In line with the strong commitment and dedication from our Members and our association to pan-European scientific and technological infrastructures, our Board appointed Sally Chambers (Digital Humanities Research Coordinator at Ghent Centre for Digital Humanities) as our latest ESFRI Envoy. Sally continues the work of our recent Envoy Katharina Eggenberger following her departure from ETH Zurich.
Sally has a strong international profile at the intersection of digital cultural heritage and digital humanities, with over fifteen years of professional experience in Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. She has recently been appointed to represent Belgium on the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) Strategy Working Group for Social & Cultural Innovation and is also a Director of the Digital Research Infrastructure for the Arts and Humanities (DARIAH).
Highlighting that universities of S&T engage infrastructures to cover their entire missions - i.e. research, education, innovation and services to society - we are dedicated to help (i) strengthen sustainability, accessibility and resilience of such infrastructures in the European Research Area (ERA) (see also ERA Action 8), (ii) implement and govern the EOSC (see also ERA Action 1) and (iii) advance a European approach to technological infrastructures.
Commenting on her appointment, Sally Chambers said:
“I am delighted to be appointed to represent CESAER in the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum. This is an ideal opportunity to ensure that the voice of universities of science and technology is heard within ESFRI.”
“Our association’s Members play a crucial role in the management and use of European scientific & technological infrastructures. Through the ESFRI Stakeholder’s Forum we can make sure our needs are recognised at the European level.”
We warmly thank Sally and Ghent University for their willingness to represent our association in the ESFRI Stakeholders Forum.
ESFRI plays a key role in policy-making on research infrastructures in Europe. It is composed of national delegates nominated by research ministers of the EU member states and countries associated with Horizon Europe, and also includes a European Commission representative. ESFRI is a self-regulated body, operating on a consensus basis and typically meets four times a year.
The ESFRI Stakeholders Forum is a newly established platform, developed by ESFRI with the ambition to facilitate an open dialogue among the different European research infrastructure stakeholders, in order to reinforce the position of research infrastructures as an essential pillar of the ERA. This concept was presented in the ESFRI White Paper adopted in 2020.
For more information and enquiries, please contact Mattias Björnmalm (Deputy Secretary General).
Contact details for Envoy Sally Chambers are availlable here.