Governance

The field of environmental sciences is broad. It covers highly diverse research domains and is related to a complex fabric of environmental challenges in societies. The ENVRI community reflects this complex landscape with many RIs being, by their nature, cross-, multi- or inter-disciplinary, and some being specialised in one domain. Some are dedicated to observations, while others perform experiments, and there are those RIs that are mainly data infrastructures. Some are established RIs that have already achieved a high internal organisation and a legal structure, while others are still projects and networks that are undergoing the process towards a mature RI.

The ENVRI Community fosters collaboration and joint development among environmental research infrastructures across Europe. It is neither a project nor a legal entity, but rather a dynamic forum where research infrastructures at all stages of development can connect, share good practices, and drive innovation. The community is supported by the ENVRI Board, its core assembly.

During the cluster project ENVRIplus (2015–2019), the ENVRI Community decided to establish a Board of European Environmental Research Infrastructures, BEERi, which was active until June 2024. The BEERI has now been replaced by the ENVRI Board.

The ENVRI Board was established in July 2024 and gathers those RIs of the ENVRI Community that satisfy one of the following criteria:

• • • being an operational Research Infrastructure on the ESFRI roadmap with a legal entity or a Project on the ESFRI Roadmap
    • being an operational research infrastructure with a legal entity, multi-national (within Europe+), but not on the ESFRI roadmap

The main objectives of the ENVRI Board are to:

• • • be a single representative body for the ENVRIs, the coordinating body for promoting ENVRI activities and the “go-to” contact for expert advice
    • bring together directors of RIs from across Europe and be a catalyst of networking to facilitate the exchange of operational experiences, coordinate ideas and activities
    • interact with the main stakeholders of the RIs in Europe (European Commission, Parliament, etc.) and globally (UN, IPCC, etc.)
    • highlight and promote the work of the ENVRIs and how it relates to policy
    • stimulate collaboration across clusters

The current Chair and Vice-Chair (until the end of 2024) of the ENVRI Board are Werner Kutsch, DG of ICOS, and Helen Glaves, Director of the Integrated Core Services of EPOS, respectively. From January 1st, 2025, the ENVRI Board will be chaired and vice-chaired by Eija Juurola, DG of ACTRIS, and Michel Boer, DG of AnAEE, respectively.

Three tiers of collaboration

The ENVRI community collaboration is structured into three tiers based on the level of involvement and responsibilities:

1. ENVRI Board – Operational Research infrastructures: Members of this tier have the highest level of involvement and responsibilities. They attend ENVRI Board meetings, have voting rights on issues that require formal decisions, and are required to respond to surveys, position papers, and other enquiries.
2. ENVRI Board – ESFRI Projects: Organisations that are part of the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap but may not yet be legal entities. These members attend ENVRI Board meetings, have voting rights, and are encouraged to respond to surveys and position papers.
3. ENVRI Community / Stakeholders: This tier includes a wider range of organisations and individuals involved in the ENVRI Community. They attend community meetings and are informed about ENVRI Board activities but do not have voting rights.

The current composition of the ENVRI community is presented in the table below: