Background

To conduct first-class research, you need first-class equipment and facilities. Large sums are invested annually in research infrastructure in Sweden, in experimental equipment as well as in resources and services. The SESAM project aims to develop models that make it easier for higher education institutions and institutes to open up Sweden’s laboratory infrastructure so that more people can use it – not just other HEIs and research institutes, but also the business sector.

Swedish HEIs and research institutes host several national and international research infrastructures that they have invested – and continue to invest – billions in developing and operating. Many of these research infrastructures are specific and unique, and increased and broader use of these advanced research environments opens the door to further strengthening Sweden as a country of research and innovation.

The project's vision is to bring together the majority of the HEIs and research institutes in Sweden that have and want an open laboratory infrastructure for research in order to try to achieve a unified, legal and functional practice to better make available the infrastructure that exists.

Laboratory infrastructure refers to laboratory-based infrastructure relevant to or partly related to materials, engineering and life sciences. It also includes infrastructures that fall under the EU definition of technology infrastructures. However, a delineation is made for life sciences in the case of biobanks and human data repositories and computational infrastructure. In this project, open laboratory infrastructure refers to laboratory infrastructure that is open to external users.