OSPARK Explainer: What is the European Open Science Cloud?

If you’re involved in open science within Europe, you might have heard of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC), a long-term project overseen by the European Commission. However, you might have found yourself wondering, “what is EOSC?”. We hope that this short explainer will shed some light on what EOSC is and how it might help you.

In today’s digital world, research is increasingly dependent on sharing data, tools, and knowledge across disciplines and borders. EOSC is a large-scale, long-term project which aims to change research culture and technology usage across Europe. In particular, the project is focusing on the use of cloud computing services such as virtual machines and file storage, training, and FAIR digital objects such as datasets and software. EOSC’s aim is to develop an ecosystem in which open, inclusive, trustworthy, and reproducible science is embedded in digital research practices; this will become a unified environment where researchers can find, share, and collaborate on digital research. The hope is that this will improve public perceptions of science and facilitate team science approaches, such as multidisciplinary and crowdsourced/citizen science projects.

So what does EOSC look like?

You could think of EOSC as a massive digital research ecosystem. It’s not just a “cloud” in the sense of a network of remote servers, although this does form part of EOSC’s service offerings. EOSC is a multidisciplinary environment where researchers can discover and share digital research objects, tools, and services for research, education, and innovation.

One of EOSC’s strengths is its adoption of five Science Clusters, which each focus on adapting EOSC’s services and infrastructures to the needs of specific research fields:

1. ENVRI represents earth sciences, which includes research focused on the atmosphere, ecosystem, marine environment, and solid earth. Their work has included a data portal, training gateway, and innovation hub for earth scientists.
2. LS-RI encompasses the life sciences such as biology. They offer specialised resources and services such as access to high-end microscopes, an innovation helpdesk, and biobanking support.
3. ESCAPE provides services for astronomy, astroparticle, and particle physics. They provide a virtual observatory which archives astronomical high-level products and provides related services, alongside data crowdsourcing and analysis platforms.
4. PaNOSC represents facilities which work on photon and neutron (PaN) experiments. Their work has included the creation of a standard data format (NeXus), a federated search API for PaN data catalogues, and a specialised e-learning platform and training catalogue.
5. SSHOC is focused on the social sciences and humanities. They have created a specialised database of training, services, and resources.

Through the Science Clusters and its open infrastructure, EOSC aims to break down silos between scientific disciplines and between EU countries. This should make it easier to find collaborators and access methodologies from adjacent disciplines, allowing researchers to work together more effectively and accelerating scientific discovery.

How is EOSC moving forward?

While it’s important to have a shared vision and reduce fragmentation, EOSC also recognises that different regions have different infrastructure and cultural needs. For this reason, EOSC is operating using a tripartite governance structure that operates at both the European and national levels.

Currently, the European Commission provides leadership by overseeing project governance and piloting services through an EOSC EU Node. It does this with input from stakeholders the EOSC Steering Board, who represent the participating countries, and the EOSC Association, who represent the research community.

Each participating country also has its own National Node which likewise uses a tripartite structure. For example, Ireland’s national governance group is composed of its local European Commission representation; HEANet, who provide IT services to the Irish higher education sector; and members of relevant government departments.

All services and governance will eventually be federated, with National Nodes overseeing their own digital objects and services. All federated Nodes will be expected to follow shared governance principles and be interoperable, but will have some flexibility in implementation. More information on the EOSC Federation can be found in the Federation Handbook.

So what’s in it for me?

If you’re a scientist or research professional, EOSC might be useful in a few ways:

• Through the EOSC EU Node, you can access cloud computing services, such as file transfers and virtual machines, without procurement hurdles or direct costs. You don’t need to be based in Europe to use them.
• Instead of navigating different portals, repositories, and authentication systems, EOSC provides a single point of access to a wide range of digital research tools, datasets, and services.
• From literature search to data collection, analysis, publication, and preservation, EOSC provides infrastructure that supports the full research lifecycle and meets funders’ open science requirements.
• By making existing datasets FAIR and discoverable, EOSC helps you identify data that can be reused. Reducing redundancy in this way can save time and resources that would otherwise be spent collecting similar data.

For scientists across and beyond Europe, EOSC offers opportunities to accelerate discovery, enhance reproducibility, and amplify the impact of your research. As it continues to develop through 2030, EOSC aims to cement Europe’s position at the forefront of open, collaborative, and impactful science.

Glossary

• EOSC: The European Open Science Cloud, a federated system of digital research services and infrastructures.
• EOSC EU Node: A Europe-wide platform which is piloting EOSC services and infrastructure.
• EOSC National Nodes: Country-specific entry points within EOSC which provide researchers with access to local governance, systems, and resources which are interoperable with the wider EOSC federation.
• Federation: EOSC is a decentralised and interoperable system where multiple independent research infrastructures, data repositories, and service providers across multiple countries connect and collaborate.
• Science Clusters: Collaborative networks which focus on promoting open science practices and tailoring EOSC services and infrastructures for a group of related research disciplines.
• Tripartite: The three-prong governance structure in EOSC: the European Commission, EOSC Association, and EOSC Steering Board at the European level; and national authorities, service providers, and research communities at the national level.