Eva Stensköld, Director of SND, has been nominated as a candidate to the EOSC Association Board of Directors. The nomination is made by the University of Gothenburg together with the Swedish Research Council and eight Swedish universities that are also members of the EOSC Association.
“I believe it’s a significant advantage for the strategic development of EOSC to have someone on the board who has extensive experience in Open Science and in infrastructures like SND. SND is a research infrastructure and a repository, but we also have a distributed organization with a broad network that brings us close to universities, other research organizations, and therefore also to the research community. I also have considerable experience from EU work and am used to the art of negotiation that is often required to move forward when member countries, the Commission, and individual research organizations don’t always have aligned interests. I think this could be valuable knowledge,” says Eva Stensköld.
A European digital system for research data
EOSC (European Open Science Cloud) was established by the EU Commission in 2015 and, since 2021, it is a partnership under the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon Europe. The partnership has a tripartite governance: the EU Commission, member states (including associated countries), and interest organizations. The EOSC Association is one of the three pillars in the EOSC governance and aims to enable research-related stakeholder organizations to participate in the strategic development of EOSC.
EOSC can be described as a digital collaboration platform aimed at creating a European system of tools and services to help researchers store, share, process, analyze, and reuse research data. In Sweden, the Swedish Research Council has the role of coordinating and promoting the Swedish involvement in EOSC, and to represent the Swedish research system's interests within the EOSC Association.
“Longstanding and deep engagement”
In her supporting letter for Eva Stensköld’s candidacy, Malin Broberg, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg, emphasizes that Eva has a longstanding and deep engagement in the Open Science movement, with experience covering a broad area that includes research, research infrastructure, research funding, as well as national and European research policy and collaboration.
“Research infrastructures, especially the digital infrastructures represented by Eva Stensköld in her role as Director of SND, will be a vital part of the upcoming crucial build-up phase of the EOSC Federation. Ensuring diverse stakeholder representation on the board is imperative for the successful implementation of EOSC. It is our firm belief that Eva Stensköld will be a strong representative as an EOSC director and will make a significant contribution to the field of Open Science in Europe,” writes Vice-Chancellor Malin Broberg in her supporting letter.
Contributing with her expertise
A core aspect for a Director on the EOSC Association Board is that they do not represent a specific country or organization but are expected to contribute their expertise to the development of EOSC. To be eligible for consideration as a Director, however, the candidate must hold a leadership position within an EOSC Association member organization. Directors are also required, among other responsibilities, to support and promote the EOSC Association’s mission and values, advocate for Open Science, demonstrate commitment to diversity and inclusiveness, attend meetings of the Board and General Assembly, and to be proactive in engaging stakeholders and in representing the views of the EOSC Association.
“EOSC is at somewhat of a crossroads in its development and the EOSC Association Board will need to ensure both the build-up of the EOSC Federation as a network of nodes for research data and related services for the research community, and a sustainable governance and funding model that can last beyond the current framework program. EOSC simply needs to start delivering. I hope that I will gain the trust and votes to contribute to this work with my experience when the election takes place,” says Eva Stensköld.
Four Directors will be elected at the EOSC Association’s General Assembly on 22 November. Learn more about the nine candidates on the EOSC website.