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Sustainability of research infrastructures (RIs) is a big challenge for funders, stakeholders, and operators, and requires the adoption of relevant management tools. But how can we develop such tools and evaluate their impact at a local level? 

Here, Ana Portugal Melo digs deeper into her latest Opinion Article, which examines how existing frameworks for public-funded European RI activities helped inform the process of performance and impact assessment of BioData.pt — a Portuguese RI for biological data. 

What are research infrastructures (RIs)? 

According to the European Commision, Research Infrastructures (RIs) are facilities that provide resources and services for research communities to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields. These include: 

• Major equipment or sets of instruments 
• Knowledge-related facilities, such as collections 
• Archives, databases, or scientific data infrastructures 
• Computing systems, software, cloud computing 
• Communication networks 

In short, RIs develop, maintain, and operate essential services and resources for scholars to carry out research projects. Such research can have an impact beyond academia with implications for wider society. However, not all research will lead to societal benefits, and for some research projects, it can take some time for the impact to be observed. For instance, it can take years to test the effectiveness of new pharmaceutical drugs.  

Why is the sustainability of RIs a major challenge? 

Compared to other types of research and innovation (R&I) organizations, RIs are often misunderstood. Their mission is to provide services that advance research, rather than producing that research itself. Most open calls for funding support other types of R&I organizations. Plus, there is the unpredictability of the timing for opening new calls. 

Moreover, RIs receive funding through fixed-term and competitive mechanisms, which are more suitable for research projects. Hence, there is a constant struggle to finance the operation and maintenance of RI services.  

In recent years, funders and policymakers have sought to assess the public value of RIs. For this reason, RIs need to provide information around their performance and impact. However, with the absence of impact evaluators and economists on the payroll, RIs tend to follow a “do it yourself” approach to demonstrate their impact. 

A structured approach to RI assessment  

Our study aimed to assess the performance and impact of local RIs based on existing frameworks typically at a regional level. More specifically, we used frameworks and guidelines for public-funded European RIs activities to inform the process of performance and socioeconomic impact assessment of BioData.pt.  

BioData.pt is the Portuguese Infrastructure of Biological Data and the Portuguese Node of the ESFRI Landmark ELIXIR. This RI supports the national scientific system through the implementation of best practices of open Science and FAIR data principles for life science research. BioData.pt also interfaces with both academia and industry, making research available for innovation, namely in sectors such as agro-food and forestry, sea, and health. 

From global to local 

The frameworks we used, namely ESFRI, OECD and RI-PATH, focused on the performance and impact of RIs from different research domains at the European level. To use these frameworks effectively at a local level, we had to adapt the broad impact areas, categories, and indicators to the specific research domain of the RI and the national context. The regional frameworks were precious instruments to initiate and inspire the national adoption of performance and impact assessment. 

Our study highlighted that existing global assessment frameworks can be useful and adaptable to a more national or local context. Additionally, we concluded that the national and thematic context of each RI’s activities under assessment require special attention.  

Therefore, focusing on the indicators that are more suitable to illustrate the impact of a RI’s activities is critical. BioData.pt specifically maintains performance and impact indicators of its activities and engages in ELIXIR projects to demonstrate its impact.  

Implications for other RIs 

Our experience, detailed in our Opinion Article, can be used as a benchmark for every RI. Other RIs can employ a similar methodology to adapt the selection of indicators to a specific context considering their own mission and goals, and those of global initiatives forging the landscape where the RI operates and aims to have an impact. Plus, we have also been able to outline a financially sustainable process that can be carried out by RI staff. 

Next steps 

At ELIXIR, we are implementing a collaborative project with several National Nodes to consolidate and expand the competences to monitor the performance and impact of their activities. This consists of training, experience sharing, and coaching, and aims to contribute to extend capacity to every node. We also intend to keep publishing our achievements to set the example and continue to support other similar organizations.  

Read the full Opinion Article today on F1000Research or explore our Bioinformatics Gateway to discover a plethora of research content related to all areas of the broad subject.