Node: ELIXIR Italy
Authors: Flavio Licciulli, data steward
Topics: Gaps to action, Who to involve
A formal process can help clarify how services are classified, reviewed and included in wider Node and ELIXIR planning.
As ELIXIR Italy, we offer data resources, tools, courses and services to the Italian life sciences community, providing stable and sustainable access to biological data. The ELIXIR Italy General Assembly decided to establish a formal process for classifying the services provided by the Node members and for their inclusion in the Service Delivery Plan (SDP). To support this process, the local Technical Coordinators Group and Platform leaders developed a document defining a set of Quality Management (QM) parameters. These QM parameters are applied to ensure that the services offered by the six ELIXIR Italy Platforms (Compute, Data, Interoperability, Tools, Omics, and Training) meet the standards required for service validation and labelling. Services are classified into three levels:
- ELIXIR Italy resources: registered in bio.tools/FAIRSharing;
- SDP resources: offered to ELIXIR communities at large and included in the SDP;
- Core resources: services selected through processes governed by the ELIXIR Hub, such as Core Data Resources (CDRs) and Recommended Interoperability Resources (RIRs).
QM parameters are periodically collected and monitored through a review process conducted by Platform coordinators and deputies, and services are assigned to the corresponding level based on the results of this assessment.
The development and implementation of this formal process highlighted the importance of synergy among the various components of the Node, including the Head of Node, members of the General Assembly, technical and training staff, and representatives of the Platforms and communities.