Concept Paper on EOSC Federation Architecture and Federating Capabilities – Open Survey for Community Feedback

The EOSC Beyond project has published a concept paper titled EOSC Federation: Architecture and Federating Capabilities, authored by Diego Scardaci (EGI Foundation), Mark Dietrich (EGI Foundation), and Paolo Manghi (OpenAIRE) on behalf of the EOSC Beyond Technical Coordination Board. This document outlines an innovative architecture of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) as a Federation of Nodes, building on the foundation established by the EOSC Future project and the EOSC EU Node. It details how to develop a network of Nodes that can deliver services and resources to European researchers collaboratively.

The paper introduces the concept of Federating Capabilities, key mechanisms enabling EOSC Nodes to work together. It provides a model that outlines how these Nodes interact to deliver services within the Federation and paves the way for developing the next generation of EOSC Core services. By defining key terms and the necessary elements to operationalise Federating Capabilities, the paper aims to lay the technical foundation for the EOSC Federation Architecture.

To enhance and fine-tune the paper, we are also launching a survey to gather community feedback. The survey is available until 29 November 2024, and an updated version of the document will be presented by Q2 2025. Researchers, service providers, and stakeholders are invited to participate and contribute to shaping the future of EOSC.