Strategy
The federated structure and strong interaction within ELIXIR are mechanisms on which CRB's strategy relies to assist member universities and other national research centers in adopting best practices and adhering to standards.
Framework for development of national bioinformatics training and resources
This framework includes backing programs conducted by RSBI, contributing to the development and upkeep of bioinformatics training resources, and facilitating the delivery of training. Within the framework developed by the ELIXIR Training Platform, this will involve developing an eLearning ecosystem, supporting the FAIR-ification of training materials, and promoting train-the-trainer programs in bioinformatics.
Increasing the value of data through the development of data infrastructures
CRB aims to enhance the value of molecular data by supporting the development of data infrastructures. This includes assisting research organizations in deploying national instances of data structures (e.g., portals for pathogen data (Harrison et al., 2021) or human data (Freeberg et al., 2021)), implementing novel data-sharing techniques (Amid et al., 2019), and ensuring uniform access through standardized authentication services (e.g., “LS Login | LifeScience RI,” n.d.).
Easing the choice and use of bioinformatics tools
CRB aims to simplify the selection and use of bioinformatics tools by implementing a distributed help desk system and supporting the development of a national bioinformatics software ecosystem integrated into the European framework. This will leverage advancements in scientific workflow managers (Crusoe et al., 2022; Di Tommaso et al., 2017; The Galaxy Community, 2022), software benchmarking (Pico et al., 2022), and European projects aimed at developing an integrated ecosystem, such as the Research Software Ecosystem (https://research-software-ecosystem.github.io/). The support will include contributions to European initiatives, engaging the national community to adopt these advancements, and launching or supporting relevant national instances.
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