Strategy and mission

In 2015 we developed our strategy for the coming years, which you can download here: Netherlands eScience Center Strategy 2015-2020.

Ambitions and activities

• Enabling Scientific Breakthroughs
  The eScience Center builds the eScience technologies and workflows that enable scientists of varying computing experience to utilize e-infrastructure components to achieve otherwise unreachable breakthroughs.
• Developing Versatile Cross-Disciplinary eScience Tools
  While each scientific discipline is characterized by unique questions and challenges, the underlying eScience requirements are often generic. The eScience Center’s developments are characterized by their domain overarching nature, promoting reuse, collaboration and prevention of “reinventing the wheel”.
• Promoting multi-disciplinary eScience collaborations
  The era of individual researchers working in isolated groups and focused only on their own, increasingly narrow expertise, has ended. Breakthroughs are increasingly made at the interface of disciplines by groups of scientists benefitting from the combination of their diverse skills. The eScience Center’s projects and the generic tools that result reflect this move to multi-disciplinary science.
• Coordinating National eScience Activities
  The rapid growth of data and computing initiatives risks unnecessary fragmentation and duplication. The eScience Center works with numerous partner organizations, nationally and internationally, to identify common challenges such as training and career support for eScientists, as well as providing thought leadership on issues such as data-stewardship and software sustainability.

Prioritized Domains

The eScience Center primarily focuses on societally relevant applied research utilizing scientific computing, data research, and analytics in the following defined key strategic areas:

• Environment & Sustainability
  For example: Climate, ecology, energy, logistics, water management, agriculture & food;
• Life Sciences & eHealth
  For example: Next generation sequencing, biobanking, molecules & man;
• Humanities & Social Sciences
  For example: SMART cities, text analysis, eBusiness, creative technologies;
• Physics & Beyond
  For example: astronomy, high-energy physics, advanced materials, engineering & manufacturing.

The selection of prioritized domains remains as broad as possible, reflecting the generic nature of eScience and its applications.