FNS-CLOUD FOOD NUTRITION SECURITY CLOUD
Driven by an international consortium of 35 organisations, coordinated by RTDS, FNS-Cloud will launch a first-generation ‘food cloud’, federating existing and emerging datasets and develop new services to support re-use by researchers.
Financed
H2020 | SFS Agri-food | IA
Budget
€ 10.2 million
Start date
01.10.2019
Duration
48 months
Project details
The challenge
The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) needs to advance in different scientific areas that relate to FNS (e.g. agri-food sciences and engineering, nutrition sciences) by building and implementing Food Cloud demonstrators, and by ensuring their long-term sustainability, increasing FAIR-ness related to data and services. Reducing fragmentation of existing governance models, through model integration and involvement of research user communities, training, monitoring and measuring awareness, interest, uptake and added value are other elements considered for the project implementation.
Existing FNS resources (data, knowledge and tools) for health and agri-food sciences are fragmented, lack critical mass, and access by user communities is ‘unevenly’ distributed. This means data are not readily found, accessible, interoperable or reusable, and existing services focus on clinical, molecular or biological sciences.
The solution
The move towards a thematic EOSC section for food and nutrition security (FNS) – or Food Cloud – would accelerate and support the ongoing transition to a more Open Science and Open Innovation model for food and nutrition systems, stimulate intra- and interdisciplinary research, and increase the impact and efficiency of research investments and infrastructures.
The implemented cloud solution will reduce knowledge gaps that inhibit public health and agricultural policy and will benefit the food industry, reducing development and production costs and will facilitate informed consumer choice and ultimately, healthier European citizens. FNS-Cloud data will be open access and FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and re-useable) and will be interoperable with the proposed Food, Nutrition and Health Research Infrastructure (FNHRI) and eROSA as well as METROFOOD-RI and other ESFRI RIs (e.g. ELIXIR, ECRIN).
The main impacts
With 20+ improved data management tools, practices and skills in selected scientific areas that relate to FNS based on better understanding between einfrastructure providers/operators and scientific domain specialists/users data sharing and reuse among FNS researchers will be visibly increased.
The proven governance and business model for the Food Cloud based on best practices, on broadly supported policy choices, and on effective global standards is set to improve data management skills and increase awareness of the benefits of open research data among FNS researchers by making use of 15+ new and available solutions bringing them from TRL0-4 to TRL7-9.
Acknowledgment
Food Nutrition Security Cloud (FNS-Cloud) has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (H2020-EU.3.2.2.3. – A sustainable and competitive agri-food industry) under Grant Agreement No. 863059. Information and views set out across this project are those of the Consortium and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion or position of the European Union. Neither European Union institutions and bodies nor any person acting on their behalf may be held responsible for the use that may be made of the information contained herein.
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