Roadmap of Large Research Infrastructures of the Czech Republic – update 2023
The Roadmap of Large Research Infrastructures of the Czech Republic is a strategy document, which had been issued for the first time in 2010, and updated in 2011, 2015, 2019 and 2023. The latest 2023 update to the Roadmap has framed the large research infrastructures policy‑making and public funding in the Czech Republic in 2023-2026. The Roadmap consists of an overview of the large research infrastructures agenda development in the Czech Republic since 2009, description of the large research infrastructures typology, and presentation of their international cooperation in the European Research Area and worldwide. Particular attention is also paid to the introduction to the international assessments of large research infrastructures, held in 2014, 2017 and 2021, and international evaluation of benefits of memberships of the Czech Republic in international R&D organisations, arranged in 2021.
The core part of the Roadmap comprises the presentation of a total of 43 large research infrastructure projects of the Czech Republic that are implemented in the areas of physical sciences and engineering, energy, environmental sciences, health and food (biological and medical sciences), social sciences and humanities (social and cultural innovation), and e‑infrastructures (data, computing and digital research infrastructures). All 43 large research infrastructures were approved by the Government of the Czech Republic for public funding by 2026, by use of the state budget expenditures (operation costs) and European Structural and Investment Funds (investment costs). Besides the basic characteristics of each of R&D facilities listed in the Roadmap, the Roadmap also places them in a large research infrastructure landscape, and, thus, delivers a map of state-of-the-art open access-based R&D facilities, which are operated both in the Czech Republic and abroad with the Czech participation.
The Roadmap of Large Research Infrastructures of the Czech Republic delivers the Czech contribution to the pan-European landscape of top-class research infrastructures. Being Member State of a number of European Research Infrastructure Consortia (ERIC) and international R&D organisations, based in European countries and in America, the Czech Republic shares the political and financial responsibility for enhancement of the European Research Area. As of 2009, the Czech large research infrastructures roadmapping and policy‑making have been directly inspired by good practice examples elaborated by the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI). The Czech Republic follows “ESFRI pattern”, when it comes to applying the research infrastructures international assessment methodology. In this way, the Czech Republic aligns its large research infrastructures strategy approach with a common pan-European reference framework.
