Last week we had the meeting on the US situation and drafting the white paper on preserving critical scientific data.  I think our concerns were fairly well received. A new draft was distributed after the meeting open to anyone to contribute and comment. The document will be with no signatures, but it is a working document which can be used for further discussion.

The cross-domain core group will meet on September 5th to finalise the document as far as possible. After agreeing on a first version, all contributors will be encouraged to also share the paper within their own scientific communities—whether by domain or geographic region—to help raise visibility and stimulate further engagement. Antje, as the ERIC Forum Chair, I will share the white paper on behalf of the cross-domain group with the ERIC Forum Executive Board, for further dissemination to the scientific clusters of European research infrastructures (such as ENVRI), as well as to relevant contacts at the European Commission.  We hope that there would be a possibility to arrange bilateral meeting/meetings with the Commission during autumn.

When disseminating the paper, a brief explanation will be provided of what it represents: a first cross-domain snapshot of a developing crisis in public data infrastructure. As per the discussion in the meeting, the document is intended to raise awareness, highlight the urgency of the situation, and—most importantly—invite scientific organisation and communities to take action and contribute next steps, including their bilateral dialogue with their funders. This will include providing more detailed, case-by-case input on the evolving data situation and collaborating on joint responses and coordination efforts.

The link to the document is here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Bo6ssI29memUd16XxSOyUlacboylbPmC5DvyAOSrY-k/edit?tab=t.0

It is redrafted from the previous version I shared with you and has changed quite a lot. You are welcome to contribute to the text until end of August. Please note that this draft is open to anyone. From the ENVRI side, I have included a short text on the long-term observations, including an example of Argo, although they would most likely wish to have an example with a current risk.

ERIC Forum ExBo will have the next bilateral meeting Commission in September, where they may discuss the topic in a more closed meeting.

I attach also the documents Antje shared with the group -the position paper by ELIXIR and the paper published by the bioimaging community, in case I did not do so earlier.

With best wishes

Eija