Objectives

This WP will set out the research and innovation strategy and technical design of the EIRENE RI as a consolidated European research infrastructure enabling the development of advanced technologies and complementary services on the characterization of complex environmental exposures and their impact on the European populations. The main goal is to offer harmonised capacities and unique services to the European researchers, through both trans-national and virtual access, and provide data addressing the current and future needs of public authorities in the fields of public health, risk assessment/management.

Tasks

T1.1 Scientific vision (INSERM, all partners, M1-18)
The aim of the EIRENE RI construction is to promote European excellence in the Environmental & Health research and support policy-related risk assessment with regard to the chemical exposure component of the human exposome concept. The updated strategic vision and detailed research and innovation agenda of the EIRENE RI will be based on the analysis of current scientific advances and challenges, societal needs, and demands of multiple stakeholders (identified in T2.1). It will be developed in close collaboration with relevant on-going European partnerships (PARC) and research networks (EHEN) to reflect the current state of the art, and continuously updated throughout the EIRENE RI project implementation. The research and development agenda will be adapted to emerging challenges and European and national priorities.

T1.2 EIRENE Architecture (MU, all partners, M6-24)
EIRENE RI should consolidate existing and emerging infrastructures to support the development of main components of the human exposome research, i.e.(i) novel approaches for integrative and scaled-up analysis of exposure and effect markers, application of these approaches for (ii) characterization of the external (environmental, food) and (iii) internal (human) exposome in collaboration with existing RIs, environmental and human biomonitoring programmes, projects and networks, (iv) providing means for management, harmonisation and linkage of external and internal exposure data with data from population cohorts, health surveys, clinical studies or hazard testing, and (v) integrative analysis and interpretation of resulting multidimensional data using also modelling (AOP, PBPK etc.) approaches. Detailed analysis of existing capacities (national and European, including existing ESFRI projects and landmarks), gaps and needs in each of those domains will inform the final technical solution based on several pillars/topical nodes (centralised or distributed) and central services.

T1.3 EIRENE RI National Hubs (INSERM, all partners, M1-36)
The overall design of the EIRENE RI consisting of several pillars representing the main components of the exposome research will be further elaborated to detail the composition of the national hubs. Existing technical and human capacities in the individual member states will be inventoried and analysed together with a political commitment, strategic positioning (national roadmap), and financial resources available for future development. Target capacities and potential gaps will be identified and compared with expected needs. The national hubs development strategies will be elaborated in the interaction with national authorities acting as major stakeholders of EIRENE RI (namely research ministries, public health/environmental agencies) to address their needs for relevant outputs supporting health promotion, disease prevention, risk assessment/management. This will provide input not only for the technical design but also for the financial and business plan of the EIRENE RI.

T1.4 Technical Implementation and Quality Management (INRAE, all partners, M10-36)
In this task we will use the outcomes of T1.2 and T1.3 to outline a roadmap to the technical implementation of EIRENE RI. We will (i) assess the readiness of the individual core facilities identified in T1.3 for providing and harmonising specific services, (ii) specify harmonisation objectives and procedures (SOPs, inter-laboratory comparisons, audits) for research activities and services carried out/provided in various pillars/topical nodes (data-related issues are assessed separately in WP3), (iii) outline quality management schemes, harmonised criteria/minimal requirements to be applied in specific pillars, (iv) define the role of the central hub and scope of central services, and (v) provide a roadmap/time scale for the technical implementation of the topical and central nodes of the EIRENE RI, implementation of the harmonisation and QA/QC measures. The technical implementation plan will be used in the development of the EIRENE RI financial plan and funding strategy. In this process, we will exploit the outcomes of previous and ongoing projects (HBM4EU, EURION, and EHEN clusters) and promote synergies with ongoing partnerships (PARC). Environmental impacts as well as the optimisation of resource and energy will be considered when developing the technical implementation plan.

Objectives

While WP1 prepares a technical development of necessary infrastructural facilities including their construction and equipment, WP2 focuses on the development of specific services. In this task, (i) core services to be provided by the EIRENE RI will be identified (considering services already provided in other ESFRI RI to avoid duplicities) and organised in the pillar structure defined in WP1, (ii) their current availability in the core facilities of national hubs will be assessed including their capacity and readiness to be offered to the user community, and (iii) rules and procedures for a user’s access to such services will be elaborated.

Tasks

T2.1 Identification of core services (UU, all partners, M6-18)
In this task, we will closely collaborate with T1.1. Using the stakeholder’s network developed in T8.2, the stakeholder’s consultation organised during the EIRENE RI Design phase will be repeated to supply the updated list of core services demanded by potential (direct and indirect) users as input for T1.1. This list of potential core services will be compared to/consulted with existing European research infrastructures to avoid duplicities, enhance synergies, and identify the areas of potential collaboration with such infrastructures. Global consultations with pioneering institutions in the exposome research domain and the international researchers and stakeholders (T8.3) will be performed continuously to prepare the EIRENE RI for emerging scientific and societal challenges at the global level and strengthen the European position in this strategic research.

T2.2 Inventory of existing services and identification of synergies and gaps (UU, all partners, M1-36)
Using the list of EIRENE RI core services developed in T2.1, we will perform an inventory of services already provided in the national research infrastructures and assess their extent and readiness to be offered via open-access. This inventory will be developed in collaboration with T1.2 and T1.3 mapping the national capacities (but also capacities in existing ESFRI projects and landmarks) in all EIRENE RI pillars. It will provide input for the analysis of gaps and a draft plan for the development of EIRENE RI services as the main outcome of this task. The implementation roadmap devised in T1.4 will be considered here including proposed quality management schemes and harmonisation criteria. It will also inform WP7 developing the EIRENE RI financial plan, and WP4 elaborating a design of the EIRENE RI pilot.

T2.3 Access to EIRENE services (CSIC, all partners, M7-24)
In this task we will develop a framework and procedures enabling access of various categories of users (direct, indirect) to services provided in the EIRENE RI pillars. A varying nature of services among the pillars (access to laboratory capacities and services, networks and cohorts, their samples and data, models, and IT tools) will require specific approaches. We will take into consideration the processes established in existing ESFRI infrastructures as well as national facilities and consult with a wide spectrum of stakeholders (T8.2) including direct and indirect users and funding authorities. A design of the EIRENE RI framework (rules and procedures (entry point, application and evaluation process, evaluation criteria, funding, acknowledgment, evaluation etc.), necessary documents (in collaboration with WP1) and IT tools, executive and decision-making bodies for user’s access implementation) enabling an access to available capacities will provide an input for WP4 where the EIRENE RI pilot will be prepared, and for the financial plan of EIRENE RI developed under WP7.