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Conference proceedings point to ongoing need for global research collaboration

The 2021 International Conference on Research Infrastructures brought together nearly 700 panellists and participants spanning five continents

OTTAWA, ONTARIO — From June 1 to 3, 2021, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) virtually hosted the international research community for the fifth International Conference on Research Infrastructures (ICRI). The conference proceedings are now available online.

ICRI2021, which was hosted for the first time from North America and held virtually from Ottawa due to the COVID-19 pandemic, brought together nearly 700 panellists and participants spanning five continents and a variety of disciplines and sectors. The plenaries and parallel sessions led to wide-ranging conversations about the role of research infrastructures and the major challenges facing the global research enterprise. Discussions covered topics ranging from the financing and governing of research infrastructures, to managing research data and assessing the impact of research infrastructure.

The conference proceedings offer an overview of the discussions and conclusions, such as:

  • addressing collective current and emerging global issues such as climate change and environmental degradation and therefore thinking through what the real meaning of solidarity is;
  • continuing to invest in scientific research and research infrastructures and ensuring that this funding is stable and predictable over time;
  • distributing global research capacity more equitably while introducing new thinking and insights about how to develop research infrastructures that are adapted to the local context of developing countries;
  • accommodating the needs of the next generation of researchers and integrating them into the network of research infrastructures as a top priority.

Read: 2021 International Conference on Research Infrastructures proceedings report

The conference was organized by the CFI in collaboration with the European Union and in partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and with additional support from Laboratories Canada and the National Research Council Canada.

The next International Conference on Research Infrastructures is scheduled for the fall of 2022 in the Czech Republic.

Visit: The ICRI2022 website