Background Information:

The RRI TF is an expert group consisting of representatives from ASEAN Member States (AMS) who are nominated by the COSTI. They are instrumental in achieving the objectives of the ASEAN RRI Strategy by studying, shaping, and developing the strategy and roadmap for advancing Science, Technology, and Innovation policy priorities in ASEAN.

Research infrastructures (RIs) are facilities that provide resources and services for research
communities to conduct research, to cooperate internationally, and to foster innovation. RIs not only meet the demand of researchers for supporting excellent science, and but also the demand
of policymakers for knowledge transfer and innovation.
Research infrastructures include:

• major scientific equipment or sets of instruments such as synchrotrons, telescopes, and
  satellites
• collections, archives or scientific data
• computing systems and communication networks

RIs may be single-sited, distributed, or virtual, and have the potential to foster strong intra-
regional collaboration within ASEAN as well as bi-regional collaborations between ASEAN an dialogue partners. RIs can play an important role in the education and training of students,
researchers, technicians, and engineers, as well as in promoting science and scientific careers to
young people. And given that RRIs are geographically dispersed, they can support the mobility
and exchange of researchers and technical staff both intra-ASEAN and between ASEAN and
dialogue partners.

However, RIs need governance structures that define issues such as fair and transparent rules for their use, set standards for how the resulting data is managed and used, and clear guidelines on
transnational access to RIs located in neighbouring countries.

Objectives
A regional approach to research infrastructure in ASEAN can achieve the following:

• offer greater opportunities for interdisciplinary research both intra-ASEAN and between
  ASEAN and dialogue partners
• address imbalances in research funding and research infrastructures among countries in
  ASEAN
• meet the regional demand in ASEAN for knowledge transfer and capacity building
• strengthen ASEAN’s ability to respond to global challenges such as COVID-19
• provide the scientific community in ASEAN with access to state-of-the-art RI
  internationally

This project will undertake the following activities:

• identify good practices in regional research infrastructure development and management
  by establishing a research infrastructure policy dialogue with the European Union
• assess current national and regional research infrastructure initiatives in ASEAN in such
  areas as the bio-circular green economy, high performance computing, synchrotron
  development, and space related research
• identify needs for intra-ASEAN and ASEAN-dialogue partner collaboration in RRI.
• discuss framework conditions for collaboration including technology development, user
  access, capacity building, applications, and investment
• identify potential funding sources to support intra-ASEAN and ASEAN-dialogue partner
  collaboration