aimed at the scientific community and interested stakeholders.
Through activities in the project, resources will be provided to support methodological advancement in data collection and analysis, address new research questions and improve the robustness of results. Tools and services for creating probability panels for longitudinal surveys will also be provided, and an online laboratory network will be established.
Training
The project also includes training initiatives to develop the skills of researchers and foster interactions between knowledge producers and stakeholders through higher education courses, with a focus on empowering young researchers.
Organization chart
Emanuela Reale (CNR-IRCrES) – FOSSR scientific coordinator (until December 2023)
Marco Sprocati (CNR-IRCrES) – FOSSR Manager of the infrastructure
Giovanni Cerulli (CNR-IRCrES) – FOSSR scientific coordinator (from January 2024)
Maria Elisa Rosati (CNR-ISTC) – FOSSR Administrative Manager
Daniela De Gregorio (CNR-ISMED) – Leader WP1
Massimiliano Saccone (CNR-DSU) – Leader WP2
Antonio Zinilli (CNR-IRCrES) – Leader WP3
Mario Paolucci (CNR-IRPPS) – Leader WP4
Andrea Giovanni Nuzzolese (CNR-ISTC) – Leader WP5
Mario Ciampi (CNR-ICAR) – Leader WP6
Mario Sicuranza (CNR-ICAR) – Leader WP7
Andrea Orazio Spinello (CNR-IRCrES) – Leader WP8
Alessandra Maria Stilo (CNR-IRCrES) – Leader WP9