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Switzerland became a full member of DARIAH in 2023. What does that mean for the Swiss research community?

It’s great that at the political level, we are finally able to achieve full membership. In terms of access to resources, tools, activities, and services, not much will change because we already have access through the observer status. What really changes is the ability to actively participate in everything, especially the strategic planning conducted by the infrastructure. Only full members have the right to vote in the National Assembly and the National Coordinators Committee.

Additionally, only full members or individuals from countries with full membership have the right, for example, to chair certain competence centers or working groups. So, for Swiss scientists who truly want to be involved in the infrastructure's activities, decisions about its future, strategic development, and participation in European projects, this opportunity is reserved for scientists from countries that are full members. Therefore, it was crucial for us not only to acknowledge the benefits the infrastructure provides but also to actively engage and express our opinions.

You said that researchers will have access to all kinds of services. Can you give an example? 

There is a significant distinction between CLARIN and DARIAH in terms of their mission and vision. For CLARIN, the mission is to consolidate all language resources and tools, language technology from across Europe into a unified digital infrastructure of the distributed type. This approach ensures that resources remain in their respective countries while being made interoperable. Consequently, user access to resources and services takes precedence in CLARIN’s mission.

For CLARIN, the mission is to consolidate all language resources and tools, language technology from across Europe into a unified digital infrastructure of the distributed type.

On the other hand, DARIAH has a different mission. Its primary goal is to empower the digital humanities research community with methods and training, facilitating the transition from a non-digital to a digital technology society within the humanities. DARIAH places a stronger emphasis on education, training, and advocacy at the policy level for the arts and humanities. In this context, the resource and service component is somewhat less critical.

DARIAH has a different mission. Its primary goal is to empower the digital humanities research community with methods and training, facilitating the transition from a non-digital to a digital technology society within the humanities.

The term "infrastructures" is very broad. It includes both long-term research projects, e.g. edition projects, and platforms that provide services but do not conduct their own research and develop content. What do you mean by digital research infrastructures?

The European Commission defines Research Infrastructures (RIs) as "facilities that provide resources and services to research communities to carry out research and foster innovation." I find this definition to be overly simplistic because, particularly in the realm of Social Sciences and Humanities, an RI encompasses much more than just "technical facilities." It overlooks essential components such as expertise, knowledge, the human resources aspect, community involvement, and network dynamics.

Taking European RIs in SSH, such as CLARIN, DARIAH, CESSDA, as well as national RIs like FORS, DaSCH, and LiRI, into consideration, I propose the following definition for a digital research infrastructure: it is an entity with a legal form and status, a clearly defined mission, objectives, and milestones, a dedicated governance structure (comprising a board of directors, management team, steering committee), a long-term strategic development plan (outlining target communities and services), and sustainable funding. Importantly, it is tailored to meet the specific needs of a scientific community.

What adjectives would you use to describe the landscape of research infrastructures in Switzerland?

1. Scattered: The landscape appears distributed, with numerous small initiatives spread across various regions.
2. Rich quantitatively: There is a high quantity of research initiatives, consisting mostly of smaller projects rather than large infrastructures.
3. Rich qualitatively: The variety of infrastructures is remarkable, showcasing innovation and diversity in research initiatives.
4. Innovative: The landscape demonstrates a commitment to innovation, reflecting a forward-thinking approach to research.
5. Autonomous: Similar to the autonomy observed at the cantonal level, the research infrastructures operate independently, presenting a challenge in terms of national-level coordination.

In the 2023 Roadmap, not a single truly new SSH project made it to the evaluation phase. Why is that the case?

There are many different reasons, both internal and external to the Swiss SSH scientific community, that could explain this result. These reasons are discussed in detail in a position paper (available here) that we wrote together with Georg Lutz, the director of FORS, and other colleagues in the spring of 2022. The position paper gathered more than 147 signatures of support from Swiss SSH researchers and was sent to our funding and political institutions as well as to the rectors of all Swiss universities. 

One of the reasons we identified is the fact that the SSH field is scattered and, as I said, includes numerous small initiatives spread across different regions. In this context, there is a lack of coordination between these initiatives, which is necessary in order to present solid projects for future Swiss roadmaps. 

SSHOC-CH aims at finding synergies and fostering collaborations between the social sciences and humanities, and at building an ecosystem of national infrastructures and expertise that will support social scientists and humanities scholars in their research and in managing their data in the spirit of Open Science and FAIR principles.

This is why we recommended in the 2022 position paper that the SSH research community should coordinate better, create synergies between existing infrastructures and long-term projects, and work together. The result of this recommendation is the creation in April 2024 of the Swiss Social Sciences and Humanities Open Cluster - SSHOC-CH, analogous to the SSHOC project at EU level (which is one of the five clusters of the European Open Science Cloud EOSC) and to SSHOC-NL in the Netherlands. SSHOC-CH aims at finding synergies and fostering collaborations between the social sciences and humanities, and at building an ecosystem of national infrastructures and expertise that will support social scientists and humanities scholars in their research and in managing their data in the spirit of Open Science and FAIR principles. Formally, SSHOC-CH is an association and anyone who shares its mission can join.