PARIS — On 11 September 2026, more than 70 participants, representing over 30 French research institutes, universities, and data organisations, took part in a workshop dedicated to discussing the implementation of a future French EOSC Node.
Organised by Inria, with the involvement of CNRS, Recherche Data Gouv, MESR, Université de Montpellier, and INRAE, the event was supported by EOSC France, a preparatory grant under EOSC Gravity, which aims to outline the roadmap for developing a prototype of the French national EOSC Node and enable its integration into the EOSC Federation.
Jean-Frédéric Gerbeau, Deputy CEO for Science at Inria, highlighted the shared ambition and responsibility of those taking on the challenge of building interconnected EOSC Nodes within the EOSC Federation: “If we truly want Europe to lead the next generation of AI-enabled science, we must be capable of securely federating research insights across countries, disciplines, and infrastructures.”
Translating this ambition into practical steps for the future French EOSC Node, the event aimed to:
- Present the vision and scope of the future French EOSC Node,
- Bring together representatives from existing EOSC Nodes, including EOSC Node Finland, EOSC Node Switzerland, EOSC Node EGI, and EOSC Node Data Terra, to strengthen mutual understanding, share approaches, and identify common priorities for consolidating a French EOSC Node within the broader EOSC Federation, including the requirements to become a Node,
- Showcase French use cases that could potentially be implemented during the third wave of the EOSC Federation.
- Create a collaborative space to discuss priority future use cases, alignment needs, and the next operational steps required to move from coordination to implementation
During the event, participants discussed the current status of the EOSC France project and examined potential use cases proposed by CEA, UCA, CNRS, Recherche Data Gouv, and Inria. They were also briefed about the EOSC Connect project and its role in supporting the further development and implementation of the EOSC Federation.
The afternoon programme featured a matchmaking session, followed by a discussion on the future governance and operation of the prospective French EOSC Node. Highlighting the importance of collaboration across the Federation, Victoria Dominguez Del Angel, Deputy Representative of the French Mandated Organisation in EOSC-A, emphasised: “The future French EOSC Node will, of course, build on close collaboration with other EOSC Nodes to ensure alignment across the EOSC Federation”.
The workshop was highly productive and clearly outlined the next steps for implementing the French national EOSC Node. Gilles Mathieu, Deputy Director of Recherche Data Gouv concluded: “We have the plan, now we just need to make it happen”.
Photograph: © Inria / B. Fourrier
