This policy brief examines how Research Infrastructures (RIs) can move beyond serving specialist scientific communities to play a broader role in addressing major societal challenges. Drawing on lessons from the COVID-19 response, it highlights the untapped potential of RI ecosystems – i.e. dynamic and evolving partnerships between RIs which are developed around a set of shared strategic objectives – to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, support innovation and inform public policy. It also outlines how funders and policymakers can help create the conditions for sustainable, high-impact RI partnerships.

Key findings

• Although RIs play a critical role in all fields of science, most RIs still serve a restricted expert user community.
• Collaborative arrangements among RIs can exploit complementarities and foster new interdisciplinary partnerships.
• RI ecosystems represent unique opportunities to accelerate the pace of scientific discovery and address complex societal challenges.
• Policymakers and funders play a critical role in ensuring the conditions for sustainable and successful RI collaborations.