Europe-wide database of scientific research infrastructures revived under MERIL-2

A European Commission-funded project to revive and improve the MERIL (Mapping of the European Research Infrastructure Landscape) database and portal is underway, with a new portal being previewed today at an event in Rome, Italy [20th of June, 2017].

The MERIL-2 project builds on the previous phases of MERIL that were initiated in 2010, with a view to building an up-to-date database of European research infrastructures across all scientific domains. With renewed funding from the European Commission under Horizon 2020 and an expanded team, the new three-year MERIL-2 project will provide the means for making informed assessments and decisions about the research infrastructure landscape in Europe, and to encourage accessibility, new partnerships and collaborations within the scientific community.

The MERIL-2 project will further expand the coverage of research infrastructures included in the database, and improve the depth and accuracy of the information held on them. The usability of the portal is also being developed through improved functionality and standardised data sets, which it is hoped will enable MERIL to become a hub for European research infrastructure information, resources and networking.

…

“The project is progressing well towards this ambition, and today’s demonstration of the new portal is a real milestone. However, in order to ensure data is kept up to date and to deliver sustained impact, the portal needs the European research infrastructure community to get behind it and help us to ensure it is as comprehensive as possible now and in the future.”

The second generation MERIL portal can be accessed at: http://portal.meril.eu Considerable improvement works are still underway while the portal remains accessible to all, as the MERIL team invites feedback from the research infrastructure community.