In the period before the esblishing of CESSDA-ERIC it is important to maintain contact with the CESSDA-countries in order not to lose support for the new infrastructure. It should therefore be initiated preparatory measures that will help in the establish ment at one hand, and to strengthen the new company, organizational, political and professional when established.
These preparations will include meetings at management level between the relevant data archives to discuss the archives' ability to exploit potential synergy effects of CESSDA-ERIC, and how to lift all members' Service Providers up to a service level that meet the CESSDA-ERIC criterias.
CESSDA-ERIC will meet several scientific and technical challenges. Prior to the establisment of CESSDA-E RIC it would be useful to start working on some of the key technical challenges. Working groups consisting of experts from CESSDA members should therefore carry out studies on specific issues.
The work and results of the projects DwB and DASISH will pot entially have a major impact on the tasks CESSDA-ERIC is intended to cover. It is therefore important to link the work of the two projects to the issues that will be relevant for the new organisation. Specifically, we envisage arranging a meeting between the leaders of the two projects and the Steering Committee.
It would be useful to coordinate and draw on other's expertise, both in the establishment of an ERIC, and in the operation of a major European research infrastructure. We therefore propose to a rrange meetings with the initiatives, within the SSH, that have been or are about to become an ERIC.
It will also be useful for the new company that as much as possible of this are established. We therefore propose that we already now start to work with these issues.
The University of Bergen has reserved a house for CESSDA-ERIC headquarters. This is suitable for CESSDA-ERICs purpose, but some renovation and restoration is expected.