D2.4: Stakeholder Management in PRACE 2.0

This deliverable shows the results of the analysis of the management of stakeholders done by PRACE-4IP project within the context of the transition from “PRACE 1” and “PRACE 2” at the early stage of the implementation process of the second period of operations of the PRACE pan-European Research Infrastructure (RI), so-called PRACE 2, that will take over from PRACE agreement for the Initial Period, so-called PRACE 1, for the 2017 - 2020 period.
This follows previous analyses of stakeholder management, performed within PRACE Preparatory Phase project (PRACE-PP) in 2008, and the update of PRACE-3IP project in 2014. Whereas previous deliverables were focused on the early identification of core stakeholders of the project and on the legal aspect of relationship with other entities, this one is more focused on the latest evolutions of the HPC ecosystem, that could be summarised as a global race to Exascale (potentially available at the beginning of next decade), with an accelerating pace (at least for USA, China and Japan, that decided to afford the huge cost of tools, considered more strategic than ever), and a European ecosystem that is taking shape, with the three pillars of the European Commission (EC) strategy for High Performance Computing (HPC) – infrastructures, technologies, applications. The recent launching of a Digital Single Market (DSM) strategy for Europe, announced by the EC in April 2016, provides a new horizon with an extended and strengthened need and interest for HPC.
Links with various categories of stakeholders are described and commented – other compute infrastructures in Europe or worldwide, different kinds of European projects or initiatives (flagships, other kinds of research infrastructures, H2020 projects etc.); user communities including new or emerging areas; funding agencies and policy makers; SMEs for which PRACE SHAPE programme offered an HPC adoption strong support.
PRACE tools and methodologies are explained (CRM, communication, different PRACE bodies that organise and structure stakeholder management); diverse MoUs signed between PRACE RI or PRACE projects and these partners are reminded, and a STEEPLED analysis has been performed to provide a context for evaluating and defining PRACE’s role in relation with its external environment.