Welcome to the website of the RAMIRI Project. RAMIRI stands for Realising and Managing International Research Infrastructures. Use this website to learn more about the project, and to register your interest in the RAMIRI training programmes which we hope to hold in 2011 and 2012. We will also be posting news and views from the world of research infrastructures; uploading videos, papers and images from the conferences themselves, and fostering a network of people engaged in the complex legal, financial and governance issues involved in making these pioneering research facilities a reality, and a success.

RAMIRI has been sponsored by the European Commission under Framework Programme 7, and we gratefully acknowledge their support. The first phase of the project is run by the RAMIRI Consortium, comprising six major players in the European science research field. Find out more about the Consortium here.

In 2009, the RAMIRI Project delivered a tailored Symposium held in London, Grenoble and Hamburg that aimed to address some of the training needs and policy awareness required by research infrastructure managers. Recognising the vital importance of disseminating good practice and shared challenges across the European Research Area, RAMIRI has been designed to provide an annual programme for discussion, learning and networking between senior- and middle-level managers, policymakers and funders across the European Union. Experts from around the world will talk candidly about their experiences, good and bad, in setting up and managing a variety of research facilities both physical and virtual from across the spectrum of the natural and social sciences.

The first of these conferences was held at Imperial College London on 15-17 July 2009 and was attended by all delegates on the 2009 RAMIRI Programme. Delegates could then choose to attend a second conference in either Grenoble (9-11 September 2009) or Hamburg (14-16 September). Each conference included an opportunity for detailed case studies and site visits to one or more major European research infrastructures, as well as opportunities for networking during the social programme.

Following the Symposium, the RAMIRI Consortium will publish a series of recommendations for ongoing skills development and networking fora for the research infrastructures community. This preliminary policy paper is due for publication towards the end of 2010.

To find out more about RAMIRI, please select one of the navigation buttons along the top of the page. If you were successful in receiving a place on the 2009 RAMIRI Programme, you can also access a number of password-protected resources, including conference materials, research papers and the RAMIRI blog/discussion forum. We hope in time that RAMIRI will deliver an enduring community of programme participants who are able to contribute effectively to Europe's world-leading research facility programme.