EOSC, the transverse European data space for science, research and innovation : statement.
Date: 2022-12-16
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: EU research policy, cloud computing, innovation, knowledge economy, open data, open science, research infrastructure, research results, right to reuse information, systems interconnection

EOSC: the Transverse European 
Data Space for Science, 
Research and Innovation 

STATEMENT  

Independent 
Expert 
Report 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EOSC: the Transverse European Data Space for Science, Research and Innovation  

European Commission 
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation 
Directorate A — ERA & Innovation 
Unit A.4 — Open Science 
Contact   Michel Schouppe 
Email  

rtd-eosc@ec.europa.eu   
Michel.Schouppe@ec.europa.eu  
RTD-PUBLICATIONS@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

Manuscript completed in December 2022   
First edition 

This  document  has  been  prepared  for  the  European  Commission,  however  it  reflects  the  views  only  of  the 
authors, and the European Commission shall not be liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse. 

PDF  

ISBN 978-92-76-59066-8 

doi:10.2777/140927  KI-09-22-645-EN-N 

Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2022 

© European Union, 2022  

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EOSC: the Transverse European 
Data Space for Science, 
Research and Innovation 

STATEMENT  

2022                            Directorate-General for Research and Innovation                                   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of contents 

EOSC:  THE  TRANSVERSE  EUROPEAN  DATA  SPACE  FOR 
SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION - STATEMENT 

EOSC:  THE  TRANSVERSE  EUROPEAN  DATA  SPACE  FOR 
SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION - STATEMENT .............. 3 

1.  Statement ................................................................................................ 3 

2.  References .............................................................................................. 4 

2 

 
EOSC: THE TRANSVERSE EUROPEAN DATA SPACE 
FOR SCIENCE, RESEARCH AND INNOVATION - 
STATEMENT 

Prepared  for  the  EOSC  Tripartite  Governance1  Event  2022  in  Prague,  Czechia,  on  15 
November 2022. 

The EOSC Steering Board expert group2 (EOSC-SB) has initiated in 2022 a reflection on the 
main disruptive concepts and practices connected to the construction and future operation of 
the  European  Open  Science  Cloud  (EOSC).  The  EOSC  ambition  is  to  provide  European 
researchers, innovators, companies, and citizens with a federated and open, cross-border 
and  multi-disciplinary  data  space  (or  data  commons)  where they  can  publish,  find,  and 
reuse data, tools and services for research, innovation, and educational purposes. EOSC is 
not  a  single  monolithic  organisation  or  resource  provider.  Instead,  it  is  developed  as 
a federation (system of systems) with involvement of many independent organisations and 
resource  providers  implementing  the  FAIR  principles  and  adopting  clear  rules  and  quality 
standards. As such, EOSC shall ensure independence and autonomy of the participating 
resource providers.3 The uptake of EOSC by European scientists, researchers, innovators, 
and companies requires transformative practices in several domains: from FAIR-by-design 
data collection technologies to FAIR data and service exploitation skills. Such transformative 
practices  in  EOSC  also  represent  strong  cross-cutting  assets  for  the  nine  new,  emerging 
sectoral data spaces of the European strategy for data. They contribute to the articulation of 
EOSC with these data spaces. Specific issues were chosen and elaborated in 2022 by the 
Steering Board based on the perceived urgency/priority in the EOSC context. These issues 
are addressed individually in “Opinion Papers” elaborated by the EOSC Steering Board and 
communicated  to  the  EOSC  Tripartite  Governance  to  become  a  living  reference  for  the 
definition of EOSC policies at European, national, and institutional levels. 

1.  Statement 

We, the EOSC Steering Board collectively: 

  Recognise  EOSC  as  the  overarching  transverse  European  Data  Space  for research. 
EOSC shall be implemented as orthogonal and supplementary to the thematic European 
Data Spaces, which in turn should capitalise on expertise and solutions developed in the 
context of EOSC. 

  Recognise EOSC to be an accelerator of the digital transition, comprising FAIR digital 

objects as well as people with data science and management competences. 

1 https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/strategy/strategy-2020-2024/our-digital-future/open-science/european-open-

science-cloud-eosc_en#eosc-tripartite-governance 

2 https://ec.europa.eu/transparency/expert-groups-register/screen/expert-

groups/consult?lang=en&do=groupDetail.groupDetail&groupID=3756&NewSearch=1&NewSearch=1 

3 Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda Version 1.0, June 2021¸ Chapter 6. 

3 

 
                                                           
  Reaffirm the importance of the sovereignty of the research sector as FAIR data provider 

in EOSC. 

 

Invite to opening EOSC to the public sector at large and to partners from the commercial 
sector that are dedicated to Open Science, considering them as providers and users of 
the EOSC ecosystem, which is developed to be a public good. 

  Call  all  research  and  innovation  stakeholders  to  commit  to  making  Open  Science  the 
new normal, and to achieve this goal develop and deploy the necessary science policies 
and supplementary financial investments.  

  Commit to support the progress towards Open Science and the advancement of EOSC 
implementation by facilitating monitoring, exchanging practices, and promoting  mutual 
learning across countries and communities. 

2.  References 

Opinion paper by the EOSC Steering Board expert group (E03756) on EOSC FAIR data literacy, 
https://doi.org/10.2777/716842  

Opinion  paper  by  the  EOSC Steering  Board  expert  group  (E03756)  on  EOSC  and commercial 
partners, https://doi.org/10.2777/04436 

Opinion paper by the EOSC Steering Board expert group (E03756) on FAIR data sovereignty in 
EOSC, https://doi.org/10.2777/32361 

Opinion paper by the EOSC Steering Board expert group (E03756) on Monitoring Open Science, 
https://doi.org/10.2777/382490 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
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The  EOSC  Steering  Board  expert  group  (E03756)  has 
developed  opinion  reflections  on  selected  high-level  policy 
issues.  The  outcome  of 
these  reflections  have  been 
formulated  as  opinion  papers  on  ‘EOSC  and  data  literacy’, 
‘EOSC and the commercial partners’, ‘FAIR data sovereignty 
in EOSC’, and ‘Monitoring Open Science’. The papers include 
objectives and recommendations for the period 2022 to 2024. 
A  selection  of  key  elements  from  these  opinions  are 
highlighted  in  a  joint  statement  by  the  expert  group  called 
‘EOSC:  the  Transverse  European  Data  Space  for  Science, 
Research  and  Innovation’.  All  four  papers  have  collected 
input  from  private  experts,  governmental  experts,  and  the 
European Commission, and were finally adopted via written 
procedure in November 2022.  

Studies and reports