EBRAINS online Unconference: National Nodes opportunities in a distributed EBRAINS infrastructure

The National Nodes Board members and their partners ín the EBRAINS National Nodes are cordially invited to take part in a virtual  unconference about opportunities for NN partner collaborations and roles in the distributed EBRAINS infrastructure. The unconference will be a creative process that provides input to the work of the EBRAINS National Nodes Board as EBRAINS will have more a visible role as a distributed infrastructure after the conclusion of HBP, particularly through the active participation of the National Nodes.

A “distributed infrastructure” is a loosely defined concept mainly connected to a system of national hubs/nodes/centres that each contribute to the delivery, maintenance, and development of elements of the total infrastructural system. Such elements may be software, hardware, specialized knowledge centres of importance to the delivery of the infrastructure (scientific, clinical, innovation, curation, SSH, ethics, foresight and road mapping, etc.), user-oriented services such as community, training, education, user-to-user help, high level support etc., and scientific and administrative coordination. In principle there is no limitations to what can be distributed in a distributed infrastructure, but in practice, such infrastructures have a core hub for organisational matters.

The objective of the unconference is to provide an opportunity for the partners of the National Nodes to express their perspectives on their expectations and roles within the distributed organization of the infrastructure. This initiative is based on discussions held within the National Nodes Board (NNB), which have revealed various positions and desires that must be taken into account in the work of the NNB and the design of the SERV proposal.

The unconference is organized as a community activity within the Human Brain Project (HBP) and will be executed and facilitated by the Community Building Team.

Participation and registration:

The Unconference is by invitation only. The groups invited will comprise of:

– National Nodes Leaders

– All partners in the NNs

– NNB observers of NNs in process of formalising the NN

– Emerging NNs

Registration is a mandatory requirement, wherein you have the opportunity to submit a topic of your choice related to the overarching theme. The organizers will curate a program based on these topics. If your chosen theme is included in the program, you will lead a breakout discussion lasting up to 50 minutes. Additionally, you will be responsible for preparing a concise 1-page report summarizing the key statements and conclusions, which will be submitted to the National Nodes Board. For the remaining duration of the event, you will actively participate in other participants’ organized breakout sessions.

A brief report will be put together for the National Nodes Board before its meeting on July 10, during which it will be discussed.

The following questions can serve as prompts and can stimulate discussions by providing a starting point for participants to share their insights and perspectives on these important topics.

• How can we establish and execute new collaborative development projects, particularly across National Node partners?
• What are the potential sources of new ideas, and how can we ensure their effective implementation?
• Which existing ideas have the potential to become collaboration points?
• How can we make EBRAINS services resilient and safeguard them against unexpected disruptions?
• What role can the EBRAINS Community play in facilitating and supporting bottom-up collaboration?
• How can the National Nodes effectively incorporate bottom-up partner wishes while maintaining order and avoiding chaos?

Any questions? Don’t hesitate to write to Amal Thomsen at@tekno.dk