E-RIHS PP is a coordination and support action addressing the topic “Preparatory Phase and support to early phase of ESFRI projects” within the call H2020-INFRADEV-02-2016. The specific action addressed by this project is the preparation of E-RIHS, the European Research Infrastructure for Heritage Science (HS), one of the six new projects which entered the ESFRI Roadmap in 2016, and the only research infrastructure project in the Social and Cultural Innovation section of the Roadmap. E-RIHS will help the preservation of the World’s Heritage by enabling cutting-edge research in HS, liaising with governments and heritage institutions to promote its constant development and, finally, raising the appreciation of the large public for cultural and natural heritage and the recognition of its historic, social and economic significance.
E-RIHS PP will start in 2017 and will last three years (2017-2020). The first two will be used to address governance, financial aspects, legal documents and logistics. This will lead to a business plan ready for application to ERIC, or to another suitable legal form, by 2019. The last year will be devoted to negotiations with stakeholders, based on the agreed instruments, further strategic planning and to start up of activities for entering the transition phase. E-RIHS will hopefully be launched as a stand-alone RI in 2021.