Article 15 Access to LifeWatch ERIC Facilities and Dissemination Policy

LifeWatch ERIC shall be a facilitator of research and learning and shall not restrict access to available data and algorithms unless these are in conflict with any conditions of use agreed in advance with their owner(s).

LifeWatch shall establish and operate its infrastructure for biodiversity and ecosystem research at the European level. The services provided shall be determined by a decision of the General Assembly which may distinguish between the services provided to members and non-members and their researchers.

Decisions on the prioritisation of the specific services provided by LifeWatch ERIC shall be adopted by the General Assembly, taking into consideration the outcome of an independent evaluation process lead by the Scientific and Technical Advisory Board.

In case the capacity to provide access is limited for financial and/or technical reasons, the General Assembly shall establish, within its available resources, competitive grant programmes to allow successful applicants to benefit from the proposed capabilities. Applications from any country over the world shall be assessed by independent Evaluation Committees nominated by the Executive Board, following suggestions from the Scientific and Technical Advisory Board. The grant programmes, the evaluation procedure and terms of reference that the General Assembly may establish shall meet generic requirements of scientific excellence and fair practices.

The Executive Board may propose to the General Assembly policies on requirements concerning general or ad hoc legal relationships with data users. Access for the general public shall be granted unless the services or resources are constrained by licensing conditions imposed by the owners. LifeWatch ERIC shall follow relevant European Union policies and regulations.

The General Assembly, subject to Article 3(2) of the Regulation (EC) No 723/2009, by an absolute majority vote may decide to charge fees for general access to specific communities or to all of them concerning specific services provided by LifeWatch ERIC, as well as to license its own tools or products either as commons or submitted to licensing.

The data access and dissemination policy of LifeWatch ERIC shall follow the best international practices with respect to public data, such as those established by the European Union, and shall recognize the rights of the owners of data and algorithms and shall take full account of any related ethical or legal issues. LifeWatch ERIC shall promote excellence in research, teaching and learning and support a culture of ‘best practice’ through promotional and training activities.

LifeWatch ERIC shall encourage researchers using LifeWatch ERIC to make their research results publicly available and shall request researchers of members to make results available through LifeWatch ERIC.

The dissemination policy shall identify the various target groups, and LifeWatch ERIC shall use several channels to reach these groups, such as web portal, newsletter, workshops, presence in conferences, articles in magazines and daily newspapers.