EOSC Delivery Chain as a key factor for successful EOSC services

The first report in a series of three studies on cross-border service delivery and collaboration is out: D2.4 The EOSC Delivery Chain! As successfully produced by the EOSC Nordic Work Package on Policies, legal issues and sustainability, the study has been finalised in September 2020. The deliverable gives insight into cross-border service delivery by exploring six case studies of cross-border services in the Nordic and Baltic regions. The report highlights the crucial role of the services delivery chain – how the delivery of a service is organized in all aspects from the acquisition of resources to end used – in understanding service delivery in EOSC and increasing access to services and reuse of data for the benefit of European research.

Many actors are involved in delivering a service, each with a crucial role in the delivery chain. The report describes the roles and responsibilities of the actors in the case studies and how they work together to deliver services successfully. The deliverable considers a number of aspects of service delivery: user communities, governance, funding, operations and support, and resource types. It described the roles and responsibilities of the actors for each of these aspects.

The studies reveal that successful service delivery requires careful management of both the technical and organizational aspects of the service and is dependent on the interplay of the stakeholder. The report shows that the delivery chain takes many forms and is different for each of the services. It is influenced by national agreements on rights and responsibilities, tradition, and human networks. The studies reveal that the nature of the service, how it is funded, and the user community influence how service delivery is organized.

These complexities are important if a service is to be delivered through EOSC. The report highlight that some services primarily offer access to data and that such services can be provided through EOSC to allow data sharing across Europe. The analysis in the report shows that some services are generic and can be offered universally through EOSC. However, the analysis also shows that some services depend on resources (such as computing power and storage) that must be replenished. For these services, funding and resource governance aspects are key to allow the services to be provided in EOSC.
Finally, the study reveals that some services have a national scope and are seen as strategically important for member states. These services need to consider service governance and policy for the services to be successfully delivered through EOSC.

Throughout, the report reveals the importance of considering the service delivery chain in its entirety and the complex relations of the actors and their roles and responsibilities. Data sharing – the heart of EOSC – can often be accommodated. Services dependent on expendable resources require more consideration to be successfully delivered through EOSC, often involving national stakeholders and research communities.

The next study will be published in February 2021, investigating cross-border collaboration models in the Nordic and Baltic countries. The final study will be out within less than a year: August 2021! It will provide recommendations for future cross-border collaboration in the context of EOSC. We will keep you posted!

Read the deliverable on our Knowledge Hub.