A user group (UG) is a team of researchers from one or more institutes who apply for transnational access (TA) to an ERIES research infrastructure installation. Hence, a UG may comprise professors and researchers from multiple universities and institutes. Each UG has a nominated UG leader. Simply put for what concerns the ERIES project, a research infrastructure (RI) is an institution providing TA to a specific set of installations. In installation is a particular apparatus that UGs apply to utilise as part of their user project. For example, 10 people from 3 universities (i.e. user group) may apply to receive TA to the 9DLab (i.e. installation) at the Eucentre Foundation (i.e. research infrastructure).
More precisely, the Horizon Europe Work Programme defines a “Research Infrastructures” as:
- Research infrastructures (RIs) are facilities that provide resources and services for the research communities to conduct research and foster innovation in their fields. This definition includes the associated human resources, and it covers major equipment or sets of instruments; knowledge-related facilities such as collections, archives or scientific data infrastructures; computing systems, communication networks, and any other infrastructure, of a unique nature and open to external users, essential to achieve excellence in research and innovation. Where relevant, they may be used beyond research, for example for education or public services and they may be ‘single sited’, ‘virtual’ or ‘distributed’.
and an “Installation” as:
- “Installation” means a part or a service of a research infrastructure that can be used independently from the rest. A research infrastructure consists of one or more installations.