National Support for EOSC

The national support for developing the EOSC initiative in the Czech Republic is provided by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports through the OP JAC. The total allocation of the support amounts to approximately CZK 3 billion. The EOSC-CZ project is considered a strategic project of the whole programme. The total allocation is further extended to support Open Science principles (especially Open Access) through other system projects of the National Library of Technology (e.g. CARDS).

This support aims, in addition to a qualitative improvement and facilitation of research data management in the Czech Republic, to react to new requirements of project calls to implement Open Science principles according to international standards. The aim is to ensure that good practice in research data management becomes a regular part of academic research. Moreover, the infrastructure that is being built will facilitate and support data sharing within scientific collaboration (both within and across disciplines).

Associated Projects

The national support comprises several complementary projects:

EOSC-CZ - Research and Development Call I
CARDS - Research and Development Call I
The joint project of the National Repository Platform (NRP) - Open Science Call I
Thematic (discipline) clusters and their connection to NDI – Open Science Call II (in preparation)
Upskilling of academic and research institutions that are gradually introducing research data management – Open Science Call III (conceptual proposal)
The Research Environment Call focused on institutional facilities/conditions for collaboration with the NDI (in preparation)

EOSC-CZ, 2023 – Coordinated by e-INFRA CZ (CERIT-SC)

The technological foundation and facilities built within the EOSC-CZ project form the cornerstone of the National Data Infrastructure (NDI) on which subsequent projects will be able to build. The project forms three pillars of support for EOSC implementation in the Czech Republic:

1. Promotion of Cooperation (EOSC CZ Secretariat, KA2): Administrative and support component of the EOSC initiative implementation and the provision of FAIR research data in the Czech Republic. The EOSC CZ Secretariat manages the Czech EOSC information portal (eosc.cz), promotes and supports engagement in related international activities, provides support to working groups and coordinates collaboration across the Czech Republic.

2. Technological Background (NMD, AAI, PID, KA3): The project will ensure the pilot operation of technical and software components and NDI services. These include the National Metadata Directory (NMD), AAI, technical background for PIDs, advanced data transfers and monitoring. The design, implementation and subsequent pilot operation of the components necessary to ensure the implementation of EOSC CZ as a whole are part of the project as well.

3. Competence Development (EOSC CZ Training Centre, KA4): The EOSC CZ Training Centre will provide comprehensive support and facilities for training, educational and related activities. This includes the provision of trainers and speakers and the implementation of training. The Training Centre will also organise cooperation with Czech academic institutions while collecting requests for training and education; it will also provide a list of available training courses in the Czech Republic.

CARDS, 2023 – Coordinated by the National Library of Technology (NLT)

This project is complementary to EOSC-CZ and supports the implementation of the EOSC CZ initiative by covering work with metadata and Persistent identifiers (PIDs). The aim of the project is to further support the implementation of Open Science principles (especially Open Access) into the Czech academic environment.

Joint Project of the National Repository Platform (NRP), 2024 – Coordinated by e-INFRA CZ (CESNET)

This is a consortium project of Czech academic and research institutions (about 10+ partners) led by the so-called EOSC Mandated Organisation, which in the case of the Czech Republic, is the CESNET Association. The project builds upon the background created by the EOSC-CZ and CARDS projects and is required to cooperate with these projects.

The expected outputs of the project are:

The architecture of the National Repository Platform (NRP) as a basis for its development.
A continuously developed set of services with a roadmap for their gradual implementation and deployment.
The National Repository Platform with both basic and advanced services, including adequate distributed storage capacity and a control system for accessing the NRP data.
Integration of key stakeholders – data-oriented academic institutions and research teams for FAIR data – into building the core of the National Data Infrastructure (NDI).
Long-term operation of the NRP and its services, including systematic support of the scientific community in educating them on best practices of working with research data and using the NRP services for scientific data.
Educational materials and training for working with NRP and its services in cooperation with the EOSC-CZ project in the implementation of the training.
Creating specific tenants/repositories over NRP, such as institutional repositories where institutions wish to create them; making templates and procedures for creating specific repositories according to the needs of the research groups and institutions.

National Data Infrastructure (NDI)

The above-stated projects aim to support the implementation of the EOSC initiative in the Czech Republic and create its national node, thus supporting good practice in research data management across scientific communities. As the implementation should result in support for researchers, it is crucial to maintain contact with the scientific community and base the implementation on the real needs of the Czech research environment. Therefore, together with the above-mentioned projects and the background and facilities they will create, a key role in the implementation is also played by the EOSC CZ Working Groups. The Working Groups, the EOSC CZ Secretariat, the EOSC CZ Training Centre, the NRP and other components together form the so-called National Data Infrastructure or national environment for the EOSC initiative implementation in the Czech Republic.