Defining the users / Understanding customer

There are a number of thematic areas that users of the national research and education networks fall into. These are largely defined by the ESFRI (European Strategic Forum for Research Infrastructures) and not by TF-RED. In other words, the users themselves have defined how they want to be referred to. To assist, some of the sub-themes have been included in brackets to provide an idea about what the theme covers.

• Energy Sciences (Photon + Neutron/ Synchrotron, fusion research)

• Life Sciences (Health and Food

• Environmental Sciences (Earth Observations)

• Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (including Social and Cultural Innovation, HASS, Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences + Economics)

• Physical Sciences (Engineering + Space +Astronomy+Nuclear research

• Computing Sciences (** Data, Computing and and Digital Infrastructure (HPC)

Why thematic areas are important

Each community has their own nomenclature, they speak their own ‘language’. By talking in a group’s language you can build trust more easily. An example of this is persistent identifiers. Each group has a slightly different name for this, but they all mean the same thing. Another example is with the term nomenclature itself. In western-English this word means the terminology used in the arts or within a field of science. However, to Eastern Europeans from former soviet countries, nomenclature is the system whereby influential posts in government and industry were filled by Party appointees. If you use alternative terminology, you quickly stand out and put yourself at odds withthe people you are trying to build a relationship with.It causes confusion. It also makes it difficult to reach an understanding about the requirements that the users have, thereby eroding trust. You can also waste time defining something which is already defined

Understanding a research theme’s language also allows you to be able to relate to their perspective. Understanding their perspective helps you to understand their pains, their needs and their requirements.

Research infrastructures and other support organisations

What legal (or otherwise) classification of organisations or project classifications would we use?

• Project

• Research Infrastructure

• Research Organisations (legal entities)

• Academy of Science/Science Council/research council/Government ministry

• Research Institute (Public and Private)

• Universities

Why it’s important to classify the infrastructures and other organisations

These people are the stakeholders within a thematic cluster. When you meet with someone at a conference the conversation you have with a researcher will be very different to that you have with someone from a research council. The person from the research council may well be at the conference for the same reason you are. They may not be an expert in the topics that are being discussed and may be trying to understand how to help the scientists in their own country. Each type of person you meet could lead to an opportunity. But the conversations you have will be totally different. And, if you are establishing commercial contracts, a research council could well act as an aggregator for your services (if you are an NREN, RREN or e-infrastructure), whereas a researcher can tell you what they need to do their research.

Classifying the type of infrastructures is a way to help you establish at what level to talk to someone about a particular subject.